“This is a preview of what could be a normal year a couple decades down the road,” she said. Karin Bumbaco, University of Washington research scientist and Washington’s assistant state climatologist, said these types of extreme weather events could become more typical. The question now is whether these extreme weather conditions could be an indication of what the region will experience in the future. “As the climate has warmed, then it means when everything comes together, and when conditions are right to produce precipitation, that it comes down that much harder,” he said. He said climate change was probably also a factor, since warmer air is able to hold more water vapor compared with cooler air. Nick Bond, state climatologist for Washington, explained that the back-to-back La Niña conditions, a climate pattern that can disrupt weather throughout the world, could be causing the rainfall. On 15 November, Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, issued a severe weather state of emergency in King county, which includes Seattle, and 14 other counties across the state in response to the heavy rain and flooding. Mike Farnworth, minister of Public Safety and solicitor general, described the situation as “utter devastation”. The Lummi Reservation, which is also in that area, was cut off when its roads were overtaken by water.Īcross the border in Canada, heavy rains and winds in British Columbia have resulted in flooding, landslides and thousands of evacuations. In Whatcom county, dozens of roads were closed due to flooding and some residents had to be evacuated. But in cities farther north, near the Canadian border, the impact was much greater. The recent heavy rains caused some road closures in Seattle. The Seattle area experienced a historic heatwave in late June as a ‘heat dome’ engulfed the region. The dry conditions also left lands vulnerable to fires, which burned in several areas across Washington. The scorching temperatures, which experts said were exacerbated by global heating, resulted in more than 100 people dead in Washington state, crops destroyed and salmon covered in angry red lesions and white fungus. These whiplash-inducing extremes have left lasting marks on an area known for its moderate weather. Just weeks later, its record-breaking rainy autumn would begin. At the same time, for much of the summer, Seattle was extremely dry, going 51 days without measurable rain – tied with 1951 as the second longest period on record. In late June, the city reached a record-breaking 108F (42C) after a deadly “heat dome” engulfed the region. The extreme rainy season comes in a year that has seen Seattle and the surrounding area besieged by unusual weather events, including a historic heatwave over the summer. “What is a little less common has been just the back-to-back intensity.” “It’s our wettest time of year, and it’s very common to get several of these systems in a row,” said Cullen. Photograph: Paul Christian Gordon/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock A series of ‘atmospheric rivers’ has unloaded heavy rain over the Seattle area in recent months.
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