Seattle Weather/Climate Thread (Spokane, Pacific: towers, jail, hobbies)

[NW4me]

Pity. All those packs, tents, etc. from REI sitting unused in closets because the weather won't cooperate.

[drshang]

Weather in the winter is cake compared to a Northeast winter. Keep in mind this city is over represented with sheltered natives, who in many cases know little about climates outside of the PNW and maybe California (when visiting), CA transplants (who often have no idea what weather is like east of Las Vegas), and people from the PNW on the dry side of the Cascades (who often seem to have this idea that their climate is somehow similar to the Northeast).

Winter here is not great, don't get me wrong, but you can more or less golf year round, hike year round, go for walks in the park and city. The mountain forests here in winter look like they do in movies and in video games - because they ARE those forests - so that is an attraction in and of itself. You can hike in lowlands, snowshoe higher up. Or cross country or downhill ski.

Northeast weather is awful, spring doesn't fully come in until Apr-May (flowers and trees start here in Feb - maybe late Jan some years), and the NE is buggy and humid as hell during the summer. Don't let anyone fool you, the weather here is not comparable or remotely as bad as the Northeast. The people here, on the other hand, take some getting used to. Especially if you are from the Bowash corridor.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by drshang

Weather in the winter is cake compared to a Northeast winter. Keep in mind this city is over represented with sheltered natives, who in many cases know little about climates outside of the PNW and maybe California (when visiting), CA transplants (who often have no idea what weather is like east of Las Vegas), and people from the PNW on the dry side of the Cascades (who often seem to have this idea that their climate is somehow similar to the Northeast).

Winter here is not great, don't get me wrong, but you can more or less golf year round, hike year round, go for walks in the park and city. The mountain forests here in winter look like they do in movies and in video games - because they ARE those forests - so that is an attraction in and of itself. You can hike in lowlands, snowshoe higher up. Or cross country or downhill ski.

Northeast weather is awful, spring doesn't fully come in until Apr-May (flowers and trees start here in Feb - maybe late Jan some years), and the NE is buggy and humid as hell during the summer. Don't let anyone fool you, the weather here is not comparable or remotely as bad as the Northeast. The people here, on the other hand, take some getting used to. Especially if you are from the Bowash corridor.

It's worse. The other poster already said people kill themselves. Seattle weather could be fatal.

[leastprime]

MidValley Oregon is hotter, colder, wetter, windier, than Seattle/Sound region. Seattle IMO is positively boring weather wise.

[drshang]

Originally Posted by Seacove

It's worse. The other poster already said people kill themselves. Seattle weather could be fatal.

Or just go to LA. Beverly Hills is close to the same price as Capitol Hill

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

It rains in Seattle pretty much from September through June. Only it isn't even a real rain. It's like living inside a particularly wet sneeze for 10 months out of every year.

Spokane or Boise would be more to your liking.

It actually rains from August 5th to July 28th. There is only 1 dry week every year.

[bobspez]

I lived in Seattle for about a year during high school. I believe it rained or drizzled almost every day during the fall, winter and spring seasons. The odd thing is that people didn't use umbrellas or even wear hats in the rain. They just got wet and air dried indoors during the first couple of hours of class. The difference between Seattle and Boston is it rarely snows in Seattle due to the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. Despite it's latitude, the weather is quite temperate, though wet.

[StealthRabbit]

I want to hike and get outdoors,

very outdoorsy in PNW, you just get damp (rain is drizzle, seldom heavy)
You just learn to do everything in the drizzle; garden, mow the grass, ride bikes, sail, fix the car, wash the car... But SELDOM need to do this in a BLIZZARD (as in Boston). and a BLIZZARD in PNW is often <6" of WET snow, gone in 2 days (washed away by rain) . 2 - 3x / yr. Pretty mild.

You should be fine, just be prepared for gray winters (and short days)

EZ to fly away (often) for sun <$100 often less than $80 will get you RT to CA or NV

[Flightoficarus87]

Seattle lacks the brutal winters of the Midwest and Northeast (thankfully), but instead suffers from short winter days/a lack of daylight (it is the northernmost major city of the lower 48, after all). For me, that is the worst part, particularly on a classic PNW grey and wet kind of day, where the effect is a double whammy.

Fall and Spring aren't too bad. Summers are some of the best in the US. It's just those short winter days..

[rjshae]

I usually enjoy the cooler weather days and the light rain around here; it keeps the air clean and fresh. It's only in April that the gray overcast season starts to grow old and I'm ready for some sunnier days.