Seattle residents should prepare to unfurl their umbrellas and don waterproofs as the city braces for a deluge of rain over the next few days. The National Weather Service in Seattle has forecasted a wet weather pattern, with chances of precipitation sticking firmly above 80% through the weekend. Expectations peak as Seattle teeters on the edge of breaking a four-year record, with temperatures possibly climbing to the 60-degree mark in January for the first time since 2020.
In addition to the wet weather coming up, it's going to turn quite mild. It's been 4 years since Seattle last reached 60 degrees in January. Could we do it again? There's a nearly 60% chance that we will on both Monday and Tuesday of next week. 🌴#wawx
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 26, 2024
In an update that has to surely excite folks weary of bone-chilling dampness, the NWS Seattle branch tweeted, "It's been 4 years since Seattle last reached 60 degrees in January. Could we do it again? There's a nearly 60% chance that we will on both Monday and Tuesday of next week." Although many may be ready to trade their thick coats for lighter jackets, they're advised not to get overly hopeful; this mild spike is accompanied by a robust chance of rain.
The gloomy forecast starts with rain setting in post 10 a.m. today with expected highs around 48 degrees and a gentle south southeast breeze. Tonight, 100% certainty of rain brings more than a drizzle—totals mounting between a quarter and a half-inch as temperatures hover around a milder 45 degrees. As for Saturday, the persistent showers continue, marginally warmer at 54 degrees and almost equally as soggy.
Come Saturday night, it's widely anticipated the rain won't let up, continuing to soak the city with similar accumulation figures, and lows remaining unseasonably warm at around 51 degrees. According to the NWS forecast, Sunday offers scant reprieve with highs pushing towards the upper 50s, still under the unyielding menace of rainfall. The weather pattern takes a minor turn Sunday night, with rain probabilities dipping to 60%, potentially granting Seattle a brief window to dry.
With umbrellas at the ready and eyes skyward, Seattle's denizens may just experience the anomaly of a balmy January, replete with rainfall and the rare potential to wander in what might loosely be termed as ‘warmth’. Yet it remains to be seen if this forecast will hold, rendering winter jackets momentarily obsolete as the city wrings itself out under a cascade of raindrops that promise to drench but also to warm.
