By Doug Esser
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The first fall rainstorm in Western Washington kept gutters running overnight, slicked roads, revived lawns and reminded residents the warm, dry summer is over, although the North Olympic Peninsula stayed relatively dry.
In the 24 hours ending at 6 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported 0.98 inch of rain at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 1.13 inches at Olympia and 0.60 at Everett. One spotter near Gig Harbor reported 1.97 inches.
The rain shadow effect of the Olympic Mountains kept the rain to a minimum on the Peninsula, said Josh Smith, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Seattle.
The Weather Service reported 0.25 inches of rain in Port Angeles, 0.20 inches in Port Townsend and 0.64 in Forks.
“Since the flow was coming from the southwest, areas like Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Sequim were all rain-shadowed,” Smith said.
Weather Service meteorologist Allen Kam in Seattle called it a “normal fall storm.”
Roof collapse
Still, rain caused a roof collapse in downtown Seattle and complicated rush hour from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue.
The roof collapse was at a Seattle children’s clothing store, and more damage was caused when a sprinkler pipe broke, KOMO News reported.
The rush-hour drive from Everett to Seattle or Bellevue doubled to more than two hours, peaking at 140 minutes at around 8 a.m., Transportation Department spokesman Mike Allende said.
“It’s been a mess,” Allende said. “We’ve seen several spinouts and collisions — nothing too major, but they add up.”
It also was the first day of classes at the University of Washington and Seattle University.
Allende reminded drivers to be cautious when roads are wet.
“We had a really nice summer. People may have gotten too comfortable,” he said.
Storm headed east
The storm was still moving into Eastern Washington on Wednesday morning.
The Weather Service expected one-half to an inch of rain from the storm east of the Cascades, which could cause some small stream flooding or mudflows off areas scarred by wildfires.
Forecasters expected clearing by the end of the week with a drier, warmer weekend.
In fact, the outlook for the Pacific Northwest for the next three months is for below-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures, Kam said.
