Urban flooding occurred on the 28th around Tacoma and Puyallup resulting in damage to streets, homes, businesses, public facilities, and other structures. 36).
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.
Urban flooding occurred on the 28th around Tacoma and Puyallup resulting in damage to streets, homes, businesses, public facilities, and other structures. Monthly rainfall records were set at Seatac (6.17) and Olympia (9.36).
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 27, 8:45 PM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
945 PM PDT FRI SEP 27 2013
.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL REACH WESTERN WASHINGTON
SATURDAY. ANOTHER STRONG SYSTEM WILL REACH THE AREA SUNDAY OR SUNDAY
NIGHT. THERE WILL BE RAIN AND PERIODS OF WINDY WEATHER THIS WEEKEND.
THE RAIN WILL BE HEAVY IN THE MOUNTAINS. A COOLER MORE SHOWERY
WEATHER PATTERN WILL DEVELOP NEXT WEEK WITH DRY WEATHER POSSIBLE
AROUND THURSDAY AND FRIDAY OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...THERE WILL BE A FEW SHOWERS OVER THE AREA THIS EVENING
IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT WHICH MOVED THROUGH EARLIER TODAY. AS HAS
BEEN ADVERTISED FOR A FEW DAYS NOW...A STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL
MOVE THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY. THE LEADING EDGE OF THE RAIN FROM
THIS SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE TONIGHT. RAIN...
HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL CONTINUE FOR MOST OF THE DAY SATURDAY. IT WILL
ALSO GET LOCALLY WINDY DURING THE AFTERNOON AS THE FRONT NEARS.
ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS LOOK LIKE A GOOD BET FOR THE COAST AND
NORTHWEST INTERIOR IN THE AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. THE FRONT WILL
MOVE ONSHORE SATURDAY EVENING WITH RAIN TAPERING SATURDAY NIGHT.
A SECOND STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL APPROACH THE AREA SUNDAY AND
MOVE ONSHORE SUNDAY EVENING. THIS WILL CAUSE WIND AND RAIN TO
INCREASE AGAIN OVER THE AREA LATER IN THE DAY SUNDAY. THE HEAVIEST
RAIN AND STRONGEST WINDS LOOK LIKE THEY WILL OCCUR SUNDAY EVENING AS
THE FRONT MOVES ONSHORE. A NEW WRINKLE IN THE GFS AND ECMWF TODAY IS
TO SPIN UP A 970-ISH SURFACE LOW NEAR 48N 130W LATE IN THE AFTERNOON
AND BRING THIS INLAND OVER CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND IN THE EVENING.
THIS WOULD BRING POSSIBLE HIGH WINDS TO THE COAST AND PARTS OF THE
NORTHWEST INTERIOR. THE NEW NAM IN TURN SPINS UP A 980 MB LOW OFF
THE COAST AND BRINGS IT RIGHT OVER THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA SUNDAY
EVENING WHICH COULD BRING HIGHS WINDS TO PUGET SOUND. NEEDLESS TO
SAY...THERE IS UNCERTAINTY WITH HOW THIS WILL PLAY OUT BUT IT BEARS
WATCHING FOR NOW.
BESIDES THE WIND CONCERNS...THE HEAVY RAINS OVER THE MOUNTAINS FROM
THE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY FRONTS WILL BRING SOME FLOODING CONCERNS.
SEE THE HYDROLOGY SECTION BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS. SCHNEIDER
.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...THE TROUGH OVER THE NE PACIFIC
WILL GIVE SHOWERY COOL WEATHER FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEK. THE
SNOW LEVEL WILL PROBABLY BE BELOW THE HIGHEST PASSES BUT ABOVE THE
MAIN CASCADE PASSES...AVERAGING 5000FT. A BIT OF A RIDGE BUILDS IN
OVER THE AREA BY THURSDAY SO WE MAY SCRAPE A COUPLE OF SUNNY DRY
DAYS TOGETHER TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEK.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...THERE WILL BE PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS
THIS WEEKEND. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A LULL SATURDAY NIGHT AND
SUNDAY MORNING BEFORE ANOTHER FRONTAL WAVE REACHES WESTERN WA SUNDAY
EVENING. THE UW 4KM WRFGFS 72 HOUR RAINFALL TOTAL FOR 5PM TODAY TO 5
PM MONDAY SHOWS 2-4 INCHES OF RAIN FOR THE MOST OF THE
LOWLANDS...3-5 INCHES AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE MOUNTAINS...AND
6-12 INCHES FOR THE HIGH PEAKS OF THE OLYMPICS AND THE CASCADE
VOLCANOES AND THE OTHER HIGH PEAKS UP AROUND BAKER. A FLOOD WATCH
HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MOST OF WESTERN WA FOR THE RIVERS FLOWING OUT OF
THE MOUNTAINS.
&&
.AVIATION...WESTERN WASHINGTON IS BETWEEN SYSTEMS THIS EVENING. THE
AIR MASS DESTABILIZED SOMEWHAT THIS EVENING BEHIND THE WEAK FEATURE
THAT MOVED ACROSS THE AREA EARLIER TODAY. THE AIR MASS WILL
GRADUALLY STABILIZE OVERNIGHT. MODERATE W TO SW FLOW ALOFT IS
OCCURING TONIGHT. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KOLM WHICH HAS BKN-OVC008
THIS EVENING...SKIES HAVE BECOME MAINLY VFR THIS EVENING. EXPECT
CIGS TO GRADUALLY FILL IN TO MVFR MOST AREAS OVERNIGHT. RAIN IS
EXPECTED TO SPREAD ONTO THE COAST BY MIDNIGHT AND INTO THE INTERIOR
2-4 AM.
THE AIR MASS ON SATURDAY WILL BE MOIST WITH STRONG SW FLOW ALOFT.
STRONG FLOW ALOFT WILL INTERACT WITH THE OLYMPICS WITH 50-55 KT SSW
WINDS DEVELOPING ABOVE 3000 FT AROUND THE INTERIOR TAFS FROM KPAE TO
KSEA. EXPECT 4-5SM -RA BR WITH CIGS GENERALLY 015 WITH HEAVIER
PRECIPITATION CREATING IFR CONDITIONS AT TIMES ALONG THE COAST. THE
AIR MASS WILL DESTABILIZE AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA...AND
THERE IS A CHANCE OF TSTMS ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONT. ALBRECHT
KSEA...VFR CONDITIONS THIS EVENING WILL GRADUALLY DETERIORATE TO
SCT-BKN025 OVC035 AFTER ABOUT 09Z AS -RA BEGINS. GENERALLY EXPECT
4SM RA BR SCT008 OVC015 15Z ONWARD ON SATURDAY. S WIND 8 TO 12 KT
TONIGHT WILL RISE TO S 22-28KT G35-40 KT 20Z SAT-02Z SUN. WIND AT
035 WILL RISE TO SW 50-55KT SAT. ALBRECHT
&&
.MARINE...UNUSUALLY STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED FOR SO EARLY IN THE
SEASON ACROSS THE WESTERN WASHINGTON WATERS THIS WEEKEND.
CONFIDENCE IS HIGH THAT A STRONG FRONT APPROACHING 135W WILL REACH
THE COAST SAT AFTERNOON AND PUSH THROUGH THE INLAND WATERS LATE SAT
AFTERNOON OR SAT EVENING. GALE WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL
WATERS EXCEPT FOR THE CENTRAL STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND PUGET SOUND
AND HOOD CANAL -WHERE A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT- AHEAD OF
THIS STRONG INCOMING FRONT. SOME GUSTS TO 45 KT CAN BE EXPECTED OVER
THE COASTAL WATERS AND WEST ENTRANCE TO THE STRAIT AND IN THE INLAND
WATERS FROM ADMIRALTY INLET NORTHWARD AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH SAT
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE AIR MASS WILL BECOME RATHER
UNSTABLE AS THE FRONT PASSES...AND THERE IS A CHANCE OF TSTMS ALONG
AND BEHIND THE FRONT.
18Z AND 00Z MODEL SOLUTIONS SHOW A STRONGER SECOND SYSTEM MOVING
INTO THE WATERS SUNDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING. THE 00Z GFS...00Z
CANADIAN...AND 12Z ECMWF TAKE A DEEP 972-980 MB LOW INTO SOUTH
CENTRAL OR CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND WHILE THE 00Z NAM TAKES A
DEVELOPING 980 MB LOW INTO THE NORTHERN OLYMPIC PENINSULA AND NORTH
INLAND WATERS. WHILE CONFIDENCE ON THE EXACT TRACK OF THE SECOND
STORM IS MODERATE...ALL OF THE MODELS WOULD SUGGEST WITH HIGH
CONFIDENCE THAT WIDESPREAD GALES ARE LIKELY. STORM FORCE WINDS ARE
POSSIBLE ALONG THE COAST AND POSSIBLY PORTIONS OF THE INTERIOR. WILL
CONSIDER STORM WATCHES FOR PORTIONS OF THE WATERS SUNDAY AFTERNOON
AND EVENING.
THE FIRST FRONT WILL GENERATE 14 TO 17 FT SEAS ACROSS THE COASTAL
WATERS LATER SAT INTO SAT NIGHT. 20 TO 25 FT SEAS CAN BE EXPECTED
WITH AND BEHIND THE SECOND STRONGER STORM LATE SUN AND SUN NIGHT.
ALBRECHT
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...FLOOD WATCH FOR SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR MOST
OF WESTERN WA.
PZ...GALE WARNING COASTAL WATERS...ENTRANCES TO THE STRAIT OF
JUAN DE FUCA...ADMIRALTY INLET AND NORTHERN INLAND WATERS.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL.
&&
YOU CAN SEE AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THE FORECAST DISCUSSION AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTMLThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain inundated more than 60 units in a mini storage business in Tacoma.|Tacoma’s environmental services crews responded to 76 calls of flooding due to heavy rain.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, September 2013
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 478127.