City/Town with the most sun (Seattle, Spokane: living, statistics, moving)

[redwhiteblue]

Which city/town in WA has the most amount of sun?

[Ira500]

Eastern and central Washington have considerably more sunshine than Seattle and western Washington, So to name a few: Chelan, Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Soap Lake.
On the Western side, Sequim and Dungeness and Port Townsend, and The San Juan Islands and some of Whidbey Island are protected by the Olympic rain shadow, which means it gets very little rain. It's less sunny than central/Eastern WA, but gets about the same amount of rainfall, which is barely any (10-20 inches a year).Central and Eastern have four distinct seasons and snow, where Western gets touched by snow now and again, but can go years with nary a trace.

[GameHog9]

I think Yakima, followed by the Spokane and Tri-Cities areas

Shouldn't the data be available on this site?

[nullgeo]

Sorry to be a bubble-burster, but Eastern Washington is not a Lot different from Western Washington with regard to winter and spring sunshine. If you want to get the picture, go to the City-Data info pages for Seattle, on the west, 'wet', side of the mountains ... then open another window for City-Data pages for Spokane or Wenatchee or other Eastern Wash. towns. Compare the two.

All of Eastern Washington certainly has FAR less rainfall than the west. But what you will see in the weather section charts for Sunshine tells the real story: from November through April, nearly all of Eastern WA is terribly close to Western WA for lack of sun. This is the S.A.D. time of year, if that is the OP's curiosity. From May to October, there is plenty of sun (most years) in Western Washington, that, along with our long daylight hours at this latitude, no one should really feel deprived for that half of the year.

[Deep_Vee]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Sorry to be a bubble-burster, but Eastern Washington is not a Lot different from Western Washington with regard to winter and spring sunshine. If you want to get the picture, go to the City-Data info pages for Seattle, on the west, 'wet', side of the mountains ... then open another window for City-Data pages for Spokane or Wenatchee or other Eastern Wash. towns. Compare the two.

All of Eastern Washington certainly has FAR less rainfall than the west. But what you will see in the weather section charts for Sunshine tells the real story: from November through April, nearly all of Eastern WA is terribly close to Western WA for lack of sun. This is the S.A.D. time of year, if that is the OP's curiosity. From May to October, there is plenty of sun (most years) in Western Washington, that, along with our long daylight hours at this latitude, no one should really feel deprived for that half of the year.

I really disagree with you on this point. I have lived on the West Side my entire life, but I have traveled to Central WA at least once a month for the last several years. The statistics are deceiving...I find that the West Side tends to be Cloudy/overcast by default, with the occasional sun break or clear day. Central WA tends to be just the opposite, Sunny by Default, with the occasional cloud cover or grey day. Wenatchee boasts 300 sunny days a year...I have a brother that moved over there for just that reason and he loves it.

There is no way you can say that from a "sunny day" perspective the East and West sides are similar... Over there, even after it snows, the sun comes out, over here, it just stays cloudy for months on end...

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Deep_Vee

I really disagree with you on this point. I have lived on the West Side my entire life, but I have traveled to Central WA at least once a month for the last several years. The statistics are deceiving...I find that the West Side tends to be Cloudy/overcast by default, with the occasional sun break or clear day. Central WA tends to be just the opposite, Sunny by Default, with the occasional cloud cover or grey day. Wenatchee boasts 300 sunny days a year...I have a brother that moved over there for just that reason and he loves it.

There is no way you can say that from a "sunny day" perspective the East and West sides are similar... Over there, even after it snows, the sun comes out, over here, it just stays cloudy for months on end...

Personal impressions aside, look at the charts. Statistics CAN often be manipulated, but not charting of sunshine from the weather bureaus

I also spent many years (about 14) going over to Eastern Washington in winter, frequently. At least once a month. And I have a son who lived in Spokane for a while, until recently (he just moved back to the wetside.) I agree with you that I DID see more sun over there, even in winter. But I would have to say that the occasional sun was simply Very impressionable due to how rare ANY sun is in winter in the NW. The difference in sun, East to West in WA, from Nov. well into April, is noted in the charts. If the few percent difference is sufficient for some folks, great!

My only point in responding to threads I see from time to time regarding sunshine in the NW is to offer a balance of information to those considering moving here for whom sunshine is obviously a concern. Many websites try to oversell the "sunny" advantages of one place over another in Washington. It's not honest. Even if the statistics for Eastern Washington were off considerably (and they are not, I'm afraid), this is NOT one of the even average sunny spots in North America.

Here's a fun note for you, though: You want to compare dismal, dreary charts showing poor sunshine performance in the United States in winter? Look at Pittsburgh, PA! It's not just the NW that sucks in winter!

[M3 Mitch]

Getting back to the OP's question - I think any place in Eastern Washington will have enough of bright, sunny days to satisfy you.

[allforcats]

I agree with M3 Mitch, plus Sequim (pronounced "Skwim") and Dungeness and Port Townsend, and probably Port Angeles, all on the northen end of the Olympic Peninsula, and The San Juan Islands and some of Whidbey Island, as Ira500 noted.

[Ira500]

I think Port Angeles is outside of the rain shadow, but Anancortes is in it.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by allforcats

I agree with M3 Mitch, plus Sequim (pronounced "Skwim") and Dungeness and Port Townsend, and probably Port Angeles, all on the northen end of the Olympic Peninsula, and The San Juan Islands and some of Whidbey Island, as Ira500 noted.

As I wrote before, I Live in the "Rain Shadow" (San Juans). Pt. Angeles is Not in the shadow. All the other places cited are. As has been written before in a number of similar threads: less rain (in the Rain Shadow) does NOT equate to hardly ANY more sun. It is just gray without as much rain. If occasional glimpses of blue and a spot of yellow between blanket cloud cover qualifies as "sunshine" for you, then you are probably a good candidate for NW living.

The original OP did not post any specifics for the question of "Which city/town in WA has the most amount of sun?" Without knowing the reason for the question, there is NO way to know what would satisfy as enough sun for the OP, or even WHY the question is being asked

Because several answers referred to Eastern WA as having lots of sunshine, I feel it appropriate to point to the CITY-DATA charts for both Eastern and Western WA. Include some Rain Shadow towns on the West side. Do a comparison. The NW is a lovely place, even when gray. But it is NOT sunny — except in summer. That includes Eastern WA. Look at the charts.

Annual hours of sun as a single statistic is VERY misleading in the NW due to the exceptional summer sun. The most important sunshine statistic for the NW for most people considering coming here is the sun for the OTHER 8 months. Look at the charts. (Dismal.) Real information has real value. Opinions vary.