It’s that time of year.
Seattle had its first morning below freezing on Wednesday. The morning low of 31 degrees was the coldest since March 8.
While the lows are anticipated to be in the high 30s for the rest of the week and through the weekend, Tacoma, Olympia and the Eastside could see temperatures closer to freezing, said Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
A low pressure system passing through the Puget Sound area resulted in a rainy Thursday afternoon and evening (and spoiled any chance of seeing the partial lunar eclipse).
A few inches of snow are expected to fall on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, Michalski said.
Friday and the weekend will bring a drier stretch, with some lingering showers Friday morning and isolated showers Saturday.
“For the most part, rainfall amounts are very light, so it’s mostly dry,” he said.
Residents in northwest Washington are continuing cleanup efforts in communities overwhelmed by heavy storms earlier this week. Floodwaters are slowly receding and power is steadily being restored to homes and businesses.
In a news conference Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee said residents should keep records of the costs or assessments of their damage to give to local government officials. That information is needed for the state to qualify for federal assistance to help with the disaster.
Inslee visited Whatcom County on Wednesday, where authorities recovered a body believed to be of a man who disappeared after he was swept by floodwaters Monday.
About 500 homes in the county were damaged from storms, according to Inslee, who said he spoke with the mayors of Everson and Sumas, where about 85% of homes are estimated to have water damage.
Farther north, in the aftermath of what officials are calling the storm of the century, Vancouver is cut off from the rest of Canada by land with major highways and rail lines blocked by flooding and mudslides. The federal government was sending in the military.
Meanwhile, the Washington National Guard is preparing a convoy of trucks to carry water Friday to Neah Bay, in Clallam County, Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty said during the Thursday news conference. Located on the northwestern tip of Olympic Peninsula and home to the Makah Reservation, the area has suffered a shortage of groceries and gasoline after landslides closed the main highway.
Staff reporter Joseph O’Sullivan contributed to this report..
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