When will the rain stop in WA? Here’s when we’ll say goodbye to the ‘atmospheric river’
South Puget Sound residents have quickly become accustomed to the term “atmospheric river” in the past couple of days, as northwest Washington has been the recipient of a constant downpour of heavy rain.
Parts of south Puget Sound, such as Tacoma and Olympia, have picked up multiple inches of rain, and several Pierce and Thurston County rivers are expected to experience minor flooding.
But how much longer will the rain go on for? Will we ever see the sun again?
When will the atmospheric river move on?
For some northwest Washington residents, such as north Puget Sound near Bellingham or west of Olympic National Park, the rain was already tapering off by Tuesday afternoon, according to weather radar.
But those around south Puget Sound will have to wait a little longer for relief from the rain.
National Weather Service meteorologist Kirby Cook told McClatchy News the atmospheric river would likely be out of the region entirely by Wednesday morning.
“I would say South Puget would probably see some sort of lightening of precipitation after midnight tonight into Wednesday morning,” Cook said. “But maybe not really a full break in precipitation until the afternoon.”
When all is said and done, parts of the northwest Washington lowlands could see over five inches of rain between Friday and Wednesday.
The atmospheric river — also known as the “Pineapple Express” — will continue to dip south through Oregon and into northern California, Cook said, before eventually losing strength and dissipating.
Washington’s forecast for the rest of the week
Just because this latest system will have moved on by Wednesday, don’t expect the sun to come out suddenly.
The Weather Service still forecasts rain for the rest of the week for the Tacoma and Olympia areas. There’s a 90% chance of rain on Wednesday night and Thursday daytime and an 80% chance Thursday night into Friday morning.
But don’t worry; it won’t be as heavy as it has been in recent days, according to Cook.
“We’ll have a bit of a lull tomorrow afternoon, and it may actually be dry for a little while,” Cook said. “And then during the evening hours, we’ll be back in some moderate periods of rain, especially south of Puget Sound.”
