Seattle Weather/Climate Thread (Vancouver, Wenatchee: fit in, estate, how long)

[OregonYeti]

New York, Atlanta and Houston all get more rainfall than Seattle ... and that's just in the USA.

[OregonYeti]

The city where I was born (Guwahati, India) has a higher population than Seattle and almost twice the average annual precipitation. You can fudge the numbers some and maybe get a closer comparison, but Seattle the rainiest? I don't think so

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by barb18

It's actually the rainiest big city on earth, and the evenings do get dark earlier than any other US city. The answer to your question is that people who grew up here go out running and hiking in the rain. Or, they find a job that is good enough that they take time away from work at a moment's notice to go snowboarding because of a good snow or some sunshine.

Not even close to being the rainiest big city on earth. It doesn't matter how to calculate it; total inches, or days with precipitation. Maybe the most overcast big city on earth? I have doubts even there though.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by OregonYeti

The city where I was born (Guwahati, India) has a higher population than Seattle and almost twice the average annual precipitation. You can fudge the numbers some and maybe get a closer comparison, but Seattle the rainiest? I don't think so

Yeah, Seattle's reputation as the "rainiest city" is not really based on the rainfall totals, but rather on the fact that:

1) It rains OFTEN - though the rain is often a light mist or of the on/off variety, which results in smaller totals of rainfall accumulation that it seems. Still, Seattle has a LOT of rainy (even if only slightly rainy) days. We also have a LOT of cloudy days.

2) It is dark in the winter & lush & green pretty much year-round - once again giving the impression that we get a TON of rain each year.

3) It IS relatively close to one of the worlds few temperate rainforests - where it DOES rain a LOT each year.

All this combines in the popular imagination to create an impression of a place that is LOT rainier than it really is - especially in regards to cumulative rainfall totals. Seattle is grey, dreary & drippy for much of the year - but the rainfall totals are surprisingly "just average" (or even less) for your typical American city. It just SEEMS like it rains ALL the time.

Ken

[OregonYeti]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

It just SEEMS like it rains ALL the time.

Ken

Well for how often it's raining--that might be right up there with just about any other city.

In Guwahati it pours and gets it over with. Three days of Seattle rain come down in a couple of hours in Guwahati.

[cjg5]

Originally Posted by barb18

...the evenings do get dark earlier than any other US city...

EXCEPT for every city in the US which lies farther north than Seattle, which not only includes Bellingham, but also Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. Those are just the larger sized cities (although all smaller by comparison to Seattle). Of course this only applies from the fall equinox to the spring equinox. From the spring equinox to the fall equinox, these places have later sunsets instead of earlier ones.

As for the other comment about the rainiest city, New York, New York gets about 50 inches of rain per year on average. Juneau, Alaska gets about 58 inches of rain per year. Hilo, Hawaii gets over 120 inches of rain per year on average. Seattle only gets about 38 inches per year on average. Just a couple of examples.

Having said that, welcome to CD! It's an addicting place and you'll love every moment of it.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by cjg5

EXCEPT for every city in the US which lies farther north than Seattle, which not only includes Bellingham, but also Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. Those are just the larger sized cities (although all smaller by comparison to Seattle). Of course this only applies from the fall equinox to the spring equinox. From the spring equinox to the fall equinox, these places have later sunsets instead of earlier ones.

As for the other comment about the rainiest city, New York, New York gets about 50 inches of rain per year on average. Juneau, Alaska gets about 58 inches of rain per year. Hilo, Hawaii gets over 120 inches of rain per year on average. Seattle only gets about 38 inches per year on average. Just a couple of examples.

Having said that, welcome to CD! It's an addicting place and you'll love every moment of it.

Atlanta gets more rain as well. We had a flood in 2009 and got hit by hurricanes in 2004.

[Darkhyperchaos]

I find it interesting that people complain about how "unlivable" Seattle is because of it's cloudiness, in yet world class cities like Vancouver, Paris, and London all get less sun than Seattle all twelve months of the year. As a matter of fact, all four cities have a very similar climate. Sure, if you're expecting So Cal weather, you won't get it. But for all of the people bashing Seattle for it's "lack of sun" (which I think is exaggerated), don't forget that those three cities I mentioned get less sun regardless of which way you cut it.

I'd also like to add more major cities around the world that get the same, if not less sun than Seattle. Non of these cities are significantly warmer than Seattle either.

Moscow
Berlin
Bucharest
Budapest
Warsaw
Vienna
Milan

I'm not done adding cities, and I'll add more tonight. This just goes to show how if someone thinks Seattle is a unlivable city because of the cloudiness, then tons of fantastic cities around the world would also be deemed unlivable to them.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by Darkhyperchaos

I find it interesting that people complain about how "unlivable" Seattle is because of it's cloudiness, in yet world class cities like Vancouver, Paris, and London all get less sun than Seattle all twelve months of the year. As a matter of fact, all four cities have a very similar climate. Sure, if you're expecting So Cal weather, you won't get it. But for all of the people bashing Seattle for it's "lack of sun" (which I think is exaggerated), don't forget that those three cities I mentioned get less sun regardless of which way you cut it.

I'd also like to add more major cities around the world that get the same, if not less sun than Seattle. Non of these cities are significantly warmer than Seattle either.

Moscow
Berlin
Bucharest
Budapest
Warsaw
Vienna
Milan

I'm not done adding cities, and I'll add more tonight. This just goes to show how if someone thinks Seattle is a unlivable city because of the cloudiness, then tons of fantastic cities around the world would also be deemed unlivable to them.

My wife is Czech and I had to pull out charts to show her this as well. She refused to even consider Seattle until I showed her how similar it is to where she grew up; just not as cold. I would put "most" (meaning not all) of the people who find the weather intolerable up there into two categories:

1. People born and raised there and are just tired of it and want a change. You see this all over the US.

2. People who moved there from the few places in the US with exceptionally sunny and warm weather.

You see few people complaining who moved up there from the NE, Midwest, or Europe for instance.

[michaeldorian]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

You see few people complaining who moved up there from the NE, Midwest, or Europe for instance.

I completely agree with this statement. It's all relative.