NORTH SOUND, OCT. 8: The summer of 2025 in the North Sound can be summarized as warm and dry – many would say nearly ideal. This summer 2025 review, the months of June through September are used.
Below Average Rainfall
The winter and spring months experienced well below-average rainfall for the year, heading into summer. Everett – Paine Field was roughly 10 inches of rain below normal for the year through May.
That dry trend continued through much of the summer. By the end of September, Paine Field had received more than 13 inches of rain below average for its annual precipitation thus far, only about 30% of normal.
Monroe finished September close to 8 inches behind on rainfall for the year.
Elsewhere in Western Washington
The rest of Western Washington was also quite dry during the summer. Olympia finished September more than 9 inches behind on rainfall for the year. Bellingham for the year thus far was about 3 and a half inches below average.
Along the coast, the usually quite wet Forks finished the summer with more than 23 inches of rainfall behind average for the year. Forks normally receives more than 100 inches of rain per year. Hoquiam was also dry this summer and finished September about 9 inches drier than normal for the year.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these dry conditions have resulted in moderate to severe drought conditions across not only the North Sound but the entire state.
Summer Temperatures
For the months of June through September, Paine Field was about two and a half degrees warmer than average. The hottest days were on both July 16 and September 16 when the temperatures soared to 89 degrees.
Monroe was close to three degrees above average for the summer. The city hit 90 degrees, with August 12 the hottest day at 93 degrees.
Nearly every year this century has been warmer and drier than average.
Wildfires
The warm, dry conditions led to a large number of wildfires across the state. According to the Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources, more than 1,600 wildfires have been reported in the state. In Western Washington, the most significant and persistent wildfire has been the Bear Gulch fire in Mason County that started near the beginning of July. That fire has burned more than 20,000 acres and continues to burn.
Wildfire smoke again was an issue across much of the state this summer. Wildfire smoke has adversely impacted air quality seven out of the last nine summers, going back to 2017 when numerous wildfires in British Columbia spread smoke south into Washington.
Looking Ahead
October has arrived along with the fall season’s first wet storm. Now, higher pressure aloft has built over the Pacific Northwest for a return to dry conditions that will likely persist the rest of this week.
If longer range forecast charts are on track, rainfall is anticipated to resume later in the weekend, along with cooler than average temperatures. The latest seasonal weather outlook points toward cooler and wetter than average conditions for December through February. That outlook offers promise of a healthier mountain snowpack.
The seasonal weather outlook also suggests that the additional rainfall will provide some relief from this year’s dry conditions and begin easing the drought situation.
