EVERETT — Ask Santa for galoshes.
It won’t be a white Christmas, but odds are it will be a wet one. And a tad warmish.
The forecast calls for rain, with temperatures in the 40s.
“A typical rainy gray Christmas,” said Maddie Kristell, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle. “We’re seeing a bit of a weather system coming in. More rainfall is coming Monday through Wednesday, in one continuous event.”
Sunday might have some showers and temps in the high 30s and low 40s.
Look on the bright side. Snow would mean city crews would have to work. Driving over the river and down I-5 to grandma’s house would be treacherous.
Travel by ferry will be busy. Washington State Ferries expects 500,000 riders from Dec. 20 to 31.
The busiest sailings for vehicles were expected Wednesday to Christmas Eve, especially westbound (or onto an island), and Tuesday through Saturday, Dec. 26 to 30, mainly eastbound (or off-island). Riders should consider taking an early morning or late-night sailing, or using transit to walk or bike onto the ferry, if possible. Check the holiday sailing schedules for each route.
Holiday travel backups and delays are on the state Department of Transportation mobile app or online using the WSDOT travel map. Road conditions, flood warnings and border crossing wait times are also listed.
Just like Amazon, Santa delivers in rain, sleet or snow.
Follow Santa on the NORAD Christmas Tracker online or by app. The North American Aerospace Defense Command keeps tabs on everything, even the jolly man in the red uniform. With rain and clouds in the forecast, the visibility for him and his reindeer might be rough.
NORAD’s “Santa Cams” streams live as Santa makes his way around the globe. Kids worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by calling 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). Operators are available all day Christmas Eve.
NORAD’s Santa tracker started in 1955 with a typo. A newspaper ad misprinted a number for kids to call Santa. The phone rang through to the crew commander on the base. Instead of saying, “Sorry, wrong number,” the officer said, “I’ll check the radars…” And he gave Santa-updates to caller after caller.
Thus began the tradition, which has added many tech jingles along the way. More at noradsanta.org.
Google also has a Santa tracker, with games, music and his whereabouts, at santatracker.google.com.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterbrown.
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