Seattle weather turned stormy at 10 a.m. Thursday when a thunderstorm rolled through downtown Seattle, bringing crashes, loud booms and flashes of lightning. At 9:45 a.m., some departures from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were already running an average of 45 minutes late.
George Waldenberger on Seattle
George Waldenberger said the heaviest rainfall totals were expected over the Olympic Peninsula, southwest Washington and the Ocean Beaches through the early afternoon. After the lunch hour, he said, rain was expected to shift north and break up, with an additional brief shower possible around Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Kirkland.
Caroline Anne in lower Queen Anne
Caroline Anne posted a photo from lower Queen Anne on the KOMO #SoNorthwest Photography page and wrote, "YIKES! Mother Nature woke me up instead of my alarm!Taken this morning in lower Queen Anne. The car alarms went off for this one". The photo matched the same fast-moving storm that reached downtown Seattle and briefly turned a weekday morning into a noisy one.
Western Washington and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
George Waldenberger said more rain was expected in the afternoon over Whidbey Island, the San Juan Islands, Port Angeles and Forks, while Bellingham and Mount Vernon may see additional showers through early evening. Seattle, the Cascade Mountains and Olympia were expected to dry out, with a canopy of broken clouds lingering overnight and an overnight shower possible around Stevens Pass or Okanogan County.
East of Omak, isolated lightning may refire at any point through Friday morning. That leaves the main disruption concentrated in the morning hours: a brief storm over downtown Seattle, lingering airport delays, then a shift toward scattered rain and lightning farther north and east before a return to morning clouds and afternoon sun for a couple of days.
