Winter in Bend (Portland, Three Rivers: home, employment, to buy)

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Snownut

Tracking daily weather here in VA compared with down town Bend for the first 40 plus days of 2013 Bend is way sunnier, extremely drier and temperatures are about the same.

It will be interesting to see how cloudy and cold the Bend "spring" months are.

Has the new year been "typical" of Bend weather?

From my weather station down here, this has been an unusually dry and sunny year. 28 days sun/mostly sunny in January and so far 10 out of 11 days in February have been sunny, with the 10 day forecast clear all the way out. That is NOT the norm and frequently we "pay" for a dry and sunny winter with a cold, damp, long spring. We'll see.

This fall and winter have been similar to the 2007/2008 fall and winter, so that is a starting point for guesses about weather this spring. Both periods have been ENSO-neutral, tons of snow early and then almost nothing.

[whirnot]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

From my weather station down here, this has been an unusually dry and sunny year. 28 days sun/mostly sunny in January and so far 10 out of 11 days in February have been sunny, with the 10 day forecast clear all the way out. That is NOT the norm and frequently we "pay" for a dry and sunny winter with a cold, damp, long spring. We'll see.

This fall and winter have been similar to the 2007/2008 fall and winter, so that is a starting point for guesses about weather this spring. Both periods have been ENSO-neutral, tons of snow early and then almost nothing.

Dang! I have been watching the weather daily and comparing it to Sunny Colorado on a daily basis, and just about decided that Delta had exagerated the winter/ spring gloom. It has actually been more sunny there that here. Bummer to find out that isn't the norm, but will still be fine. As far as normally having more snow, that is great for us we love it!

[kapetrich]

Every January I've lived here its been pretty damn sunny (3). Seems to be the norm in my experience. December and Feb not as much. This Feb is VERY sunny based on my experiences.

I do not prefer it to be this sunny. I much prefer our December weather....variation is nice.

[chortle]

If this weather is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

People have a tendency to exaggerate. This is my first winter here and I'm thinking that the "long dreary spring" crowd forgets all the gorgeous days in between.

By March, temps are regularly in the upper 50's or higher. Check it out on any weather website.

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by chortle

If this weather is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

People have a tendency to exaggerate. This is my first winter here and I'm thinking that the "long dreary spring" crowd forgets all the gorgeous days in between.

By March, temps are regularly in the upper 50's or higher. Check it out on any weather website.

I have been closely watching the Bend weather since last June and I think you are correct.

People tend to exaggerate or at least focus on their "thing" . Sunny crowd on how sunny it is, cold crowd how cold it is, cloudy crowd about the dreariness.

All those examples seem like exaggerations ?

I am focused on the dryness in Bend, in that regard, compared to VA/WV where I live Bend is a very dry place.

I look forward to observing the "dreaded" 4 months of clouds and cold that will bring me back to June when I first started watching Bend weather.

Bottom line, enjoy your weather there in Bend, anytime you want to complain, just remember you could be in hot, chilly, wet, buggy, muggy VA/WV. When it isn't raining, just rained or about to rain, there are some beautiful days in the spring and fall here, but unless you like it hot and muggy ? Bend has an awesome climate to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

[Dry Side]

Bend has an awesome climate to get out and enjoy the outdoors.

Amen. What's the point of living here unless one gets out and enjoys the beautiful surroundings on a daily basis?

[Greener_Pastures]

That weather in Bend is awesome, it's amazing how sunny it is, but to hear that isn't the norm saddens me a little as a perspective transfer to the area - however only a little since I know that it's still way sunnier than Seattle. The sun came out here and was blazing all day and it felt very weird.... Not normal at all for us this time of year, but it's supposed to be back to rain tomorrow, so the world is still right.

I agree with DrySide on getting out and enjoying that weather. Why live there if you don't? Hopefully those adventures are locked away in my not too distant future and I find the right key soon.

[PNW-type-gal]

Go to this weather site and scroll down until you see the month of February in calendar style, with little sunny faces. Then you can use the tabs in the frame to walk backward through the years, comparing February to February the year before. Keep in mind this the Redmond Airport (KRDM) which is somewhat sunnier than Bend.

History : Weather Underground

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Go to this weather site and scroll down until you see the month of February in calendar style, with little sunny faces. Then you can use the tabs in the frame to walk backward through the years, comparing February to February the year before. Keep in mind this the Redmond Airport (KRDM) which is somewhat sunnier than Bend.

History : Weather Underground

This is a decent source, but unfortunately I've come to realise that it is often very inaccurate for Bend in its historical records especially when taken at face value. That or I just have WLDLY different definitions of 'cloudy'/'partly cloudy'/'sunny'/etc. than those reporting on that site.

Scroll through the February's of the last few years. You'll see a ton of days marked with a 'snowflake'. Then look down at the precipitation amounts. Most days are listed as having .02 precipitation, even sunny/partly sunny days during our summers!? That right there ought to be a red flag. I'd be willing to bet most of these days were totally dry in Bend proper.

Just take this years Feb. records as an example. We haven't had precipitation in Bend in over a month and a half~, but it snowed on the 7th? (it may have spit flurries for 5mins as the edge of a storm passed.....and that is being VERY generous) and every day we've had either .02/.03 amounts of precipitation?

That snowflake couldn't be any less representative of what most, 95%, of those days in February were actually like. When coupled with measured precipitation amounts, even as low as .02, it is a very misleading, imo. The odds are some/many were 'mostly cloud'. Others were 'partly cloudy'. While others, to me, would be considered 'partly sunny' and the odd few 'sunny'. It's just kind of a joke without context.

Just my two cents.

--
Bend's winter 'sunshine' levels are totally determined by where you last came from/what your mind has been conditioned to think is 'normal'.

For me, moving from Baltimore, Bend is very sunny. For someone else moving from Portland, Bend will be EXCEPTONALLY sunny. For someone else moving from the SW (or the like), Bend will be less sunny than they are use to and some weeks, even, downright gloomy.

[PNW-type-gal]

The airport weather stations are automated and the interpretation is fixed. They are, by nature, specific to their exact location and not across a region.

Sunny: When there are no opaque (not transparent) clouds.
Mostly Sunny: When the 1/8th to 2/8ths of the sky is covered by with opaque (not transparent) clouds
Partly Sunny: Between 3/8 and 5/8 of the sky is covered by clouds. (Partly Sunny is used during the day; Partly Cloudy is the same term used at night by the NWS, but they are also considered interchangeable terms.)
Cloudy: When 7/8ths or more of the sky is covered by clouds.

The graphic includes precipitation (rain or snow) when there is enough moisture for the instrument to register it, even if it just trace.

As I understand, the station average the data for the day - so it adds up the fractions of clouds it sees over a specific period and average it to achieve a final number. So a sunny day with some heavy clouds drifting over occasionally can add up to Partly Sunny because, on average for the day, the sensor saw enough cloud cover to average it that way.

It's not a perfect system but at least there is a method that is consistent from location to location for comparison, and it doesn't rely on opinion.