SEATTLE — The first fall rainstorm in Western Washington kept gutters running overnight, slickened roads, revived lawns and reminded residents the warm, dry summer is over.
In the 24 hours ending at 6 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported 0.98 of an inch of rain at Sea-Tac Airport, 1.13 inches at Olympia and 0.60 at Everett. One spotter near Gig Harbor reported 1.97 inches.
National Weather Service meteorologist Allen Kam in Seattle called it a “normal fall storm.”
Still, rain caused a roof collapse in downtown Seattle. The rush-hour drive from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue doubled to more than two hours, peaking at 140 minutes around 8 a.m., Transportation Department spokesman Mike Allende said.
“It’s been a mess,” Allende said. “We’ve seen several spinouts and collisions — nothing too major, but they add up.”
It also was the first day of classes at the University of Washington and Seattle University.
Allende reminded drivers to be cautious when roads are wet. “We had a really nice summer. People may have gotten too comfortable,” he said.
In downtown Seattle, rain caused a roof collapse at a children’s clothing store, and more damage was caused when a sprinkler pipe broke, KOMO reported.
The storm was still moving into Eastern Washington, where Spokane was just starting to get wet Wednesday morning with only 0.02 inches recorded in the preceding 24 hours. But, the Weather Service expected one-half to an inch of rain from the storm east of the Cascades, which could cause some small stream flooding or mudflows off areas scarred by wildfires.
Forecasters expected clearing by the end of the week, with a drier, warmer weekend.
In fact, the outlook for the Pacific Northwest for the next three months is for below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures, Kam said.
