How hard does it rain in Portland? (buy, shop)

[coolwiththecool2]

After all the pictures I've seen of Portland and even a new TV show, I can clearly see it raining, clearly see raindrops on the ground which means it's not drizzling, yet so many people don't have hoods/umbrellas its crazy. Just wondering if Portland is like Seattle where drizzle is abundant in the rainy season.

[Nell Plotts]

It mists, it drizzles, it rains. Sometimes. We don't usually bother with umbrellas, they are too easily lost. More frequently we wear jackets with hoods if we think there will be more than a drizzle.

[pdxmilw]

More people use umbrellas than the whole "real Oregonians don't use umbrellas" myth would have you believe. That said, I don't use one because I forget to most of the time. And then when you get where you're going, you have a wet umbrella to deal with.
But Nell's right, the rain comes in all flavors.

Yesterday we got a "thunderstorm with no thunder" and it rained about as hard as I've ever seen, but only for about 15 minutes. Even the stalwart Oregonians stayed in the doorway of the Lowe's I was shopping in to wait for that to pass.

[Tipsy McStagger]

I would describe that rain yesterday as a fairly light rain but heard the word "torrential" used by more than one person to describe it. I guess its all relative.

We had one in msp the other day where i forgot to close the garage door and in the four seconds it took me to get out there and back, i was soaked through to my underwear.

But the one yesterday was certainly rain and not drizzle.you definitely needed an umbrella for that.

[Squidlo]

It rarely rains "hard". I moved to Texas in 2006 after 40+ years in Portland. It is relative yes, compared to the monsoons of south Texas, Portland has mild rains. Thunderstorms are pretty tame as well. San Antonio terrified me my first year. T storms in San Antonio are like Armageddon compared to Portland. I enjoy a good misty rain in the morning once in awhile. Plenty to be had in Portland.

[KJoe11]

it rarely rains hard enough to use an umbrella. A nice water resistant jacket suffices on most days.

[Mini-apple-less]

More than drizzle but generally less than what you'd call "light rain".

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by pdxmilw

Yesterday we got a "thunderstorm with no thunder" and it rained about as hard as I've ever seen, but only for about 15 minutes. Even the stalwart Oregonians stayed in the doorway of the Lowe's I was shopping in to wait for that to pass.

Yeah, that was insane! I swear each raindrop weighed an ounce.

I don't own an umbrella and it's never really occurred to me to go buy one. I suppose it might be nice once or twice per year, but I likely wouldn't have it on me when it'd be useful anyway.

I do own a raincoat, but it hasn't been out of the closet in years. It's maybe been used twice in the last five years.

Originally Posted by valsteele

More than drizzle but generally less than what you'd call "light rain".

Pretty much.

[pdxmilw]

Originally Posted by Tipsy McStagger

I would describe that rain yesterday as a fairly light rain but heard the word "torrential" used by more than one person to describe it. I guess its all relative.

We had one in msp the other day where i forgot to close the garage door and in the four seconds it took me to get out there and back, i was soaked through to my underwear.

But the one yesterday was certainly rain and not drizzle.you definitely needed an umbrella for that.

what part of town were you in? Were the people who called it torrential standing right next to you while it was falling? Because the rain where I was would not have been called "fairly light" by anyone. But that kind of storm is also very localized.