January 15, 2022

Forecast: January 15th, 2022

Last Updated 7:00 P.M. Saturday, January 15th, 2022

By Conor Finneran

Good evening Huskies!

As many of you have heard by now, a large underwater volcano erupted near Tonga in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean last night. The eruption prompted tsunami advisories for the West Coast from San Diego all the way up to the Olympic Peninsula. Fortunately, the event was small enough to avoid major problems here in America beyond coastal flooding ands rough surf. Along the American coastline, the highest surge was reported on the coast of central California, where tides ran as high as 4 feet above normal. As of right now, the amount of damage to the island of Tonga is mostly unknown.

Visible Satellite Imagery During Eruption

The weather within the forecastable future for Seattle is looking shockingly tranquil given how much time we’ve been stuck under this very wet pattern. Temperatures tomorrow will be seasonably chilly, with highs in the upper 40s, with widespread fog in the area. Monday through Thursday weather conditions will remain seasonable, with highs in the upper 40s and scattered rain showers around the area. Luckily, no days this upcoming week appear to be wash-outs, in fact, there doesn’t seem to be any wash-outs in sight for Seattle.

Models are indicating that around this upcoming Friday, a fairly strong ridge will likely form over the western United States bringing dry conditions, and slightly warmer normal temperatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seattle’s January rainfall total at the month’s halfway point stands at 6.56 inches, meaning we are running nearly an inch above the entire average rainfall amount for January, with over two weeks left before the month is over. It’s safe to say that we definitely have earned a dry stretch!

Over the past few months, drought conditions have completely disappeared from Western Washington! This improvement has unfortunately not spread over the whole state however, as widespread moderate to extreme drought exists over eastern Washington. This upcoming potential dry period will likely stretch over the whole state, but hopefully with a few more months of the wet season left we can see some improvements in eastern Washington.