Rain (Seattle, Kelso, Chehalis: home, living, moving)

[41Willys]

Originally Posted by janb

just expect rain every day from Nov > March and every other day on the 2 months either side (but cloudy and gray on non-rainy days) ; with possibility of seeing sun for a few minutes, but not for hours or days. Then you will be pleasantly surprised if something better comes along (unlikely, but possible).

as for not noticing it... maybe I need to get rid of my income properties and farm and move to an apartment for that. I have endless problems with rain... leaky roofs, caulking around windows, downspouts, moldy siding, foundation penetrations, parking lot drains, leaves collecting in roof drains on commercial building that is on a 'lovely tree lined street'...rusty farm equip, water in fuel, electrical corrosion, foggy windows in cars, trucks, tractors. Then the sloshing around in orchard while pruning, carrying muddy ladders, having rain wash away 'anti-fungus' sprays... Guess I'm not 'used-to-it', yet. 25+ yrs after coming from Colorado... 300+ days of sunshine and no rusty tools. But hopefully I will 'not-notice-it' soon! In the meantime I will get up on the roof and treat the moss.

Colorado is highly over rated! I'll be there in 2 more month's. I'll come over and help ya.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by janb

coming from Colorado... 300+ days of sunshine

300+ sunny days? Check again
http://www.weathertoday.net/weatherf..._city_desc.php

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by Botev1912

300+ sunny days? Check again
http://www.weathertoday.net/weatherf..._city_desc.php

Herein lies the problem with statistics. This is the qualifier for this table's data: " This does not include Partly Sunny or Partly Cloudy days. "

What this means is that any day that has any clouds at all is not counted as sunny because that is stated as partly cloudy or partly sunny. Denver has a lot of days with a few clouds over the mountains and brilliant sunshine over the whole city the whole day. A better data point is the available sunshine. Also, the elevation in Colorado makes the sun much stronger than places at sea level. 5000 + feet of air makes a big difference.

[Botev1912]

This also means Seattle doesn't get only 71 sunny days, because this chart includes only completely sunny days. Partly cloudy and mostly sunny days are at least 70-80 every year. The sun in Seattle is strong too. Here I feel 65 degrees like 75.

I mean. Seattle is understated - 50 days

Originally Posted by JDTD

They have in the high 200's to low 300's days of sunshine. We have like 50?

Denver is overstated - 300+ days

Originally Posted by janb

coming from Colorado... 300+ days of sunshine

Do you understand me. This is not fair

[LordBalfor]

Yeah, As I've mentioned many times, it's not the total amount of yearly rainfall that gives Seattle it's reputation. Places like New York City, Miami, and Houston get quite a bit more rainfall than Seattle. In fact, Seattle ranks 44th among US cities for the amount of rainfall we get.

So, why the incredibly rainy reputation? The answer (as laid out in many posts here) is very simple. Here in Seattle we mostly get our rainfall in the form of light rain or drizzle that goes on and on and on and on...

On top of this, there are many days that, while they may not actually produce any rain, are generally cloudy, cloudy, cloudy.

Only the 3 months from after July 4th until the middle of October can the weather even remotely be considered generally sunny.

The good news is that USUALLY those months are very nice indeed.

The bad news is that SOMETIMES (like this past year) the summer sunshine and warmth fail to materialize much at all - leaving us up here in the PNW a bit disppointed and frustrated.

The best news (to me personally) is that I've acquired some retirement property in SE Arizona and it's just a matter of time (quite a ways off admittedly) until I'm able to soak up some sun.

Ken

[St.Croix to Seattle]

I have read that Seattle gets 136 days per year of partly sunny/fully sunny days,,if that is not correct what is the true amount of days per year that the sun shines even if is is for 10 minutes or 10 hours????

[Vipercat]

I have no pity for all these millionaire invaders from florida, arizona and tropical places whining about the rain... I have lived here all my life, and so has most of my family for generations... You kind of evolve to the rain after a couple decades... If you think its bad now, just wait for the wind and snow storms...

[rjcjmom]

janb,

Guess I hadn't thought how much impact it would have in your rural location. Very much a city girl, so do next to nothing outside or really notice it in that regards. Although I used to have some friends that lived out near Montesano and they had massive problems with mold and all that you mentioned. In fact, they were aware of one house that had to be condemned because the owners weren't able to keep up with the repairs it needed mostly due to the rain and coastal conditions there.

It also helps, I think, if you start off here - then you tend to think this is normal more. At least I did, until I started to do a little traveling here and there.

Simply living a couple of years in eastern Washington was a revelation as far as sunny living is concerned.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by St.Croix to Seattle

I have read that Seattle gets 136 days per year of partly sunny/fully sunny days,,if that is not correct what is the true amount of days per year that the sun shines even if is is for 10 minutes or 10 hours????

12/24 - afternoon we had completely blue sky
12/26 - it was partly sunny for 2 hours
12/28 - it was partly sunny for awhile

[beauty4ashes]

Just had to add my $.02 on this one because I think rain is so great. I just love it. Sounds crazy, but after 18 years of living in Washington, I LOVE the rain. I have never used an umbrella here.

Rain makes everything cleaner. The air smells better, the black streets shine. I have had to adjust my hair to suit the weather, so I just let it go curly most days and I'm happy.
My kids love the rain, too. Hubby is not as crazy about it as we are, but he doesn't mind it. He's just more of a snow guy.

No matter what you're doing when it's raining, you can make the best of it.