Seattle Obliterates Daily Rainfall Record

Now that was a gullywasher.

Strong thunderstorms plowed through the metro area overnight, unleashing nearly an inch and a half of rain in the six hours between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. With additional storms yesterday morning, Seattle easily crushed the daily rainfall record for Sept. 5, registering a staggering 1.09 inches—leaps and bounds above the previous mark of 0.36 inches from 1984.

Even more amazing, the storms delivered over an entire month’s worth of rain in just 24 hours. From 5 a.m. yesterday through 5 a.m. this morning, Sea-Tac Airport measured 1.73 inches—nearly a quarter-inch above the September average of 1.50. The rain continues to fall this morning—albeit much lighter—with Seattle likely to top 2 inches on the month by day’s end.

Thankfully, for those wanting a return to more summer-like weather, a drying trend is on the way, starting Saturday. By early next week, temperatures will soar above 80 degrees as sunshine sets in.