Seattle could pick up nearly a month's worth of rain in 3 days
The Pacific Northwest usually experiences somewhat of a break from frequent precipitation late in the spring and through much of the summer, but AccuWeather meteorologists say dry weather will be hard to come by in this part of the nation through Sunday. Seattle could pick up close to a month's worth of rain, and the same could happen in Portland, Oregon, too.
"As a result of a dip in the jet stream, multiple rounds of rain will last through Sunday night," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Lauren Hyde.
The heaviest and most substantial rain is expected to arrive in western Washington and Oregon. Unlike farther to the east, western and central portions of Washington and northwestern Oregon have had a surplus of rain.
As you can see from the 24 hour rainfall totals ending at 1 AM (Midnight PST), Saturday was a bit soggy across the area, especially at the coast and over the south interior. In fact, Hoquiam tied their daily precip record for the day with an inch of rain. #wawx pic.twitter.com/2T1WOw29z3
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) June 5, 2022
"The coastal Northwest had a wet May, and this storm could deliver a month's worth of rain for June," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
With the drier time of year typically beginning in earnest in June, it will not take much rainfall to equal or exceed the amount of rain that normally falls for the entire month.
Portland receives only 1.63 inches of rain for the entire month of June, on average. That amount could fall there by Monday. In addition, there will be a possibility of embedded thunderstorms. Rain could be locally heavier in any thunderstorms.
Even less rain is typical in Seattle in June, with just 1.45 inches the average monthly total. At least an inch of rain is forecast in Seattle by Monday. As of Sunday morning, the city had picked up nearly 0.50 of an inch since Friday.
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Some of the rain could make it as far to the south as northwestern California. The entire state is in some level of drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor, but most of the Golden State will not receive precipitation.
Eureka, California, averages only 0.70 of an inch of rain in June, but over 1 inch is likely by Monday. This could be the equivalent of two or three months of summer rainfall in Eureka, which measures only 0.18 of an inch of rain in a normal July and the same amount in August.
Rain is also expected well inland across Idaho and western and central Montana but with lower totals.
"Rainfall amounts can vary across the Northwest, but the coast is expected to receive the most," said Hyde.
The region will dry out during the early and middle parts of the week. The next sizable rainmaker is likely to arrive late week.
So far, precipitation in Seattle has made a complete turnaround from what the city received last year at this time. Seattle experienced its driest spring and summer in 77 years last year, with just 6.78 inches of rain measured there from March 1 through early September. Just last month, downtown Seattle recorded 3.82 inches of rainfall, well above the 2.16 inches the city typically measures in May. That mark was less than an inch shy of the 4.76 inches recorded in 1948, Seattle's wettest May on record.
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