Olympic Rainshadow – November 16-17 Storm – 2011

The Olympic Peninsula Rain Shadow did it again!

A fall storm, not unlike any other on the Olympic Peninsula, hit us November 16 and 17.  It poured in Seattle, caused power outages in Tacoma but less than 50 miles as the crow flies on Discovery Bay in Sequim, the day was clear. Again, we experienced the effects we call the “Olympic Rainshadow”

It stormed in Seattle but in the Olympic Rainshadow, the sky was clear - courtesy of http://www.olympicrainshadow.com

The Olympic Rain Shadow is a small region northwest of Seattle which experiences significantly dryer and brighter weather than surrounding locations. WHY? The Olympic Mountain range, home of the Olympic National Park protects communities directly east and northeast and depending upon the direction of the weather, get much less rainfall and in some cases even more sunny days.

That was the case yesterday.  The storm tracked from the WSW and areas of Sequim had a sunny day, albeit with a bit of wind.  To explore more on this frequent natural phenomenon, go to http://www.olympicrainshadow.com/.