Hope you took a good look outside at the raindrops this morning.
They were probably the last ones we’ll see this year.
After a long, drippy weekend, a cold front moved through Western Washington earlier today, bringing a final smattering of rain to the area ahead of what promises to be a lengthy stretch of dry weather. With high pressure seizing control for the next several days, precipitation will be scarce to nonexistent, ending 2013 the way it began—on a dry note.
Just like in January—and October, November and early December, for that matter—our latest rainy season dry spell will likely extend beyond a week, with any moisture limited to the coast and far northern reaches of the state. With a monthly rainfall tally of just 1.62 inches, December will almost certainly go down as one of Seattle’s driest ever—no more rain through next Tuesday would make it number two on the city’s list of all-time parched Decembers, behind only 1978.
Not surprisingly, the dry weather will come with a price—fog, and lots of it. With light winds and plenty of moisture trapped near the ground, thick fog is likely pretty much every day from tomorrow through the weekend, including Christmas. If this sounds like déjà vu all over again, it’s because it is—see January or October 2013.
In this latest installment of fogmaggedon, highs will fall from the low 50s of late to the mid or low 40s—quite a bit colder than it was in October, but fortunately a good deal warmer than last January. Overnight lows, though, will still run on the chilly side—dipping to near 32 degrees at times and setting up the possibility for freezing fog, especially south of Seattle.
With upper-level high pressure stuck in place just to our west, all signs point to this pattern persisting for quite some time—possibly close to two weeks if the latest forecast models are correct. Given 2013’s penchant for extended dry spells—and distaste of wintertime rain in general—this seems like a pretty believable scenario, at least through New Year’s Eve. In any event, the year will wrap up with roughly 5 inches less precipitation than normal—Seattle’s driest year since 2008.
Those craving a return to wetter Northwest weather can only hope that 2014 starts off different.
