Washington is coming out of a dry summer, what does that mean for Tacoma?
As summer closes, many Western Washingtonians are eagerly waiting for the relief of rain, but the state predicts temperatures might continue to be higher than normal for a while longer.
In Tacoma, the upcoming week (Sept 12-18) will see intermittent showers between Tuesday and Sunday for the first time in months, according to National Weather Service reports.
This year was one of the driest ever for Washington. The state Department of Ecology labeled March through May as the second-driest on record since 1895.
Western and southern Washington were much drier than average during the month of August. Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Vancouver logged August as one of the top ten driest on record, according to the monthly newsletter from the Office of the State Climatologist.
Olympia and Vancouver recorded 0.01 and 0.02 inches of rain respectively for the entire month of August.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency drought declaration on July 16 that remains in effect. Some of the Puget Sound, including Tacoma, was not as impacted by the drought. The Office of the State Climatologist said major water suppliers anticipated having adequate water supplies through the summer due to above-normal winter snowpack.
Those wishing for rain could see their wish granted with more than a normal soak predicted for the Puget Sound as we head into fall.
Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula also have a slightly higher chance of seeing more rain than normal in the coming months, per the Office of the State Climatologist.
But, temperatures have a chance of remaining warmer than normal as well. September has increased chances — between 33 and 50 percent — for above normal temperatures, the state newsletter said.
The end of summer also means an end to the average wildfire season in Washington, which usually lasts from July to September.
In early summer, Washington was projected to have a record-breaking wildfire year. By July, the state reported more fires in the first half of the year than ever before. Washington State Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Hillary Franz issued a statewide burn ban on July 1 that remains in effect.
While Western Washington seems to have come out of the bulk of the wildfire season unscathed this year, the state as a whole saw more fires in 2021 than last year.
The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center reported in late August that Washington saw 19 more large wildfires year-to-date in 2021 than in 2020. In 2021, 633,349 acres burned, or 539,552 more acres than in 2020.
As of Sept. 10, Washington has 10 ongoing fires across the state, according to the NICC..
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 12:54 PM.
