Sequim/Port Angeles - Does It Snow There? (Seattle, Port Orchard: how much, homes)

[itsme2]

We're loooking into relocating to Washington and the Port Angeles/Sequim area is in our radar now.

How much snow if any could we anticipate there each year?

In looking at a weather chart it looks like temps over 70 degrees in summer are rare, is this really true?

Thank you.

[the dufferz]

Snow is a rarity, a couple of inches or so. The record depth was 12"

Very moist and about 16" of rain per year.

The temperature is indeed around 70 for a high, but has been as high as 99 back in the 40's

[RodFarlee]

Precipitation (be it rain or snow) are erratic in Sequim. Sequim may receive no significant precip during any given month, even December or March. So averages don't mean much, but the long term average is 2 inches of snow which lasts a couple days. What that really means is no snow some years, 6 inches that knocks down branches and stays for a week in the shade other years.
Ref: Western Regional Climate Center
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa7544

Temps over 70 are rare near the shore (say, in Dungeness). In Sequim itself, it's over 70 perhaps 30 days scattered through the summer, briefly over 80 for a couple hours in early afternoon 5 or 10 days, and touches 90 about once a decade. It is almost never above 60 overnight, though.

Realize that there are a variety of local microclimates within only a few miles of Sequim. There are homes up in the foothills where it's several degrees cooler and they more often have fog (actually, they're up in the low stratus clouds) and have snow on the ground for almost a month, on the shore where it's cooler, windier and more often has morning fog, and on south-facing hillsides near town where it's sunnier and warmer than these averages. In Sequim itself, homes on the open prairie are warmer but windier than those surrounded by trees.

[itsme2]

Wow, thanks for the detailed rersponses are either of you from that area, (more questions coming)?
.

[LMB]

Our experience was evidently a rare occurence, but when we visited Sequim for the first time this past July 21 it was a sweltering 99 degrees! I heard it also hit 99 the next two days as well. I don't think that happens very often though. We live in Florida, and everyone kept saying "you must be used to this kind of heat." Uh no, in Florida for eight months of the year most of us go from AC car to AC office back to AC car and then AC home. Thankfully, our best four months of weather is just about to start, and hurricanes have been scarce this year too.

Lynn

[RodFarlee]

Originally Posted by LMB

Our experience was evidently a rare occurence, but when we visited Sequim for the first time this past July 21 it was a sweltering 99 degrees! I heard it also hit 99 the next two days as well.

Yeah, those were the 3 hot days this summer! The official highs were 90, 91 and 87 degrees (those bank thermometers in full sun read lots higher than the actual air temp). Ref: weather underground/sequim/history.

[jabm67]

For a lot of western WA at low elevations, you tend not to get much snow. At my place at the north end of Seattle, once or twice a winter we get a little that melts off pretty fast.

Once or twice a decade we get a "pineapple express", when a warm airflow from the subtropical Pacific collides just right with a continental cold airmass over the area. When that happens, a lot of heavy, wet snow can fall (6" or more, in extreme cases) in a short time. More often the tropical air is warm enough that this falls as a couple of days of heavy rain, not snow, at least down low.

As the others have said, though, microclimes exist and can vary a lot. Elevation really matters too for snowfall.

[groovy123]

It really does not snow there hardly ever. Also check out Port Orchard and Hoodsport also great areas near by.

[mtiderman]

Hi there,
Neither of these areas receives much snow or on the flip side, really hot weather. The climate is very mild. Sequim in particular has about a quarter the rain of Seattle and three times the sunny days. Port Angeles is prone to get a bit more of the weather, but is still MUCH nicer than Seattle. Most winter we get one or two brief snow events. We had gone (until this year) 6 years without missing a day of school due to snow (which happens if more than 1 inch falls!) However the Olypmpic mountains are right here, so we ski and play in the snow with just a 40 min. drive. Often on the same day we ski, my husband gets down in time for a quick round of golf! We think it is the best of both worlds... Good luck on your search!

[citydatauser]

Originally Posted by the dufferz

Snow is a rarity, a couple of inches or so. The record depth was 12"

The temperature is indeed around 70 for a high, but has been as high as 99 back in the 40's

its true Port Angeles and Sequim dont get much snow but but there have been times where we have had over 12 inches. in 1996 the Port Angeles area had 2-3 feet of snow, depending on the location. in fact, this winter, Port Angeles got 8-20 inches, again depending on the location from downtown to the high school. now, snow is finally starting to melt from the 2-3 inches we got last week. winters like this are extremely rare around here, we usually only get 2 inches a year...if that

summers are nice here, for the most part it doesnt get too warm; but, again there are some exceptions. this past summer temperatures were in the mid to low 90's for 5 days in late July. but for the most part temperatures are in the 70's and occasionally reach the 80's

let me know if you want to know anything else about the area