Photo credit: Rory Sagner Photography & Fine Art


– Editor’s note:
The National Weather Service (NWS) station for Thurston County at Olympia Regional Airport set a record May-August dry period with 1.36 inches of rain, breaking the former 1970 dry record of 1.66 inches.


– Olympia Regional Airport precipitation by month in inches
May = .24 actual compared to 2.33 average
June = .88 actual compared to 1.76 average
July = .07 actual compared to .63 average
August = .17 actual compared to .89 average
Total precip. June 1-August 31 = 1.36 inches compared to a normal 5.61 inches, 25% of normal, and this unusual lack of precipitation was during our annual driest season!

Total year to date rainfall through August 31 = 24.93, compared to 29.88 average, 20% below normal.


– “Hot, dry weather killing Washington trees”
“Drought conditions in Washington state are killing clusters of native trees.”
By Eric Wilkinson, KING-5 TV News, Seattle.
Read more


– “Seattle sets record for driest May-August ever”
“Have the past few months felt especially dry?
That’s because Seattle broke a record for least rainfall by a longshot.”

“In Seattle, 2003 had held the driest May-August with 2.05 inches of rain [compared to 1.00 inches in 2018].”
By Darren Peck, Liza Javier, KING-5 TV News, Seattle.
Read more


– “People aren’t coping well with a warmer world”
“2018 Is Shaping Up to Be the Fourth-Hottest Year. Yet We’re Still Not Prepared for Global Warming.”

“It’s hot. But it may not be the new normal yet. Temperatures are still rising.”
By Somini Sengupta, The New York Times.
Read more