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Rain gauge data shows Monday’s storm clobbered Northwest Seattle

City of Seattle FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/20/2012

Rain gauge data shows Monday’s storm clobbered Northwest Seattle
City’s Crown Hill rain gauge recorded nearly 2 inches in 6-hour period

Map caption: Seattle RainWatch image shows band of heavy rainfall (up to 0.5 inches in an hour) headed towards NW Seattle around noon today.

SEATTLE — An analysis of Monday’s storm shows northwest parts of the city had “extraordinary” rainfall — as much 1.96 inches in 6 hours.

“It was a pretty big storm for most of the city — lots of rain in a relatively short amount of time,” said Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) meteorologist James Rufo-Hill. “But if you live in Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney Ridge, Magnolia or Broadview, there was historic rainfall — you really got drenched.”

Rufo-Hill said SPU’s Crown Hill rain gauge recorded 2.62 inches of rain during the 12-hour period and 1.96 inches in the 6 hours from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.— which he called “an extraordinary rain event.”

The 12-hour average for the rest of the city was 2.27 inches.

Rufo-Hill’s map-based analysis of the storm, was informed by data from 8 of SPU’s 17 rain gauges, which are distributed throughout the city.

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In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area,  SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City's infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region's environmental resources.

—SPU—

[View City of Seattle News Release]