Seattle beat May’s average rain in just one week and more is on the way

May in Seattle is usually cool and wet. This year, it’s shaping up to be cooler and wetter.

On average, the Seattle area experiences 1.88 inches of rainfall in the month of May, according to the National Weather Service. Eight days in, the area already has recorded 1.92 inches. 

“What we’ve had in the area for the better part of spring here has been just broad, low pressure systems kind of hanging out in the North Pacific, bringing that moisture to us over and over again,” Meteorologist Maddie Kristell said Sunday. 

“Generally, Seattle’s had above average precipitation and below average temperatures here lately.”

According to Kristell, the average temperature during the first week of May was only around 56 degrees, compared to a historical average of just over 63 for the month.

And on Sunday, the weather remained cool, with some expected showers in the evening.

The area probably will see high temperatures in the low-mid 50s again for most of this week, with a 40% chance of rain on Monday and Tuesday, and rain likely on Wednesday and Thursday. But the area could get some reprieve over the weekend. 

“Friday, and especially on Saturday and Sunday, we will return to mid 60s, so a bit of a break temperature-wise for the weekend,” Kristell said. “I can’t rule out the possibility of a couple showers here and there, but right now, it looks a bit drier over the weekend too.” 

But for the most part, NWS forecasts the soggy weather will stick around for the next couple of weeks.

“Our six-10 day climatological outlook shows the cooler and wetter than normal trend continuing, and is predicted in the eight-14 day outlook as well,” Kristell said.

Seattle’s weather has been abnormally cool, but Spokane’s weather has been even more unusual.

The rainy spring there resulted in two EF0 tornadoes — one in Spokane Valley and one in Airway Heights — on Friday. The two storms uprooted several trees, damaged power lines and overturned “a couple” of mobile homes, according to NWS.