Seattle Weather/Climate Thread (Pacific: blossoms, allowed, month to)

[pw72]

Originally Posted by mkarch

What seattle neighborhoods did you spend 30 years in?

OK, since you asked:

Birth through 18 years old: Wedgewood in NE Seattle
19-30 years old: Sand Point Way near the old navy base, then Capital Hill, then Northgate.

[aplcr0331]

Asking people about weather is ALWAYS a bad idea. I am reminded of this Albert Camus quote;

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer"

So, when you ask someone about the weather what you are really getting from them is their own interpretation of the weather. Kind of like a glass half full or half empty.

I like Seattle. I work in Yakima and live in Spokane. This is a pretty good state all around if you ask me. But then again, there is an invincible summer inside of me, so ask someone more crotchety for the answer you want

[limeyx]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

It's really amazing how people easily forget the good moments. This January had one of the sunniest and dries stretches on record. 14 of the 30 days had no rain at all. And we had 8 completely clear (sunny) days, something that happens very rarely in January.

I really really liked that series of super clear super cool dry days we had. I was sad when that run came to an end.

[shaylahc]

I've been here since last July. Summer was GORGEOUS....every day was like the best spring day ever. We did have a couple of 90+ degree days (which sucked, because A/C is almost non-existent here) but otherwise it was VERY nice. In early November it started to rain. December was the worst because besides the rain, the days got SUPER short....I got really depressed and I felt like my internal clock was all messed up. Once the winter solstice passed and the days started getting longer again, I was fine. We had 2.5 weeks in January where it didn't rain at all, and it's bright and sunny right now.

I think it is overcast and rainy often, but there is enough sunshine here and there to make it bearable. I think we get spoiled with the gorgeous summers, which makes winter seem that much more painful. Overall I haven't been impressed with the horror stories about the weather. I moved here from NC which is sunny year round. I was anticipating the weather to be much worse than it has been.

[cjg5]

Originally Posted by aplcr0331

I work in Yakima and live in Spokane.

That's quite a commute! I can't even fathom that working on a normal schedule, you must only go to work a couple of days per month and stay home the rest of the time.

[Ruth4Truth]

A friend of mine sent me photos of his neighbors getting flooded out due to heavy downpours. This happened two years in a row, a couple of years ago. There are landslides every few years from weeks of heavy rain. Other times it's wet mist that goes on for a week or more at a time.

From mid-July through August it's in the 80's and 90's. It's a good time to go on vacation and head for the coast, either in the NW, or northern CA, where it will be about 15 degrees cooler. Either that, or get air conditioning for your bedroom at least, for that hot spell. Even if people say you won't need it, you'll be glad you have it when you do need it. September is often pleasant, but the temperature drops suddenly around mid-October. By then it can be raining again. The big snowfall (if there is one) can happen anywhere from late Nov. to February. It doesn't last long, just long enough to create havoc on the streets. (The city owns no snow-clearing equipment.) I agree with above statements that there usually is a very nice, spring-like month around March or April sometime, though some years it's been known to rain right through that.

One thing that makes the weather highly variable is the El Nino/La Nina phenomenon. El Nino years are the rainiest. La Nina is the opposite; a very dry year. This is when the currents in the Pacific reverse their direction and cause weather disturbances.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

El Nino years are the rainiest. La Nina is the opposite; a very dry year.

It's the exact opposite. And this year is El Nino.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

It's the exact opposite. And this year is El Nino.

Could be. I heard it was a cold, sloppy spring this year, though.

[cjg5]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Could be. I heard it was a cold, sloppy spring this year, though.

La Nina was still around, before El Nino took its place.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Could be. I heard it was a cold, sloppy spring this year, though.

Was? The spring this year hasn't arrived yet.