Weather in Camano Island and Stanwood? (Seattle, Port Angeles: real estate, house, live)

[KSR]

My wife and I are recently retired in San Diego and are in the process of relocating to Washington for the beauty, slower pace of life, and housing affordability. We like outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, and hiking (with dogs), so weather is a key factor is our decision as to the best place to relocate. We therefore are concentrating our search within the rain shadow. Sequim and Port Townsend are possibilities but are pretty remote. We've ruled out Whidbey because of the ferry dependency. We understand that Northern Camano Island and part of Stanwood get rainfall similar to Sequim but I can not get accurate data for them as the mainstream weather sites give info for Coupeville or Port Townsend. The underground weather site posts a personal weather station from happy valley in stanwood but none in Camano. Does anyone know where I can get data as reported directly from Norther camano? I know that just 20 miles can make a big difference in weather so I'm wondering how accurate the data for Coupeville and Port townsend is as it pertains to Camano. Is happy valley in Stanwood similar to northern camano? Sequim boasts of 314 days of sunshine per year. How does Camano compare? Any info or other words of advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Karl

[the dufferz]

Pretty much what you see with coopeville will be the same on Camano. The distance between the two is over water so there is nothing to stop the weather from drifting that way.

You mentioned Whidbey is out due to ferry. If you live on the southern end of the Island, this is typically true, but coupeville and north gives you the option to cross the Deception Pass bridge and hit the mainland from there.

Regardless of where you settle, you will most likely find the summer weather very pleasant and the winter weather a little rough in comparison to SD.

[jaro17]

What dufferz said rings true

Port Townsend & Port Angeles are in Olympic Ranges' rain shadow...they get under 20" rain per annum...I don't think that translates to sunshine hours though

Are you checking city-data's real estate indices, as well as those for sunshine hours, and crime... affordable home, sunshine, safety; all important for sure

Do you need to be "by the ocean" ? What about places like Chelan Wa, Sandpoint Id, Polson or Kalispell Mt ? Just some thoughts; personally I think Sandpoint is a nice "four seasons" locale !

Respectfully,
jb

[KSR]

Thanks for the input Dufferz and Jaro.
What you say about the weather makes sense, however I know that Washington has a lot of "micro" climates and sometimes even 15 miles can make a significant difference, particularly when the rain shadow is involved ie Sequim and Port Angeles. How far would you estimate that Coupeville and Northern camano are as the crow flies?
As for the weather being rough relative to San Diego in the winter, yes, that is the million dollar question for me. Especially as I sit here staring out the window at blue skies and bright sunshine and read about 33 degrees and snow. I will make a visit next week to experience it first hand for 2 weeks and perhaps I'll change my mind. Of course, since I'm retired, there's nothing to stop me from being a snow bird in the winters and coming back for a couple of months when if it gets too rough for me.

As for the demographics and house affordability, yes, i've checked those out extensively and those are a couple of the prime motivators.

By the way, what is the "reputation" score on these posts and how is it earned/interpreted?
Karl

[the dufferz]

Originally Posted by KSR

Thanks for the input Dufferz and Jaro.
What you say about the weather makes sense, however I know that Washington has a lot of "micro" climates and sometimes even 15 miles can make a significant difference, particularly when the rain shadow is involved ie Sequim and Port Angeles. How far would you estimate that Coupeville and Northern camano are as the crow flies?


By the way, what is the "reputation" score on these posts and how is it earned/interpreted?
Karl

From shore to shore it's about 4 1/2 miles. I want to be really straightforward about the weather. For "southerners" who are used to warm and lots of sun, this can be quite the awakening. Visiting here anytime in the winter is a very good thing in that you get to see the area at it's worst. Most who visit in the summer fall in love with what they see, but it is best to see the bad and the ugly with the good... not saying that it's bad or ugly, it just ain't Southern California.

Weather data can be hard to interpret in that we have very few "sunny" days. We usually have partially cloudy days where the sun is in and out throughout the day. We up here call that a sunny day, the weather service does not. Frankly if you are trying to move up to this area and maintain the sunny weather you have down south, then I would recommend looking farther east to central washington. The cascade mountain range prevents a lot of the weather from crossing over, the summers are warmer and the winters are colder, so you get the 4 seasons.

As for the reputation system and post information that you see, you are a "junior member" for about your first 20 posts, "Member" from there until 99, then you are a senior member at 100. Somewhere around 200 you are declared as "having no life"

The reputation number below the number of posts is a rating system that you can use if you find a poster being helpful. To do so you click the scales in the bar above the post #. This allows you to make a comment for the poster to view. When you do so it adds a reputation number. The idea is to reward good posts. The green dot below this number is related to the reputation. One green dot for 10 -99 reputation points, two green dots from 100-199 and so on.

[johnsonjamie]

Hello Karl,
Welcome to Camano Island, the island you can drive to! We are located 50 miles north of Seattle and are connected to Stanwood (the mainland) by bridge. With over 56 miles of pristine beaches, Camano Island is located in the Olympic Rain Shadow and receives 17-20" of rain annually. Camano Island also has it's own golf course, Camaloch. There are public tennis courts on Camano, and a tennis club in Stanwood. There are numerous hiking trails in many of our parks. Moderator cut: realtor info

[co9]

Originally Posted by KSR

My wife and I are recently retired in San Diego and are in the process of relocating to Washington for the beauty, slower pace of life, and housing affordability. We like outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, and hiking (with dogs), so weather is a key factor is our decision as to the best place to relocate. We therefore are concentrating our search within the rain shadow. Sequim and Port Townsend are possibilities but are pretty remote. We've ruled out Whidbey because of the ferry dependency. We understand that Northern Camano Island and part of Stanwood get rainfall similar to Sequim but I can not get accurate data for them as the mainstream weather sites give info for Coupeville or Port Townsend. The underground weather site posts a personal weather station from happy valley in stanwood but none in Camano. Does anyone know where I can get data as reported directly from Norther camano? I know that just 20 miles can make a big difference in weather so I'm wondering how accurate the data for Coupeville and Port townsend is as it pertains to Camano. Is happy valley in Stanwood similar to northern camano? Sequim boasts of 314 days of sunshine per year. How does Camano compare? Any info or other words of advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Karl

I live on Camano. The south end and north end are pretty much identical in terms of weather. It's a pretty small island, we're talking 2-3 miles wide through most of it.

We are in the rainshadow, but it's nothing like Sequim. When it's hailing in Arlington, it'll be raining in Stanwood. You're not going to get away from the NW Washington experience, you'll just find a more subdued version of it.

Sequim's a weather oddity all of its own. Camano and Stanwood don't even touch it. I heard they even have a law on the books in Sequim that says it isn't allowed to rain x amount every year. hahaha.

[AzDreamer]

Try this site for a more detailed rainfall map.

sequim.com/maps/rainfall.html

[oldmanrez]

Check out the flight maps for weather, I think you will be pleasantly surprised about the weather, at least for North Camano, where we live. I have lived in WA my whole life, it is definitely dryer on Camano, not necessarily sunshine, but dryer. We love it! Lots of wildlife, quiet and beautiful.

[AzDreamer]

I was biking on Camano a couple weeks and the far north end close to the water was a lot cooler than the side of the island with southern exposure just a couple miles away. This is probably because the far north end is more shaded.

Also, the OP wrote "Sequim boasts of 314 days of sunshine per year". I don't think this is accurate. This thread has more info, the Sequim Chamber of Commerce is probably the source for the misinformation.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/washi...ml#post4184604