Interesting Statistics (Seattle: how much, live, move to)

Im surprised that Portland, Oregon has at least 20 more cloudy days on average than Seattle! Thats almost a month more of clouds.

Seattle is one of the cloudiest places in America, but like I said, it has some of the fewest 90+ temperature days(0-5 a year), some of the fewest thunderstorms per year(0-3), and some of the best air and water quality. Also almost never any droughts/forest fires. Most of the Western USA have to deal with horrible droughts and forest fires since most of the West is relatively dry. People who complain about the cloudiness here really should keep in mind the positive things about the weather/climate here.

Places like Los Angeles can only dream of having the air and water quality being as good there as in Seattle, and without having to worry about droughts and forest fires. I like things about Los Angeles for one example, but am surprised there are people who actually think Los Angeles has good weather/climate all the time.

When I visited Los Angeles in February 2009, it was sunny and warm, but the air was horrible! I developed skin irritation problems due to the pollution there the few days I was there, and once I went back to NYC(which doesnt necessarily have good air quality) the skin irritation problem automatically went away.
Today, it was cloudy and wet in Seattle, but the air outside was great, and the temperature felt perfect. Back in NYC, I would never feel great temperatures like that during this time of the year. I did also like the sunnier days before though yesterday and the day before.

To meah-oh: I agree. Seattle also has really good air and water quality most of the time too! And you wont have to worry about severe thunderstorms here(unless you like thunderstorms).

[SwingVote08]

Here are some of those interesting statistics I was talking about...

I've been tracking weather in Seattle via weather.com since February, but recording data in a way I haven't been able to find before that I think answers the questions people like me are really wondering.

Jan 28 - Jun 15:
Days of Unforecast Rain (Rained when it said it wasn't going to) = 12
Days of Unfounded Rain (Forecast said it was going to rain and it didn't) = 30
Correct Rain Forecast = 95 days
Therefore...Rain Forecast inflated 22% and underestimated 8.8%
Night Only Rain (Rained only between 10pm and 6am...so AKA rained at a time when you're in bed and don't even notice) = 30/62 rain days = 48%

An excerpt from my datasheet for comparing the Forecast vs. Actual Weather for the month of May:

Forecast
Actual 1 Sunny 1 Sunny 4 Mostly Sunny 1 Mostly Sunny

4 AM Sunny/PM Partly Cloudy 0 AM Clouds/PM Sun 0 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Sunny

0 AM Sunny/PM Mostly Cloudy 4 Partly Cloudy 2 Partly Cloudy

1 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Fair

0 AM Cloudy/PM Fair 2 Mostly Cloudy 2 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Partly Cloudy

1 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy

0 AM Cloudy/PM Partly Cloudy

0 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Cloudy 0 Few Showers 1 Mostly Cloudy 0 Cloudy 1 AM Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy

2 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Cloudy 5 PM Showers 0 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Light Rain

3 AM Light Rain/PM Partly Cloudy

4 Cloudy

1 AM Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy, Light Rain 1 PM Light Rain 0 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Light Rain 3 AM Showers 0 AM Light Rain/PM Mostly Cloudy

0 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Rain Shower

1 AM Cloudy/PM Light Rain

1 AM Light Rain/PM Cloudy 8 Showers 6 Light Rain 0 AM Rain 0 AM Rain Shower/PM Cloudy 3 Rain 0 Rain 0 Rain/Wind

[observer]

When I tell people Seattle is a nice city, or I plan to visit Seattle, most of the responses I get is "Seattle gets a lot of rain". Many people are surprised when I inform them that Miami actually gets more inches of rain a year than Seattle. Now it may rain more often in Seattle but Seattle gets less inches of rain due to Miami having heavy rain and can accumulate several inches in less time than it does in Seattle.

Summers are very hot and humid with lots of rain in Miami. When I have visited Seattle in the summers (never visited Seattle in the winter or spring) it is such a breath of fresh air to feel fresh air and nice temps. If I could, I would probably spend at least half of the summer in Seattle and escape the hot, muggy, and rainy days of Miami in the summer. Well, I actually do escape some of the Miami heat as I spend most of my summers in Raleigh. Yes it can get hot here in Raleigh but it does not rain as much, it is noticeably less humid, and the temps do go down to 68-72 overnight. In Miami it can be 11:00 pm and it could be 82 degrees at night with overnight lows about 78 on average.

Looking forward to visiting Seattle in a few weeks!

[SwingVote08]

hmmm, let's try this again

Forecast Weather Days
1 Sunny
4 Mostly Sunny
4 Partly Cloudy
2 Mostly Cloudy
5 PM Showers
1 PM Light Rain
3 AM Showers
8 Showers
3 Rain

Actual/Observed Weather Days
1 Sunny
1 Mostly Sunny
4 AM Sunny/PM Partly Cloudy
2 Partly Cloudy
1 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Fair
2 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Partly Cloudy
1 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy
1 Mostly Cloudy
1 AM Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy
2 Mostly Cloudy/PM Cloudy
3 Light Rain/PM Partly Cloudy
4 Cloudy
1 AM Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy, Light Rain
1 AM Cloudy/PM Light Rain
1 AM Light Rain/PM Cloudy
6 Light Rain

[mea-oh]

Originally Posted by NaturalUrbanBalence

Im surprised that Portland, Oregon has at least 20 more cloudy days on average than Seattle! Thats almost a month more of clouds.

Seattle is one of the cloudiest places in America, but like I said, it has some of the fewest 90+ temperature days(0-5 a year), some of the fewest thunderstorms per year(0-3), and some of the best air and water quality. Also almost never any droughts/forest fires. Most of the Western USA have to deal with horrible droughts and forest fires since most of the West is relatively dry. People who complain about the cloudiness here really should keep in mind the positive things about the weather/climate here.

Places like Los Angeles can only dream of having the air and water quality being as good there as in Seattle, and without having to worry about droughts and forest fires. I like things about Los Angeles for one example, but am surprised there are people who actually think Los Angeles has good weather/climate all the time.

When I visited Los Angeles in February 2009, it was sunny and warm, but the air was horrible! I developed skin irritation problems due to the pollution there the few days I was there, and once I went back to NYC(which doesnt necessarily have good air quality) the skin irritation problem automatically went away.
Today, it was cloudy and wet in Seattle, but the air outside was great, and the temperature felt perfect. Back in NYC, I would never feel great temperatures like that during this time of the year. I did also like the sunnier days before though yesterday and the day before.

To meah-oh: I agree. Seattle also has really good air and water quality most of the time too! And you wont have to worry about severe thunderstorms here(unless you like thunderstorms).

I kind of like thunderstorms, but I'll be ok.

[mea-oh]

Originally Posted by SwingVote08

hmmm, let's try this again

Forecast Weather Days
1 Sunny
4 Mostly Sunny
4 Partly Cloudy
2 Mostly Cloudy
5 PM Showers
1 PM Light Rain
3 AM Showers
8 Showers
3 Rain

Actual/Observed Weather Days
1 Sunny
1 Mostly Sunny
4 AM Sunny/PM Partly Cloudy
2 Partly Cloudy
1 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Fair
2 AM Mostly Cloudy/PM Partly Cloudy
1 AM Partly Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy
1 Mostly Cloudy
1 AM Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy
2 Mostly Cloudy/PM Cloudy
3 Light Rain/PM Partly Cloudy
4 Cloudy
1 AM Cloudy/PM Mostly Cloudy, Light Rain
1 AM Cloudy/PM Light Rain
1 AM Light Rain/PM Cloudy
6 Light Rain

Based on your findings, what is your opinion?

It's another beautiful (see: cloudy) day in Columbus!

[irrational exuberance]

Swingvote,

Your stats look to be right on par with Beautiful Seattle only you breakdown in greater detail what cloudy and mostly cloudy is and what sunny and mostly sunny is. But its interesting. Another interesting website to check out is komo4 weather blog with Scott Sistek...I think that is his name. He has some interesting statistics regarding the weather and previous years. But your stats are pretty much on par with Beautiful seattle as far as clear/sunny days and cloudy days. On the weather blog on Komo 4, Scott said it rained something like 25 out of the last 27 days going back to May 15th or something.

me-oh,

Economically Seattle is a gem. One of the last thriving places where you can get a decent living, afford a house, and raise a family (assuming 2 incomes or one really good one) and winter time is good not having footage of snow all around. But be prepared that if your an outdoor person bring a rain coat. I see some keep commenting on the heat vs rain. If Im going to be inside because it is 90-100 degrees or because its June and 58 and raining I think I would rather choose 100 because atleast its bright and sunny. Its just my preference/opinion though.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by observer

When I tell people Seattle is a nice city, or I plan to visit Seattle, most of the responses I get is "Seattle gets a lot of rain". Many people are surprised when I inform them that Miami actually gets more inches of rain a year than Seattle. Now it may rain more often in Seattle but Seattle gets less inches of rain due to Miami having heavy rain and can accumulate several inches in less time than it does in Seattle.

Summers are very hot and humid with lots of rain in Miami. When I have visited Seattle in the summers (never visited Seattle in the winter or spring) it is such a breath of fresh air to feel fresh air and nice temps. If I could, I would probably spend at least half of the summer in Seattle and escape the hot, muggy, and rainy days of Miami in the summer. Well, I actually do escape some of the Miami heat as I spend most of my summers in Raleigh. Yes it can get hot here in Raleigh but it does not rain as much, it is noticeably less humid, and the temps do go down to 68-72 overnight. In Miami it can be 11:00 pm and it could be 82 degrees at night with overnight lows about 78 on average.

Looking forward to visiting Seattle in a few weeks!

Miami sounds absolutely horrible! I knew it was bad, I didn't know it was that bad.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by mea-oh

Based on your findings, what is your opinion?

It's another beautiful (see: cloudy) day in Columbus!

I'd like to know that too. I'm in "sunny" San Diego. For the last week, it's been overcast in the morning (like right now) and partly cloudy from about noon onwards. Would this be sunny because it's here but considered cloudy if in Seattle?

[mea-oh]

Originally Posted by irrational exuberance

Swingvote,

Your stats look to be right on par with Beautiful Seattle only you breakdown in greater detail what cloudy and mostly cloudy is and what sunny and mostly sunny is. But its interesting. Another interesting website to check out is komo4 weather blog with Scott Sistek...I think that is his name. He has some interesting statistics regarding the weather and previous years. But your stats are pretty much on par with Beautiful seattle as far as clear/sunny days and cloudy days. On the weather blog on Komo 4, Scott said it rained something like 25 out of the last 27 days going back to May 15th or something.

me-oh,

Economically Seattle is a gem. One of the last thriving places where you can get a decent living, afford a house, and raise a family (assuming 2 incomes or one really good one) and winter time is good not having footage of snow all around. But be prepared that if your an outdoor person bring a rain coat. I see some keep commenting on the heat vs rain. If Im going to be inside because it is 90-100 degrees or because its June and 58 and raining I think I would rather choose 100 because atleast its bright and sunny. Its just my preference/opinion though.

Well, 58 and rain in May/June sucks, I agree. But just because it's 90-100 in Ohio doesn't mean it's sunny. We still get plenty of cloud cover, rain, and thunderstorms in the summer, even when it's hot.

Actually, to my knowledge we haven't hit 90 yet this year in Columbus. But we've hit the high 80s and it's horridly humid. I actually like hot weather. I don't like hot and humid weather.