The forecast for today and Sunday is for rain, rain and more rain, until we get a break on Monday, Columbus Day. But not rain ALL the time.
That’s where a new online tool comes in handy: Seattle RainWatch.
Above is an image from the tool of “radar reflectivity” precipitation here just before noon today. The blue could be thought of as light sprinkles. The green, not so light. If it gets to red and purple, watch out!
If you’re having trouble getting oriented, that outlined long vertical blob is Lake Washington, surrounding Mercer Island at its bottom; immediately to its left is the much smaller Lake Union.
The new program was developed, by a group including the University of Washington’s Cliff Mass, in part to let Seattle Public Utilities respond to flooding concerns.
“We call it ‘now-casting,’ ” Mass told our news partners the Seattle Times, and the tool appears to lag behind “now” by only about a quarter-hour.
Seattle RainWatch uses high-resolution radar and rain gauges to provide a real-time picture. The system is able to tabulate total rainfall for a 48-hour period, and provide a one-hour forecast of how the rain is likely to move.
But RainWatch is also helpful in less dire circumstances, Mass said.
“It’s extremely useful if you want to bicycle somewhere and avoid getting wet.”
