Another Weather question

[earls]

PW72 is correct on the temps. - But you should consider taxes in your decision. Property and income and sales. Oregon has no sales tax but they make up for it on the others. Wash does well on property tax and no income tax but higher gas tax. signed likes rain!!

[princessvanessa]

Most of my relatives live in the Vancouver/Portland area. Generally speaking, in the summer it is about 10 degrees hotter than the Seattle/Tacoma area and in the winter Vanc./Port. area is about 10 degrees cooler than Sea./Tac. area. I believe this has a lot to do with the Columbia River.

Also, in the winter Vanc./Port. will get "silver thaws". That is when it has snowed, the temperature rises to start everything melting and then suddenly the temperature drops back down to freezing. Everything drips icicles and the branches on trees will break, also power lines sometimes come down because of the weight or a tree limb takes them down.

It is beautiful to see but can wreck havoc--no power and roads are like ice rinks.

There does not seem to be as many "silver thaws" as in years past but they are more often in the Vanc./Port. area than Sea./Tac.; once again, because of the wind that comes whistling up the Columbia River (or at least that is what my dad always said)

[pw72]

True. Portland/Vancouver gets more icing due to cold air escaping the inland through the Columbia River gorge. It's like a pipeline feeding in the cold air. Help explains why you might find terrible ice conditions in places like Troutdale, and North Portland, and even Vancouver. Go south to Wilsonville, and you are out of it.

Seattle doesn't have that pipeline, so ice storms are rare. However, Seattle's ice problem is somewhat different...moisture left over from rain freezing overnight causing problems especially in the 'burbs.