Seattle, Wash. — Turns out, Seattle’s rains don’t fall equally – Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) recently combed through years of data to determine the wettest part of the city: Rainer Beach.
According to SPU measurements, the area averaged 38 inches per year over the past five years.
The driest part of the city is Myrtle Edwards Park. Measurements from rain gauges in the area average 33 inches a year.
Some areas of the city receive up to 20 percent more rain on average than others.
In general, when accounting for an entire year’s worth of rainfall, North Seattle is drier than South Seattle, although it tends to get stronger storms.
This is due mostly due to the Olympic rain shadow effect, which blocks the rains from that half of the town city.
SPU meteorologists note that this doesn’t affect the number of rainy days across the area – it just makes the rain a bit lighter.
Whether you live in Rainer Beach or not, it couldn’t hurt to prepare for a wet winter.
El Nino years such as this one typically bring warmer weather, but city officials say there have been plenty of wet storms during past El Nino years.