Rain, rain — seriously, go away.

Precipitation averages for the greater Seattle area are well above the norm this spring. According to Weather Underground, there were 4.16 inches of rain this March — up from 3.65 last March, and a monthly average of 3.75. We’re halfway through April and 2.68 inches of rain has already fallen. On average, 2.59 inches fall for the entire month of April, and only 1.90 fell last year.

Perhaps nobody has felt the impact of the wet stuff more than area high school athletes — and, of course, sports writers who have space set aside for stories.

“This is a little bit out of the ordinary, there are definitely a few more rainouts than in years past,” said Issaquah athletic director Michael Bailey.

As of Tuesday, April 14, the Issaquah fastpitch softball team had just four games in the books. The season officially started March 16, but the last time the team played a game was March 30. As of Tuesday, not a single KingCo 4A fastpitch team had played more than six games. According to Bailey, this could set up interesting scenarios as the season progresses. Over the next 15 school days, the Eagles are scheduled to play 13 games. All non-league games were recently eliminated, and a possibility exists where some regular-season league games could be canceled — something Bailey said he’s never witnessed in his four years as athletic director.

Along with softball, the Eagle tennis team has already had 50 percent of its schedule rearranged due to weather.

This spring’s soggy mess has generated even larger problems behind the scenes. And transportation has created one of the largest headaches. The Issaquah School District contracts bus services for events between noon and 3:30 p.m. because there aren’t enough buses available in the district for sports and school transportation. Teams use the First Student bus services based out of Tacoma. The service has to be notified before noon as to whether or not games will take place. If they cancel after noon, the entire $400 still has to be paid to the company.

The Issaquah baseball team experienced the dilemma earlier this week when Bothell opted to try and play Monday, but canceled after rain picked up in the afternoon. Bailey said, on average, this happens about five times in the spring, totaling $2,000 in lost funds.

As games are rescheduled later in the week, bus problems increase. Track and field teams, which compete on Thursdays across the state, often carry more than 100 athletes and take up multiple buses. When other events like baseball or softball are rescheduled for Thursdays, First Student buses become unavailable and schools are forced to take charters.

A charter from Skyline to Newport — a 12-mile trip — could cost between $600 and $800. Bailey said the Issaquah track team recently ran into a situation where it needed three buses to go to Mount Si for a meet. Instead of using three separate charters, the school had the charter make three separate trips from Issaquah to Snoqualmie. Regular school buses, which become available later in the day, were able to pick athletes up after the meet.

The weather has certainly caused its share of headaches for everyone in the region, but there is a ray of hope. Next week’s forecast calls for sustained sunshine. Of course, as any Washingtonian knows, one minute it’s sunny, the next it’s raining, and before long, it’s hailing. Here’s to hoping the meteorologists get one right, and let’s play ball — finally.