Seattle vs. Spokane in terms of "oppressive" cloud cover? (Olympia: college, living in)

[ca_north]

Statistically, one can state that Spokane is only 10 or 20 days a year "less cloudy" than Seattle, but how does that translate to life on the ground? I've read many weather threads here and some people seem down on clouds of any kind, while others say Seattle has it noticeably worse. I know Spokane gets much colder, which can be a separate issue.

If you've lived in both cities through full seasons, can you describe how oppressive or gloomy the clouds feel, i.e. their base elevation and how "dynamic" (as in ready to go away) they appear? I don't mind significant cloud cover if it has a wide-open look vs. a seamless blanket. Numbers can't really convey these things, nor can random trips to an area.

Is this type of cloudiness common in Spokane?

Spokane Washington. Radio Antennae and Clouds | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

http://i.usatoday.net/weather/galler...02_spokane.jpg

Grass, Pines & Clouds at Rimrock, Spokane WA

[CoreLysium]

I don't live in the area, but I'd hardly call those beautiful clouds oppressive. Opressive is the gray sheet of no real sky, drizzling on you for months in the winter.

And that first picture is a seriously overcooked HDR photo with a vignette. The other two look a little retouched also. But very pretty all of them.

[captiv8ed]

I have been living in Pullman for two years. I spent 7 years in Olympia before that. I have been shocked at how similar the weather is in both places. Here it snows a little more than in Olympia and in Olympia it rains a little more, but much of the winter was grey, and not like the clouds you posted but more like a grey sheet. Today, on June 26, we woke up to 48, completely grey sky, and raining.

[redhead]

considering the north west; i've lived in bremerton, portland, seattle and now spokane, and right now i feel like i'm living in the worst of them ( portland) because spokane has had a terrible gloomy wet spring and so far june; don't feel any different then portland or seattle for overcast sky and wet weather!!! but the previous two springs and summers here were great.....

and the winter with its snow still had lots of sun during those cold icy days. so hopefully this spring is not normal......but according to yel and some others who have lived here longer............. i guess summer cloud cover is to be expected even this far east of the coast......but then again no 90 degree heat is ok with me.......!!

[ca_north]

Originally Posted by CoreLysium

I don't live in the area, but I'd hardly call those beautiful clouds oppressive. Opressive is the gray sheet of no real sky, drizzling on you for months in the winter.

And that first picture is a seriously overcooked HDR photo with a vignette. The other two look a little retouched also. But very pretty all of them.

I'm not sure you read my whole post. The point was that I can live with those types of clouds. I am trying to find out if indeed Spokane tends to have more "airy" clouds like that vs. a solid blanket of gloom.

[ca_north]

Originally Posted by captiv8ed

I have been living in Pullman for two years. I spent 7 years in Olympia before that. I have been shocked at how similar the weather is in both places. Here it snows a little more than in Olympia and in Olympia it rains a little more, but much of the winter was grey, and not like the clouds you posted but more like a grey sheet. Today, on June 26, we woke up to 48, completely grey sky, and raining.

Is Pullman known to be similar to Spokane, weather-wise, being about 60 miles south of it? It's all about the type of cloud cover, for me.

[ca_north]

Originally Posted by redhead

considering the north west; i've lived in bremerton, portland, seattle and now spokane, and right now i feel like i'm living in the worst of them ( portland) because spokane has had a terrible gloomy wet spring and so far june; don't feel any different then portland or seattle for overcast sky and wet weather!!! but the previous two springs and summers here were great.....

and the winter with its snow still had lots of sun during those cold icy days. so hopefully this spring is not normal......but according to yel and some others who have lived here longer............. i guess summer cloud cover is to be expected even this far east of the coast......but then again no 90 degree heat is ok with me.......!!

So, in your opinion, it seems like Spokane is better overall, minus the cold aspect.

Can you comment on whether you see the types of clouds in those photo links (see original post) more often in Spokane vs. Seattle, Portland, etc? I don't mind that scattered cloudy look vs. a grey seamless mat.

I also surprised to hear that Portland is notably worse, cloud-wise than Seattle. I see a lot of conflicting info on that.

[Couggirl03]

I've lived in Spokane for 6 years now. Those kinds of clouds are common in the spring and fall but not as common as you'd probably like. You won't see a lot of that from Nov-March. When it's cloudy then, it's more like a sheet of gray. So those 5 months are pretty depressing.
I lived in Seattle for 3 years, and I'd say the difference is that the clouds in Seattle feel lower and fuller. They're a bit prettier than the Spokane clouds which seem just flatter and gray. I'd say the clouds in Spokane are more likely to break up at some point during the day than in Seattle-which is probably why Spokane has a few sunnier days per year than Seattle.
I lived in Pullman for 4 years (college) and I'd say the weather is very similar to Spokane. I'd say Pullman has more of the cloud cover you're looking for though. I saw those kinds of clouds more in Pullman than in Spokane.

[Yeledaf]

Keep in mind that it's always at least 10-15 degrees F colder in Spokane than Seattle. That means that while you can go outside and mull the cloud cover in the Emerald City, you'll do most of your cloud-watching through your windows in Spokaloosa. And that is nearly always a recipe for depression.

In Seattle, the question is "Hmm. Do I need to take Gore-Tex for a stroll down to the waterfront?" In Spokane, it's "Damn. Is it too cold to go outside again?"

I hasten to add that the Spokane question soon morphs into "Is life itself worth living in this frozen gloominess?"

Then it's time to move.

[ca_north]

Originally Posted by Couggirl03

I've lived in Spokane for 6 years now. Those kinds of clouds are common in the spring and fall but not as common as you'd probably like. You won't see a lot of that from Nov-March. When it's cloudy then, it's more like a sheet of gray. So those 5 months are pretty depressing.
I lived in Seattle for 3 years, and I'd say the difference is that the clouds in Seattle feel lower and fuller. They're a bit prettier than the Spokane clouds which seem just flatter and gray. I'd say the clouds in Spokane are more likely to break up at some point during the day than in Seattle-which is probably why Spokane has a few sunnier days per year than Seattle.
I lived in Pullman for 4 years (college) and I'd say the weather is very similar to Spokane. I'd say Pullman has more of the cloud cover you're looking for though. I saw those kinds of clouds more in Pullman than in Spokane.

This isn't sounding so good for Spokane, but thanks for the info.