Talk about going out with a bang.
Heavy rain moved through Seattle in the waning hours of November, dousing the city with 1.40 inches of precipitation on Friday—an amount surpassed this year only by the 2.13 inches of rain that fell on Nov. 19. The somewhat unexpected downpours (forecast models had been calling for only half an inch of rain) boosted Seattle’s final November rainfall total to 8.28 inches—giving us our wettest month in almost two years.
In addition, prior to the cold front’s arrival Friday afternoon, blustery winds out of the south kicked the mercury at Sea-Tac up to 59 degrees—a new record high for the date. (The previous mark was 57, set on Nov. 30, 1951.)
The warm, rainy weather on November’s final day echoed the month as a whole, with November 2012 finishing up both warmer and wetter than average. Precipitation-wise, the 8.28 inches of rain measured at the airport was well above the norm of 6.57 inches—but it wasn’t quite enough to make the list of top ten wettest Novembers at Sea-Tac. The same holds true for temperature: The average high for the month was 52.4 degrees, above the usual high of 50.9—warm, but not record-setting warm.
After another balmy day to start off December (Sea-Tac made it up to 56 yesterday), things have cooled down today, with temperatures only in the mid 40s amid light rain as of early afternoon. Scattered showers will continue to roam around the region the rest of the day, accompanied by cloudy skies and breezy conditions.
Steadier rain will pick up again tonight into Monday morning, with a bit of a break tomorrow afternoon. By late tomorrow night, another strong Pacific front will move onshore, making for a wet and windy day on Tuesday. An inch of rain is possible then, with the highest amounts south and east of Seattle. Temperatures will top out in the lower 50s—a good five degrees warmer than normal.
The weather should calm down more by midweek, with showery, cooler conditions replacing the widespread rains and warmth of the past few days. Skies will still be drippy—just not quite as wet as it’ll be now through Tuesday.
In other words, the first week of December will wrap up with a thud, instead of a bang.
