The rain/clouds and gloom in Portland is worse than advertised (Salem: live, mold)

[tiffela74]

Edit-ophaned comment from deleted post
I actually agree with her too, there have been several very nice days, i know, cuz ive been up there to help paint a house, and also to help raise a pole barn, so i know darn well it was quite pleasant...
I do also think that some people are only able to focus on the cloudy days, maybe they do have SAD and possibly Portland isnt their happy place. Maybe other factors are clouding their view as well (terrible pun, i know, but i couldnt resist. lol)
I heard on the news, this is the longest colder stretch into spring we've had in 58yrs. I know the ski places are loving the extended winter!
Tiffany

[hymalaia]

to be perfectly blunt, the weather since late January this year could not have been more perfect. I feel like I see the sun everyday, but it's filtered through some clouds and not beating down on you the way it does everywhere else. True it sometimes goes into hiding, but never for long and you appreciate it all the more when it comes back. I'm actually kind of bummed about summer coming, I'm afraid I'll be back to cursing the sun like I do everywhere else. Mind you though, while I probably have SAD to some degree, I'm also photophobic.

[kalit]

I cannot wait to move to Portland. I think that having no sun is a lot better than it being 10 degrees and sunny. I live in Sioux Falls, and this winter has been horrible, maybe a couple days above 30 degrees from mid November until mid March, and it finally started getting past 40 degrees just last week or so (and snow is finally almost all gone).

[Venusian_Artist]

Originally Posted by kalit

I cannot wait to move to Portland. I think that having no sun is a lot better than it being 10 degrees and sunny. I live in Sioux Falls, and this winter has been horrible, maybe a couple days above 30 degrees from mid November until mid March, and it finally started getting past 40 degrees just last week or so (and snow is finally almost all gone).

Then PDX is definitely an improvement. That's the VA theory of relativity, Mod edit

[suncat]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

We've had tons of sunny days this year and great weather for much of March. Actually WONDERFUL weather in March.

The average temperature in Portland for March 2008 was 1.8 degrees below normal.

Portland had 24 days in March 2008 with .01 inches or more of precipitation.

According to the National Weather Service, Portland had *zero* clear days this March:

"SKY CONDITION.........
NUMBER OF DAYS CLEAR...... 0
NUMBER OF DAYS PTCLDY..... 16
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY..... 15"

[Leisesturm]

Those statistics do not refute Oldtintype's observations. She said the weather in March was wonderful. Nowhere did she say what the number of sunny days was or even if there were any. That is the problem as I see it: the assumption, insistence of many that in order to have a good day it has to be sunny! Move to Arizona. Portland is what it is, and global warming notwithstanding isn't going to be any different anytime soon. That said, there are sunny days there. I've been there and I have seen them and it wasn't summertime. I am sure if I had the time I could find some data to correlate Portland's winter sun index to some other U.S. cities not considered SAD magnets. I don't think it would fare too badly in the comparisons except in the minds and hearts of those determined to out Portland as a mental health risk. I see no reason why a vocal minority shouldn't continue to fight the Portland bashing. MOD edit inserted here

H

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by suncat

The average temperature in Portland for March 2008 was 1.8 degrees below normal.

Portland had 24 days in March 2008 with .01 inches or more of precipitation.

"

All I know is we had a bunch of warm weather. I don't know what the exact sun stats were but it was warm and I didn't wear a coat. Maybe some of the days were in Feb that were really sunny. The point I was MAKING is that it's all a matter of perspective. Mod Edit

[sav]

There is no doubt that it is an individual perspective. We lived in Portland for 4 years and while I thought it was a cool city, I definitely had SAD and definitely felt like it was a pretty gloomy place. Now living in Idaho (where, it is still very cold, rarely above 40, still snow on the ground) and they are having their 'gloomiest' spring in years, but from my perspective it is actually pretty darn sunny. I think there really is something to the high clouds versus low clouds thing, the clouds don't seem to be as overhanging here and i sure dont miss the drizzle. To each his/her own. One thing for sure, though, you will never convince a SAD sufferer tsuch as myself that Portland is a sunny place!

[PNW-type-gal]

One of the reasons I left Portland was the weather. I got tired, after 24 years, of the gloomy winters. Having said that, and even being a "weather refugee" - the idea that it's cloudy all of the time is ridiculous. The quoted stats are for "clear" days - check the number of days that were considered "partly cloudy" - that means partly sunny, as well. In late winter and spring these huge storms roll through and the clouds just fly across the sky, with sun breaks and cloudy bits and occasional rain. Those days are absolutely gorgeous.

There have been, in those 24 years, some trying times when the sun vanishes for a couple of weeks at a time, with no sun breaks. Those were rare. On the other hand, if you're like me and SAD-afflicted, you feel those cloudy times, and it's hard to look at the "bright side" of the sun breaks.

[jeh]

I don't think the lack of sunlight would affect me much, since I've been working nights for the past 8 years. I'm pale, and in the summertime the bright sun actually hurts my eyes after I've been working all night. In my case, I think I could handle it just fine.