Will Wet Wednesday Finally Bring ViaDoom?

SEATTLE, WA - Monday's first ViaDoom commute was, mostly, a breeze. The Tuesday commute was slightly heavier but - save for an overturned dirt truck - certainly not a disaster.

But will Wednesday bring our first taste of post-viaduct carmageddon?

Monday and Tuesday were sunny, clear, and dry during the afternoon. But forecasts call for rain during the Wednesday afternoon commute, and rain usually means slower, messier commutes.

"So far, #Realign99 project has been pretty lucky weather-wise, but it sounds like that luck could change later this week. Rain equals worse traffic under the best of cases so please continue to give yourself as much extra time to travel as possible," WSDOT wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

It's not just Wednesday's commute that will be wet. Rain is in the forecast through the weekend.

In 2016, WSDOT closed the Alaskan Way Viaduct from April 29 to May 8 while Bertha (the tunnel boring machine, remember?) drilled underneath the roadway. The weather for that closure was relatively dry - in fact, Puget Sound was experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures soaring into the 80s.

That 2016 closure, however, was pretty hectic for traffic. A post-closure report by WSDOT showed a big increase in traffic on other major highways around the region, including SR 520 and I-90.

Here's the forecast for the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service:

Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly between 10am and 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 50. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: Rain likely, mainly after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 45. East southeast wind 9 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 50. East southeast wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Thursday Night: Rain. Low around 44. East wind 13 to 20 mph becoming south after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday: Rain. High near 52. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Rain. Low around 45. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Patch file photo