Coincidence? Seattle's longest dry streak comes after wettest winter on record



SEATTLE -- You can tear another page out of the record book. Tuesday marks the 52nd day without measurable rainfall at SeaTac Airport breaking an all-time record dry streak, which was 51 days set back in 1951.

Meteorologist M.J. McDermott says the dry streak will continue at least for the next couple of days.



The longest dry streak in Seattle weather history comes after the wettest water year on record.

And if you think theses two records have to be related,  Washington state climatologist Nick Bond disagrees.

He told our news partner the Seattle Times, “It’s just a really unusual deal of the cards.”

Global warming doesn’t appear to be a factor, nor is there any sort of cosmic balancing out of wet and dry spells, he said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Gary Schneider said in some ways the record is a geographical fluke.

“Most of Western Washington has had measurable rain," he said. "It just missed SeaTac.”

And thanks to that wet winter, Schneider said the region is still more than 8.5. inches above the normal rainfall totals at this point in the year.



Forecast 

Expect sunny and warm temperatures in the mid to upper 80s through the end of the work week. On Friday night into Saturday, a pattern shift could deliver some rain drops or at the very least clouds to Western Washington.

McDermott says Sunday morning looks like the best days for those showers.

Weekend temperatures will be cooler with highs in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees.

Still hazy

Smoke from British Columbia fires have made it difficult for many people, especially those with asthma and allergies to be outdoors.

Air quality Tuesday morning was in the unhealthy category around much of Seattle, Issaquah, Tacoma, Bellingham and the Eastern slopes of the Cascades. It’s possible that this smoke could continue to cover us through the rest of the work week.

It’s possible that this smoke could continue to cover Puget Sound through the rest of the work week.

Summer sky watching

The nights of August 11 and 12 will be the peak of the annual Perseids meteor showers.

The morning of August 21 is the full solar eclipse from Newport, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina.

Around Puget Sound, while we will not be in the path of totality, the moon’s shadow will cover about 92% of the sun in our area.