Boise inversions vs PNW winters (live, compared, places, people)
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How do the Boise winter inversions, where there is absolutely no break in the cloud cover for a few weeks, compare to Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland etc) winters?
I'm considering moving to the PNW, but the one thing that's been keeping me from there is the reputation for gloomy, six-month long winters. I have SAD, but if there was even just a momentary break in the clouds during the day, I think I could handle it. The Boise winter inversions drive me nuts, but they fortunately only last a week or two. But if PNW winters were like 6-month inversions, I couldn't do it.
I don't care about rain so much, I really like rain actually. It's the constant cloud cover that concerns me. If it rained and then the clouds cleared right after, that'd be fine. I don't know how LA is, but Boise inversions are dark, there is no break in the cloud cover at all for a few weeks.
I don't care about rain so much, I really like rain actually. It's the constant cloud cover that concerns me. If it rained and then the clouds cleared right after, that'd be fine. I don't know how LA is, but Boise inversions are dark, there is no break in the cloud cover at all for a few weeks.
I mean the PNW is cloudy 90$ of the time in the winter. Overall Boise has more sunny days from November to March.
So in the PNW the clouds basically never break, the whole winter? Damn, that's really disappointing .
They break, but not often, you can go weeks at a time not seeing the sun. Also when ever a cold front comes in it's usually sunny, so there will be times where you will have two weeks of frosty and sunny weather in the middle of winter. The problem though is it's not just winter, but late fall and early spring that is also cloudy.
There are some exaggerations posted here. Seattle rarely goes "weeks at a time" without sunshine, even in mid-winter. That said, is it one of the cloudiest cities in the US on an annual basis? Yes. But places like Portland, OR, Cleveland, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA are all statistically close with overall cloudiness.
As for rainfall, true that Seattle's annual falls slowly over more days, but everyone knows that Seattle is not anywhere near the rainiest by total precipitation annually.
There are some exaggerations posted here. Seattle rarely goes "weeks at a time" without sunshine, even in mid-winter. That said, is it one of the cloudiest cities in the US on an annual basis? Yes. But places like Portland, OR, Cleveland, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA are all statistically close with overall cloudiness.
As for rainfall, true that Seattle's annual falls slowly over more days, but everyone knows that Seattle is not anywhere near the rainiest by total precipitation annually.
I think that it's pretty over exaggerated as well based on what I've heard from friends from my hometown (Syracuse NY) who have relocated to the Seattle area.
Now Seattle isn't part of the Sunbelt but my friends who moved there were surprised to find out that it's sunnier than they thought--it's sunnier than Syracuse (okay maybe not saying a lot there). It doesn't stay cloudy for weeks and Seattle actually gets LESS rain than my current city. It also is sunnier than Buffalo and my current city.
The rainfall in Seattle tends to be lighter and is more seasonal than in the South or East; it's pretty much a given that it's going to rain 3-5 inches a month here.
I personally love a cloudy climate but I know it isn't for everyone.
Still based on accounts from people I know, Seattle's reputation as a constantly cloudy/rainy place seems to be exaggerated.
I get SAD in the Seattle "winters". That's in quotes because it goes from October-June. Yes there are sunny days in there, but when you get to Nov-Feb, it's not that many. I was actually looking at Boise as my next location since I'm looking at finding a sunnier place to live. I personally wouldn't move to the PNW if you are not liking the 1-2 week inversion. As others said, it's not the rain that will get you. But most definitely the overcast grey skies.
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