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Forecasters warn of significant mid-week rain storm

It’s starting to feel like May-vember.

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Forecasters from the National Weather Service in Seattle are warning that a November-level storm may hit the region on Wednesday, May 18.

Rainfall totals of up to a half-inch are possible in the Puget Sound lowlands, the weather service said. “Wednesday will be wet, windy, and cool,” according to the forecast issued Tuesday morning by the weather service’s Seattle-Tacoma office.

We are still finishing up the afternoon forecast. But as a heads up: it is going to be breezy if not windy tomorrow. Windiest spots: Coast and along N Interior Waters. Even if you are outside of that area it will be breezy. Make sure any loose objects are secure. #wawx pic.twitter.com/tZ2HERbghi

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) May 17, 2022

A wind warning has been issued for the coast. Winds in our area could reach 20-25 mph, potentially knocking leaf-laden branches into power lines

Cliff Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor who publishes a popular weather blog, called the expected storm ” an unusually strong storm in an unusually cool, wet spring.”

The first two weeks of May saw 2.29 inches of rain in the wider Seattle area, which NWS said is the fourth-wettest first two weeks of May in 78 years.

If we can get through the next rainy couple of days, though, things may start looking up. The forecast calls for sunnier skies, with temperatures approaching the high 60s, for Friday and Saturday.