Seattle settled into typical springtime rain and chilly weather after a warm, then cold, then warm again winter. Then it warmed up again. But overall, weather has been pretty mild this year, thanks to an El Niño weather pattern, according to meteorologist Chris Burke with the National Weather Service.
That doesn't mean it's been totally quiet. Keep clicking to see the unusual weather we've experienced so far this year.
Genna Martin
Warmer than usual winter
Overall, the winter season has been warmer than usual. The first half of January was the
warmest on record .
JOSHUA TRUJILLO/SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
February cold
Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
February snow
February 2019
broke the record for most snow since records began at Sea-Tac Airport in 1945 with 20.2 inches. The previous record was 13.1 inches.
However, records kept at the old Federal Building include a peak of 35.4 inches in February 1916.
Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Dry March
March 2019 saw just
eight days of rain with a total of 1.37 inches, less than half of the monthly average.
Genna Martin
Hot end of winter
Genna Martin
Hot end of winter
The record set Tuesday, March 19 broke a record that was set the day before (Monday, March 18) with a high of 76 degrees, which tied the all-time Seattle area record set in 1928 before records began being kept at Sea-Tac International Airport.
Genna Martin
Drier than normal
Seattle weather this winter has generally been drier than normal, which has affected snowpack in the mountains. Most areas have snow pack levels at
around 80% of normal .
Genna Martin
Early start to wildfire season
The state logged about
50 wildfires in March , about a month earlier than first substantial wildfire of 2018.
INCIWEB
Dreary April
On April 14, Seattle broke the record for most consecutive days of rain in the month of April with 12 days.
Elaine Thompson/AP
April rainfall
By April 15, it was already the sixth wettest April on record, with 2.76 inches of rain, with two weeks still to go in the month.
The April rainfall record was set in 1991 with 5.86 inches of rain.
Elaine Thompson/AP
April rainfall
A total of 3.53 inches of rain fell in April 2019, about 0.82 inches above normal.
GRANT HINDSLEY/SEATTLEPI.COM
Dry start to the year, January-April 2019
The total rainfall for January-April 2019 was 13.35 inches, the driest since 2008. There were also just 58 days with measurable precipitation in the first four months of the year, which was only the third time in the last 25 years with less than 60 days of precipitation.
Scott Eklund/Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Queen Anne is blanketed in snow after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Eastlake and Gas Works Park are blanketed in snow after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Ernesto Perez, aka DJ Fresh Socks, DJ's an impromtu dance party a Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Eastlake and Gas Works Park are blanketed in snow after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Cars drive up SR 99 after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
A man walks through Capitol Hill after the city got up to eight inches of snow in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattle is blanketed in snow after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Natalie Kevork and Alexander Sunell wear banana costumes as they dance while Ernesto Perez DJs an impromptu dance party at Cal Anderson Park, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Seattlites enjoyed the fresh snow in Capitol Hill after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday. "We're from Montreal so this is adorable and it's a beautiful day," said Kevork. They brought a bubble machine, coffee and ice cream to the park. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Aria Chen, 6, declares herself Queen in a snow Iron Throne as Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy an impromptu dance party in the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy an impromptu dance party in the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Snowmen stand in front of St. Mark's Church as Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow on Capitol Hill after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Evan King takes a jump on his snowboard as Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Natalie Kevork and Alexander Sunell wear banana costumes as they dance while Ernesto Perez DJs an impromptu dance party at Cal Anderson Park, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Seattlites enjoyed the fresh snow in Capitol Hill after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday. "We're from Montreal so this is adorable and it's a beautiful day," said Kevork. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Seattlites enjoy the fresh snow at Cal Anderson Park after the city got up to eight inches in some areas over Friday night and Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. Genna Martin/Seattlepi.com
Click through the slideshow to see how climate change is affecting different cities and regions of the U.S.
Joel Rogers/Getty Images
1. Alaska
The significant increased wildfire activity in Alaska in recent decades is associated with manmade and natural factors. A Climate Science Special Report estimates the risk of devastating wildfires in the state has likely risen by 33%–50% and is projected to increase fourfold by the end of 21st century. The 2015 fire season in Alaska burned the second-largest number of acres since 1940, when record keeping began.
Photos by Tom Stienstra / The Chronicle
2. Arctic Ocean: Alaska
The amount of sea ice in the Bering and Chukchi seas that separate Alaska from Asia fell to 135,000 square miles last November, the lowest level for that time of year in 40 years.
DigitalGlobe/Multiple
3. Arizona: Phoenix
In late June 2017, Phoenix, Arizona — always among the hottest cities in the nation — recorded a high temperature of at least 112 degrees for nine straight days, tying a previous city record set in 1990, according to the National Weather Service.
Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images
4. Central Pacific: Near Hawaii
The central Pacific Ocean near Hawaii typically has cooler ocean temperatures and stronger vertical wind shear patterns, conditions not favorable to hurricanes. However, according to CSSR findings, the greater tropical storm activity in 2014 and 2015 was associated with warmer oceans and weaker vertical wind shear that was linked to the effects of El Niño and human-caused climate change.
Thom_Morris/Getty Images/iStockphoto
5. Oklahoma
A drier-than-average winter, worsening drought conditions, and strong winds in the spring — some gusting over 40 mph — led to wildfires in April in Oklahoma and the central United States.
Scientists warn that man-caused global warming will likely increase the potential for wildfires. Weather conducive to fires is expected to become both more extreme and span longer times as a result of climate change.
Education Images/UIG via Getty Images
6. East Coast of North America: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Charlestown
Cities in the eastern part of the United States — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cincinnati, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Charleston, South Carolina — all recorded all-time high temperatures on Feb. 20, with a month of winter still remaining.
UniversalImagesGroup/File
7. East Coast of North America: Maryland
On May 27, torrential rains west of Baltimore dumped as much as 10 inches of rain on the town of Catonsville, Maryland. Based on historical records, rainfall of such intensity occurs once every 500 years. Extreme weather events such as this are associated with climate change.
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
8. Mid-Atlantic: from Arkansas to Massachusetts
A slow-moving colossal blizzard in January 2016 impacted 100 million people from Arkansas to Massachusetts. The storm dumped 20 inches of snow or more on 21 million people. According to the Regional Snowfall Index, the blizzard was rated the fourth largest since 1900. Some scientists say the blizzard is an example of human-caused climate change because it was an extreme weather event.
Walter Bibikow/Getty Images
9. Northeastern United States
The amount of rain falling in the heaviest 1% of storms in the U.S. has been increasing over the last century, according to the National Climate Assessment. These extreme weather events are associated with human-caused climate change. The greatest increases have been in the Northeast, Great Plains, and the Midwest, and Southeast. In these regions more than 30% of rain fell above the 1901-1960 average.
Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images
10. South-West United States: California, Arizona, Nevada
Drought intensified in the American Southwest at the beginning of spring. Fish in the Rio Grande had to be relocated and farmers along the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico were told to expect half their irrigation allotment.
RebeccaAng/Getty Images/RooM RF
11. West Coast of United States: California
After the second driest winter on record, rain inundated California in March — one of the wettest Marches on record in the state. California usually gets most of its rain in the winter months. Scientists from the University of California, Riverside, predict the state will get an average of 12% more precipitation through the end of this century, compared with the last 20 years of the 20th century. They attribute this to warmer sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
12. Western United States: Colorado, Utah, Caliornia
Snowpack in the western states was dramatically lower this past winter. In mid-February, statewide snowfall was down 85% in Colorado. Scientists say snowpack amounts have decreased over the last 50 years.
Helen H. Richardson/Denver Post via Getty Images
13. Western United States: California
California suffered through a prolonged drought that started gripping the country in 2012. Crop production plunged, crop prices doubled, and wells ran dry in the state in a year when the month of July was the hottest ever recorded in the United States.
Richard Cummins/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images
14. Western United States
The spring melt arrived faster in 2017 in the United States than the 30-year average. Scientists say because of human-caused climate change, spring is beginning about 2.5 days earlier every decade.
Education Images/UIG via Getty Images
15. Western United States
Heatwaves in the United States have become more frequent since the 1960s, while extremely cold temperatures and cold waves have occurred less often, according to a CSSR report. The annual average temperature over the contiguous United States has risen 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit for the period from 1901-2016.
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
16. Northeastern United States: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey
Floods have become larger in rivers and streams across many sections of the Northeast from 1965 to 2015, according to data obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency. Large floods have become more frequent across the Northeast.
Jose Fuste Raga/Getty Images
17. Pacific Northwest: Coast of Washington State
Floods have become larger in rivers and streams across many sections of the Northwest from 1965 to 2015, according to data obtained from the EPA. Large floods have also become more frequent in the Pacific Northwest. Frequent flooding has forced the Hoh Native American people off their reservation in Washington state and they moved to higher ground.
Joel Rogers/Getty Images
18. Northern Midwest: Illinois, Ohio, Indiana
Floods have become larger in rivers and streams across many sections of the Midwest from 1965 to 2015, according to data obtained from the EPA. Large floods soaked the region in 1993, 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2014.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images
19. South Florida
Daily water levels in Florida during king tides, the highest tides of the year, have increased over the period from 1994 to 2017, according to NOAA research. The report said the number of king tides has not increased, but the water level during king tides has risen since 1994.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
20. Southwest: 4-Corners Region
An extended dry season in the Southwest meant little precipitation and no measurable snowfall for much of the region in January. Arizona was especially parched. That state’s drought woes began in October. At the start of the month, 11% of Arizona was in drought. By the end of October, 40% of Arizona was in the throes of a drought. Snowpack levels were lower than average in the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies. Contributing to the prolonged dry spell was higher-than-normal pressure, which led to a lack of moisture.
Gina Ferazzi/LA Times via Getty Images
It's been a bit on the damp side, even for springtime in Seattle.
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With the rain that fell Thursday morning, Seattle entered a nine-day streak of rainy weather, the longest April streak of rain in 56 years, when there were 10 days of rain from April 11-20. Based on records kept at Sea-Tac International Airport, the record for consecutive days of rain in April was set in 1955.
The rest of the week, the Emerald City can expect dreary conditions to continue, though a break in showers was expected Friday -- meaning Seattle was not likely to break the April rain streak record.
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But, despite an overall quiet weather year for the area thanks to El Niño, the Emerald City and entire Puget Sound region has experienced some records -- or near records -- already this year. Click through the slideshow above for a recap .
As for what to expect in the coming days -- Friday may see some sunshine which could bring temperatures up to about 60 degrees, according to the National Weather Service's forecast discussion .
Wet weather was expected to continue through the weekend, with highs not likely to top 55 degrees. The snow level was expected to reach 3,500-4,000 feet.
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The outlook for next week appears drier. High temperatures were expected to start lower than normal, but warm up by Wednesday.