A couple of inches of rain may seem like nothing in the Pacific Northwest, but that’s not the case when it falls in August.
Salmon and farmers look to benefit from this month’s exceptional rainfall during a time Snohomish County residents can almost always count on being dry and warm.
Five straight days of rain – and a real gully washer at the beginning of the month – has snuffed talk of drought and eased the risk of fire around much of Western Washington.
Both were the talk of the town because of an unusually dry and sunny spring and summer. The sun is likely to return this weekend, with the forecast calling for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid to upper 70s.
So far this month, 2.47 inches of rain has fallen in the county, easily outstripping August’s historical average of 1.32 inches.
However, the county record of 4.23 inches set in August 1960 is in little danger, because there are only four more days left in the month.
Still, “that’s pretty extreme” for August, said Johnny Burg, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “That’s almost twice the average.”
Rivers that had been running low have at least temporarily surged, giving chinook and pink salmon more water as they make their way up Snohomish County rivers and streams to spawn, said Doug Williams, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The storms will give the fish all the water they need to make it up rocky rapids, Williams said. It also will help keep the water cool. Warm temperatures make salmon linger on their way to spawn.
Except for a little grumbling about having to work in it, Snohomish County farmers haven’t minded the rain, said Chris Gorton, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency, a federal program that assists farmers.
The rain didn’t damage many crops, and didn’t come during a key harvest time, she said.
National Weather Service hydrologist Brent Bower said the rain will recharge the aquifers that many farmers rely on to water their crops.
Don Passow of Lake Goodwin, who helps monitor water levels at the popular lake, had been hoping for rain to fall as soon as possible.
“The water has been too low for many of the docks,” he said.
The rain has been enough for most residents with docks to finally take their boats out.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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