FORKS — Monday’s unusual storm which brought more than 2 inches of rain to the West End on Monday was “seen” for the first time by the region’s new weather radar system.
Installed only since spring, the new Doppler radar station near Ocean Shores in Grays Harbor County helped the National Weather Service issue a flood advisory Monday for the West End.
The domed tower is still in the testing mode, but its radar detected heavy bands of rainfall from Cape Flattery to Ocean Shores, said Jay Albrecht, National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.
“It’s beautiful, actually,” he said.
“It showed all the rain. We were able to see heavy precipitation in Forks.”
Until now, the Weather Service’s Doppler station on Camano Island near Everett was blinded by the Olympic Mountains, leaving an undetected “hole” on the Pacific coast.
“Forks received more than 2.6 inches of rain in just five hours,” said Jay Albrecht, National Weather Service meteorologist.
At 4 p.m. the precipitation passed 3 inches and rain was still falling.
It easily broke the old Aug. 22 record of 2.39 inches, set in 1975.
The new Doppler station accurately predicted the rainfall, as measured at the Quillayute Airport, about 10 miles west of Forks, Albrecht said.
The new system is intended to help forecasters in predicting the severity of winter storms as they approach the North Olympic Peninsula.
The Doppler station on Camano Island can track precipitation in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but it can’t detect low-level weather bearing down on the coast to the south.
The new coastal radar helps close the data gap so that forecasters can better determine wind speed and rainfall of incoming storms to give more accurate and timely warnings to residents, Albrecht said.
Its 125-mile radius covers Forks, La Push, Neah Bay and Clallam Bay-Sekiu, as well as giving forecasters a better view of what’s coming from the Pacific Ocean for the whole Peninsula.
Monday’s storm was the remnants of a tropical system that fell apart in Korea, Albrecht said.
The tropical moisture turned the Peninsula into a warm, muggy place — very unusual for the area, he said.
Humidity was better than 90 percent at most areas, including Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend, each of which received less than 0.10 inch of rain.
Albrecht said the precipitation was expected to end overnight, but the humidity may stick around for a day or two before reverting to the recent cool weather pattern.
Late summer weather can be unsettled, as the summer pattern breaks up and makes way for autumn conditions, Albrecht said.
More tropical storms from the Western Pacific could make their way eastward in late August and September, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
