Puget Sound Had 3rd Driest Summer In Over 100 Years

SEATTLE, WA - If you've lived in the Puget Sound area for at least 15 years, you've lived through two of the driest summers dating back to the 1890s. That's according to new information released this week from the Office of the Washington State Climatologist.

The May to August stretch this summer was the third-driest on record. Only 2003 and 1938 were drier. Rainfall this summer was only 20 to 40 percent of what it normally should be. As a result, most of eastern King and Pierce counties are considered in "severe drought," according to the U.S. drought monitor.

This last summer was also the third-hottest on record, at about 2.4 degrees above average.

That's not all. Puget Sound spent over 13,000 minutes above 80 degrees this summer (according to temperature readings taken at the University of Washington in Seattle), according to KOMO News meteorologist Scott Sistek.

And remember, there's still a 65 to 70 percent chance that we'll have an El Niño this winter - that means below-average precipitation, above-average temperatures.

Read the Office of the Washington State Climatologist newsletter here.

Caption: The remnants of a 2017 fire near Crystal Mountain along SR 410.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch