Seattle Streaks Toward Another Weather Record

By By Scott Sistek Published: Aug 25, 2006 at 9:36 AM PST Last Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 7:36 AM PST
Seattle Streaks Toward Another Weather Record
SEATTLE - The old saying around here goes "if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes."

But that might have to change to "just wait a few weeks" as Seattle has become the city of streaky weather of late.

Remember our near-record 27 straight days of rain in January? With our sunny day Saturday, we've just brokoen one of that record's counterparts, although granted, it's a bit obscure.

Saturday, Aug. 26, marks the 71st consecutive day of getting 0.05" of rain or less. (That's typically about a two hours of light "Seattle rain" in the fall and winter.) The last time we've had a significantly rainy day was June 16th.

In fact, we've only had measurable rain on four days since then, and each of those days has been barely enough to measure.

The 71 days breaks the all-time record set from June 23rd to August 31st in 1967. The record could end up getting as high as 76 or 77 or more before it finally ends.

Some Other Neato Dry Weather Statistics

  • Aside from the 0.05" or less streak, we are also on pace to be the second-driest July-and-August in history. So far, we've accumulated 0.07" since July 1. (Actually, that goes back to June 17). The driest July/August was, you guessed it, 1967, when we only received 0.03" of rain. Obviously, they got at least 0.05" on Sept. 1, so summer ended with a vengeance then.

  • 1967 also holds the record for driest August ever (0.01"). At the moment, we're tied with it, but there is a chance of some light rain before the end of the month to end that threat. More on that in a moment.

  • The record for consecutive days with no measurable rain was 51 days set in 1951. This summer, our longest completely dry streak was 26 days, so we didn't really get close to even getting into the Top 10 (37 days). But had we not received a paltry 0.01" on August 9th, the streak would have been at 42 days and counting, which would have tied for third place.

  • Having a long wet streak in the same year as a long dry streak is not unprecedented. In 1960, Seattle had a 19-day rainy streak in January, and then that summer, had a 37-day dry streak. 1990 also had an 18-day rain streak in January, and a 41-day dry streak in the summer.

    Other Streaks We've Set Lately

    In late October 2005, we had 13 consecutive days with rain from the 27th through Nov. 8. OK, that's not *too* out of the ordinary, but then that was quickly followed by 10 straight days of dry weather from the 15th through the 23rd.

    But in addition to the "what's with this every day of rain" streak followed by "what's with this every day of sunshine?" streaks, we had some impressive temperature streaks earlier this year as well.

    On Nov. 11, the high temperature was only 47 degrees. That's not too strange either, but that day began a streak of 36 days where our high temperature was at or below normal. It wasn't until Dec. 17th that we were back above.

    But then that began a streak of 58 days where we were at or above normal -- a streak that lasted until February 14th.

    OK, So It's Been Dry. How About Temperatures This Summer?

    The most notable summer temperature streak was our stretch of four days over 90 in late July -- tied for second longest ever, but there have been many cases of four-in-a-row over 90 before.

    Typically, Seattle averages 25 days at 80 or warmer, 10 at 85 or warmer, two a 90 or warmer, and a 95 or hotter once every-other-year. (So our three days over 95 this year hopefully means we're good on our 95+ quota for a few years.)

    This year, Seattle has had 27 days at 80 or warmer, 13 at 85 or warmer, and 5 at 90 or warmer. So it has been a warmer than usual summer.

    But At Least The Weekends Have Been Nice

    Boy, have they. I can't remember the last stretch of Seattle weather that has been this kind to the weekends. To wit: Every weekend since summer began has been sunny with one or both days at 80 degrees or warmer -- save one. The last weekend in July was cooler than 80, which is ironic because statistically, that is typically the warmest weekend of the year.

    I don't think they keep records for such feats, but if they did, this summer would have to be a top contender. And it looks like another sunny and 80+ weekend again this weekend.

    It's Been Dry, But We've Been Lucky

    Extended dry streaks are rarely a good thing, but we did luck out that this dry streak is happening in the heart of summer, as opposed to the heart of winter.

    The Pacific Northwest is better equipped to handle a summer dry streak than a winter dry streak because we don't expect much rain in the summer anyway (about 2-3" total for June-August) and we don't count on summer rains for our water supply. On the other hand, dry weather makes for high fire dangers -- as we've seen in Eastern Washington this year already.

    How Long Will These Dry Streaks Last?

    Well, as we've mentioned, the weekend sunny and warm streak seems good to continue this weekend, as we're expecting temperatures both days in the low 80s. However, the large-scale weather pattern is finally undergoing a shift, and that is bringing a chance of light showers back to the forecast for the middle of next week.

    That might not be enough to end the 0.05" streak, but periods of steadier rain are possible for Labor Day Weekend.

    So I guess if there's one thing strong enough to break a dry streak in Seattle, it would have to be a three day weekend :)