SEATTLE — So far this year, Los Angeles has seen more rainfall than Seattle amidst an unusually rainy season in Southern California and an unusually dry one in western Washington.
According to the KING 5 Weather Team, this is typical for an El Niño winter, which favors precipitation over the southwest and drier conditions up north.
Los Angeles has seen 15.77 inches of rainfall since the year began. Seattle has only seen around 12.94 inches since Jan. 1. During a more typical year, Seattle would have seen around 16 inches of rain by now, according to data from the National Weather Service (NWS). Los Angeles would see around 8 inches of rainfall by late April in a more typical year.
Seattle is also falling behind San Francisco and Portland when it comes to year-to-date rainfall totals for 2024. Portland has seen 17.04 inches so far this year, and San Francisco has seen 13.85 inches.
Washington overall has seen less precipitation for the better part of a year, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). The state has been under a drought declaration since the summer of 2023, which was supposed to expire this year on June 30. Instead, the department issued an emergency drought declaration for a majority of Washington state on April 16, the fourth earliest declaration of its kind on record, which will last into next year.
As of Sunday, SeaTac has observed .43 inches of rain in April, which is 2 inches below average for the month. Forecasted rainfall expected to arrive near the end of April is expected to make a dent in that deficit, according to the KING 5 Weather Team, but it remains to be seen what accumulations will end up being.