I just heard word that recently meteorologists deemed this winter to be the wettest in all of Seattle’s history. This means I am justified in complaining, right? I mean, I like to focus on positive or at least constructive topics for this blog. I avoided whining about the dark and the rain. I get it, I live in Seattle, it’s rainy. If I don’t like it, I can leave. I know, I know. The thing is, I’ve worked a swing shift for the past 3 years; since I moved to Seattle. That meant that I rode one way of my commute in daylight year-round. Also, Seattle’s weather patterns somehow make the 11 am hour, my old commute hour, the driest time of the day. I knew switching to an 8 to 5 schedule meant I’d be riding in the dark both ways for 4 months straight. I knew it would be hard. But I didn’t know it was going to be 4 months straight of dark and wet. And this hasn’t been “northwest rain”, either. “Northwest rain” is a lovely rain; a kind of mist that fills the air and runs on the street, but doesn’t really get you wet or weigh you down. No, Seattle’s rain this year has been a “Rocky Mountain rain”. This is the rain that drenches everything it touches within a minute and then keeps going. This year of commuting hasn’t just been hard, it’s been really hard. But I did it, I persevered. It’s left me a little rougher around the edges, however. It will take me a while to recover this long winter of commuting, and I can’t honestly be certain I’ll do it again. If parking didn’t cost me $30 a day and the bus was at all reliable, I would have quit commuting long ago. Daylight savings hit me like a final blow. My commutes went from wet and black to wet and grey. It was like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and every day it got brighter. Then daylight savings hit. I met my mornings in black darkness again. It’s been practically unbearable. I’d rather sleep in and miss work than have to commute in that. Now with this new data, I don’t feel like such a wimp after all! This is the wettest winter in all of Seattle history! My struggle is somehow suddenly justified! Never mind that it’s only a hair wetter than it was in 1999, I didn’t live here then so it doesn’t matter. 

"As of 1:56 p.m. yesterday (March 1), Seattle had received 38.22 inches of rain during that period of time (the water year that runs from Oct. 1 to March 1), just a hair over the 1998-1999 record of 38.19, but about 13 inches above average"           -Cliff Mass, University of Washington Professor of Atmospheric Sciences professor and KPLU radio personality

Sources: 

• http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-wettest-winter-in-seattle-history.html
• http://komonews.com/weather/scotts-weather-blog/congratulations-seattle-youve-made-it-through-the-wettest-winter-on-record
• http://q13fox.com/2016/02/19/wettest-winter-ever/
• http://seattle.curbed.com/2016/3/2/11144086/wettest-winter-in-seattle-history