The rain/clouds and gloom in Portland is worse than advertised (living, store)

[Good_Teacher]

OK, I admit it, I did not do enough due dilligence about the weather in Portland Oregon before moving out here. I read somewhere that Portland had a very mild climate and less rain than many cities on the east coast. I read that all the talk about rain in the Pacific Northwest were just hype to try to talk people from moving out here. I moved out here in the summer when the weather is sunny and fell in love with the area.

Now it is driving me crazy. Sure it does not rain all that hard but it is always cloudy, except in August, and drizzling all the time. The clouds are so heavy and dark and people suffer from depression. Few people seem to have a rain coat and umbella, they just get wet. It is damp and chilly all the way into July some years.

If you think the rain is not that bad, let me tell you, it is!

[Venusian_Artist]

Ummm...hate to break it to you, but this winter has been one of the better ones. And I'll say it again, it's not the rain, it's the lack of sunlight. There isn't all that much rain here, that is true.

The summers are AWESOME, though. A post of recapitulation...

[Good_Teacher]

Only late July and August are nice. May and June tend to be cloudy and cool. Fall is iffy. October can be very cloudy and rainy. It is not the number of inches of rain it is the number of days and hours of rain and wet pavements.

[roneb]

Like VA, this is what I've always told people. It's not about the inches of precip. It's the number of cloudy days - low dark clouds at that! And VA is right, this past winter has actually been a lot better than most!

[Venusian_Artist]

Originally Posted by roneb

Like VA, this is what I've always told people. It's not about the inches of precip. It's the number of cloudy days - low dark clouds at that! And VA is right, this past winter has actually been a lot better than most!

I've had very little reason to complain this year. It's been damn skippy!

[Redrover]

What's the deal with not wearing raincoats or carrying an umbrella? Is it somehow not as "macho" (or the feminine equvalent) if you try to stay dry through artificial means?

[Venusian_Artist]

Originally Posted by Redrover

What's the deal with not wearing raincoats or carrying an umbrella? Is it somehow not as "macho" (or the feminine equvalent) if you try to stay dry through artificial means?

Well, from a guy's perspective, it just doesn't rain enough, or consistently, to dress for the occasion. It drizzles, but there aren't a lot of downpours.

And with women, I think it's that PDX is frumpy central, so it doesn't matter if their hair, makeup, whatever gets mussed. You can't tell the difference anyway!

[oldtintype]

We've had tons of sunny days this year and great weather for much of March. Actually WONDERFUL weather in March. Some people just ONLY notice the crummy days and decide there aren't any nice days except in July and August, when it's hot and sunny 100% of the time. It's a matter of perspective. Those who suffer from SAD, whether they know it or not think it does nothing but rain/is gray. Those who don't recognize we have a variety of weather. It will vary person by person.

[desertsun41]

Originally Posted by Redrover

What's the deal with not wearing raincoats or carrying an umbrella? Is it somehow not as "macho" (or the feminine equvalent) if you try to stay dry through artificial means?

This made me giggle. I lived in Vancouver, BC for a year. Same exact climate as Seattle. I think I saw the sun 10 days all year. A nice day was a cloudy day with no rain. A cloudy day with no rain is when everyone came out to the parks to play and picnic.

Back to what made me giggle. You are right about the raincoat thing but you must include umbrellas too. No one uses them. But locals dont get wet. I am sitting inside drinking a coffee watching out the window at the rain and the people walking by. You have people having lenghy conversations near the curb in the pouring rain when 10 steps away are the canvas awnings that all store fronts have and they could gab and keep dry. Why?

I run from door to car and from car to door and get soaked. Locals walk while looking up and the drops dont even hit their glasses. Huh? This makes no sense to me.

Back then I think we had something like 90 days and 90 nights straight of rain non stop. When I finally got on that plane and got above those clouds and saw that sun you were looking at a grown man cry. I have no idea why. I could not help myself. Seeing the sun for the first time in 3-4 months can play tricks on your emotions.

[geminirn27]

My husband is living and working in Portland right now, and I've only been there twice for a total of 5 days in the past 2 months to help him get settled, but I'm not joking when I say that every single day I've been there has been absolutely sunny and gorgeous. Last week when I was there, for two days in a row there was literally not a cloud in the sky. Almost looked like AZ! (The day after I left it was grey, rained all day, and even hailed!)

My husband teases me that when I finally do move up there, the state of Oregon will run me out, once they figure out that I'm the reason for the extreme drought and all the trees dying.

Anyway, my point is, the sun MUST come out on occasion during the winters, or how is it that I haven't yet experienced a wet, winter day in Portland?

I'll take the grey and wet, though. Very much looking forward to it, even.