Seattle Sets New Rain Records

Beautiful day in Seattle. Robert Sumner/Getty Images

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The Seattle Times reports that over the past four years, Seattle has recieved 186.4 inches of rain, which is more rainfall than any other four-year period in the city's recorded history. The previous record, 180.6 inches, was recorded between 1995 and 1998.

On average, Seattle gets about 37.5 inches of rain each year, but since 2014, the city has been doused with more than 44 inches every year, including 48 inches in 2017 alone—despite also experiencing the hottest and driest summer on record. But while 48 inches may seem like too much goddamn rain, it's still low compared to other cities in the U.S. As the Times Mike Baker notes, "the precipitation total from 2017 falls well short of other cities around the country. Hurricane Harvey dumped about as much in parts of Texas during that disastrous storm alone. Miami recorded more than 80 inches of rain for the year, according to weather-service data."

This is a pattern that is unlikely to change anytime soon, thanks to global carbon emissions and the federal government's refusal to act on climate change. While the idiot-in-chief is busy confusing weather and climate, the planet is undergoing some disturbing extremes, from record rainfall in places like Houston and Miami to the most destructive wildfires in California history. Luckily for us, the Pacific Northwest is expected to remain relatively stable as the effects of climate change become increasingly apparent, at least compared to more Southern states, which will flood, burn, and broil. But still, we can expect a decline in snowpack in the coming years, which has already decreased by about 20 percent in the Cascades since 1950, and an increase in temperatures, which have risen by about 1.3 degrees over the past century, and are projected to rise by between 3 and 10 degrees by the end of this century. When it comes to rain, we'll probably see more of it, at least in the winter months as, according to the pre-Trump EPA, "warmer winters cause more precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, particularly at lower elevations."

What can you do about these unfortunate trends? Get some good boots, and vote for someone who understands climate change at least as much as the Jersey Shore guy.

I think climate change is more complex than global warming will make it hotter. It has to do with disruptions of atmospheric conditions,ocean patterns, jet streams and shit like that

— Vinny Guadagnino (@VINNYGUADAGNINO) December 29, 2017