Late La Nina Is Making Seattle's Spring Chilly And Wet

Spring 2011 has been 90 percent cooler than normal. Western Washington expected a cooler-than-normal and wetter-than-normal winter due to La Nina, but La Nina has arrived fashionably late. Now records are being broken for a cool, wet Spring.

The month of April began with a bleak outlook. The first seven days had high temperatures under 50 degrees, which tied a record of consecutive days under 50 in April, set as far back as 1945. On April 8, the high temperature rose to 54, so the record wasn’t broken. One must go back to the first day of spring, March 21, and observe the season to see that only three of 28 days were at or above normal.

It's now mid-April and the average high for the month is 50.4 degrees. Going back through Aprils all the way to 2001 shows the average highs for the month were from 56 to 59 degrees.

When it comes to rainfall, Sea-Tac has recorded 3.13 inches of rain in the gauge thus far, which is 1.53 inches ahead of normal for the month -- the entire month.

There is an optimistic outlook: We are moving toward the driest time of year for the area. The amount of rain per month decreases with June, July and August as the driest months of the year, and temperatures will climb to a seasonal average for summer of about 73.

Just a little more time and La Nina will leave the party.