Drenching rain forecast in Whatcom County tonight and tomorrow, records in jeopardy

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Forecasters with the National Weather Service Seattle office said this morning, Friday, August 23rd, a low-pressure system was expected to position over the central and northern regions of western Washington late tonight and into Saturday morning. This will continue rain showers overnight.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility that these locations will receive over an inch of rain overnight (good news for the fires). Depending on where the [low pressure] zone sets up, Skagit and Whatcom County could also see up to an inch or more of rain overnight.
– National Weather Service (August 23rd)

Forecasters with Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for locations along the US-Canada border. It forewarns of expected heavy rain tonight and tomorrow with totals near 2 inches.

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While Sunday is expected to provide relief from the rain, significant rainfall is expected to return on Monday.

Below are the currently forecast rainfall amounts for Whatcom County locations over the next few days.

Location	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
Bellingham	0.95″	0.94″	–	0.52″
Lummi Island	0.58″	0.92″	–	0.49″
Sandy Point	1.08″	0.60″	–	0.18″
Birch Bay	0.61″	1.13″	–	0.53
Blaine	0.64″	1.16″	–	0.53″
Pt Roberts	0.50″	0.84″	–	0.63″
Ferndale	0.78″	1.00″	–	0.64″
Laurel	0.96″	0.92″	–	0.64″
Lynden	0.93″	1.07″	–	0.53″
Sumas	1.41″	1.03″	<0.04″	0.57″
Everson/Nooksack	0.87″	0.98″	–	0.53″
Maple Falls	1.26″	0.99″	<0.04″	0.52″
Glacier	1.54″	0.95″	<0.04″	0.46″
Deming	1.04″	0.88″	–	0.62″
Acme	0.88″	0.99″	–	0.54″
Sudden Valley	0.67″	1.02″	–	0.39″

meteoblue rainfall forecast as of 3pm on August 23, 2024

The 24-hour rainfall record for August 24th at Bellingham International Airport is 1.12 inches set in 2004, nearly twice the next record of 0.61 inches set in 2008. The rainfall average for all of August is 1.13 inches.

While the Nooksack River level forecasts remain well below flood stages, localized surface water flooding in low-lying areas can be expected around Whatcom County.

Blustery southwesterly and southerly winds are also expected through Saturday with gusts from 20mph to 30mph.

Whatcom News readers are encouraged to stay up to date with current weather alerts and forecasts and air quality readings for their specific Whatcom County locations along with tide tables via the Whatcom News Weather page.