Annual Precipitation is Close to Normal While Flood Warnings are Out in Western Washington

 Today we have a very vigorous front passage, with a very intense cold front.   

For example, here is an image from the Langley Hill radar (near Hoquiam) at 5 PM.  The arrow points to an intense narrow cold frontal rainband, with red colors indicating torrential rain!  Such intense fronts break down into wave-like undulations.

Amazingly, high-resolution weather prediction models were able to predict this feature but were a bit too fast (see the forecast for 3 PM).  Weather models have come a long way.

The National Weather Service was so worried about this cold front that they put out a flash flood warning for the south Sound area (see below)

The rainfall over the past 24 has been substantial, with some locations getting over an inch.  

The wildfire season in western Washington is now over.

And yes, there is a lot more to come over the next week.

Interestingly, our rainfall for the year is almost exactly normal now in western Washington.

Here is the cumulative precipitation plot since January 1 at Sea-Tac, with the green line showing this year's total and the brown line showing climatological values.  The wet spring balanced the dry summer/early fall.

Same with Hoquiam

Interestingly, the eastern slopes are well above normal; (see Wenatchee below).    Not only was the spring wet, but they had normal summer precipitation.

Further cooling is predicted for next week, with several days not getting above the high 40s. Really a stunning change from a week ago