Monday's rain set a record for Nov. 1

After Sunday's summery, temperate weather, Puget Sound-area residents may have been dismayed to wake up to a record-breaking downpour Monday.

In downtown Seattle, streets were drenched anew and potholes filled with water. On Interstate 5, water cascaded over the sides of bridges and fell on surface streets below. In Kent, water was knee-deep on major streets. And on Monday evening, the King County Flood Warning Center alerted residents to possible minor flooding on the Snoqualmie River.

The rain continued all day, setting a record for Nov. 1, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg.

As of 10 p.m. Monday, 1.56 inches had fallen at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, easily out-drenching the previous record of 1.06 inches in 1984, Burg said.

Rainfall was slightly less heavy at the weather-service office at Seattle's Sand Point, where 1.17 inches fell before 10 p.m., Burg said.

University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass said the record isn't all that noteworthy.

"Daily records get broken all the time," Mass said.

The barrage of rain is especially predictable since it's a La Niña year. La Niña, Mass said, always brings about a few more inches of rain per month.

This year, October saw more than 2 additional inches of rain than normal.

The real surprise, Mass said, was the 180-degree turn the weather took in less than 24 hours — and the fact that the rain is expected to cease in an equally abrupt fashion.

According to Burg, the last showers were expected to fall at 1 a.m. Tuesday, and there's a slim chance of showers later in the morning before clouds head eastward and the sun emerges in the afternoon.

Burg said rain won't return until Friday. Until then, weather should be mostly to partly sunny with some morning fog.

Jill Kimball: 206-2108 or jkimball@seattletimes.com