Rain? (Portland, Eugene, Salem: how much, live, moving)

[NEgal]

Can anyone tell me the cities or areas in western Oregon that aren't as rainy/recieve less rain? Thanks

[WorkinStiff]

The cities south of the Willamette Valley; Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford etc recieve less rain then Portland, Salem, Eugene & the rest of the Willamette Valley...

[freedom]

yep, southern Oregon. Cave Junction to the south west, Grants pass middle west, and Medford/Ashland middle south.

[Terryj]

There isn't any place in Western Oregon exempt from rainfall, however, southern Oregon receive less rain on average than northern Oregon. What you can expect is: half of Southern Oregon rainfall happens during the winter months, with a little less than half during the fall and spring and the remainder during the summer.
Here is a link to a good web site about the weather throughout Oregon: http://www.oregonphotos.com/pagetwentyone-Q.html

[mdvaden]

You will want to find out more information about various areas, because tossing names into the hat like Grants Pass or southern Oregon may seem a bit misleading, or paint an incomplete picture.

For example, How far would Grants Pass' 31 inches of rain be from Portland area's near 37 inches?

Not much of a difference, wouldn't you agree?

And almost a neighbor to Grants Pass, how much of a difference do you see between Williams' 33 inches of rain per year and Portland's near 37 inches.

4" difference !! Small gap.

Saying southern Oregon has less rainfall won't really help you answer this question. So what else would you like to know that will put all this rainfall into perspective?

How would you like to use this rainfall information to make it useful for you?

Portland likewise, recieves most rain in the cool season. Portland's July and August may be as dry for rain as parts of southern Oregon. And I wouldn't be suprised if climate tables show Portland's July and August to be slightly dryer.

About the best way I could try and explain the difference between north and south having lived in both, is that the "warm season" starts a little sooner and ends a little longer in some parts of southern Oregon, with an average high temperature difference of like 3 to 6 degrees difference.

You almost need to look at a climate table of an area that you find interesting, and look at what each month shows on average. It's amazing how much difference occurs within just a 30 minute drive. It's about 35 minutes between Medford's west side and the town of Williams, and the rainfall average changes from 19" for Medford to 33" for Williams.

M. D. Vaden of Oregon

[freedom]

The other difference is that the rain in Portland can drissle out over months, instead of dumping and moving on. The precip. amounts don't really measure the mist and overcast days that Portland gets.
Now the coast, it can pour, Brookings can get over 100" per yr. I don't know what their avg. is.

MDVaden is right though, there are many micro climates in all of Ore.

freedom

[Silverfall]

I agree with MDVaden that you need to look at what is acceptable to you. In Salem, OR we get a lot of drizzle. We do have downpours, but it just tends to rain in spurts.

[Squidlo]

Just for clarity it rarely rains in the Willamette valley. Most of the time in the valley it drizzles. Since I moved out of the valley I've experienced rain. Rain starts and stops. Drizzle goes on and on. Imagine 5 inches of rain in 5 hours pretty heavy rain right? Try 5 inches of rain over 3 days nearly non stop. That is the majority of the "rain" you get in the valley. Elsewhere in the state, say east of the cascades I experienced what I would call proper rain. It starts and it stops and clears off. The clear benefit of what I consider proper rain is that at some point you would get some sun. Visit the valley a few times in the "offseason" before you move (Nov-Feb).


Squidlo