Severe thunderstorms, along with the chances of large hail, severe wind gusts and potentially a tornado, make for a topsy-turvy forecast Wednesday evening in Western Washington.
Seattle still had glorious partly sunny skies as of Wednesday afternoon.
Storms are expected to reach the city around 6 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. The weather service says there’s a 15% to 19% chance of severe hail, defined as greater than an inch in diameter. There’s also a 10% chance of hail larger than 2 inches.
Throughout Wednesday evening, on this page, we’ll provide updates on closures, weather outlooks and impacts as storms roll through the region.
In most of King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, the tornado risk is from 2 to 4%. Some areas of Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties have a slightly higher risk of 5 to 9%.
How to protect your car and home if Seattle gets that big hailstorm
There’s a 15% to 29% chance that severe hail will fall on Seattle on Wednesday evening, and the National Weather Service says there’s even a potential for hailstones bigger than 2 inches in diameter.
Keep yourself safe first; cover your head, get inside and stay away from windows. But you might be wondering about your poor car and roofing that could be left exposed to the elements.
Hail forms when raindrops are updrafted into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere by thunderstorms and then freeze. The hailstones formed then collide with water drops that build their surface area. Once the thunderstorm’s updraft can’t hold the weight of the hailstones, they begin to fall.
Read the full story here.
—Kai Uyehara
Tornadoes in Washington
The last significant tornado in Western Washington touched down in Port Orchard in December 2018.
The EF-2 twister damaged dozens of homes, traveling 1.4 miles with peak winds around 130 mph, the strongest tornado in the state since 1986.
Tornadoes in Washington state
There were 138 tornadoes in Washington from 1950 to Oct. 28, 2024. Number of tornado events by county:
Seattle school buildings closing at 5 p.m.
All Seattle Public Schools buildings will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday because of the weather forecast.
All events scheduled for Wednesday evening have been canceled, the school district said. A Rainier Beach High School board community engagement session planned for 5:30 p.m. will be rescheduled.
“We apologize for the short notice but want to prioritize the safety of our community and staff,” the school district said in a message to families.
