WASHINGTON — The first day of astronomical fall brought sunshine and the start of some fall colors to western Washington, which was a welcome sight for many after a hot, dry summer.
"For Seattle, it was actually our driest summer on record," said Karin Bumbaco, the assistant state climatologist at the University of Washington Office of the State Climatologist.
Bumbaco said averaging daytime highs and lows, the average temperature also tied 2015 as the warmest summer on record in Seattle.
The state as a whole also saw relatively high temperatures.
"We had that wet spring that lingered into June, but if you look across the state, July and August were the warmest in the 128-year record," Bumbaco said.
For October, the office is expecting to see above-normal precipitation for western Washington.
In Snohomish, Bob's Corn Farm is celebrating the start of the season with a fresh harvest of corn and pumpkins.
"I love families coming out here, spending time together, out in the open space, coming out here and seeing basically all," said "Director of Fun" Bob Ricci. "Basically all the labor we put in all spring, all summer, working together, we see it come to fruition, whether it be the flowers, the corn, the pumpkins, the corn maze."
Ricci said after a brutal spring, the farm saw a hot dry summer that made it great to prepare for the busy season. Harvest went well, with acres worth of dozens of varieties of pumpkins, including a yellow-tinted "Lemonade" style. Open seven days a week starting at 10 a.m., the colors on the trees are just starting to turn and people started to file in to buy pumpkins on the first day of fall.
"The biggest thing for us is as long as we keep this dry weather, it doesn't even have to be sunny, just dry, people like to come out," Ricci said. "And even if it rains, people like to come out in the mud too."