Seattle metro vs Miami metro living

[James Bond 007]

The climate of Seattle is almost like California, with a wet winter and a dry summer. The difference is that the wet season in Seattle is longer and colder, and the dry season is shorter (and also cooler) than CA. Seattle usually gets a little bit of snow every winter. If you like sunny days, you'll get lots of them but they'll all be clustered in the summer. Though you also get periods in the winter where it's cold and sunny.

At least a few times each winter you get these "pineapple express" storms that are almost like tropical storms with very heavy winds and pouring rain. But they usually last just a couple days or so. Then you get lots of drizzly days elsewhere in the winter.

You might also want to think about Portland, which is a little warmer than Seattle.

Problem with anywhere in the West is that when there's lots of forest fires you get really smoky air.

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

The climate of Seattle is almost like California, with a wet winter and a dry summer. The difference is that the wet season in Seattle is longer and colder, and the dry season is shorter (and also cooler) than CA. Seattle usually gets a little bit of snow every winter. If you like sunny days, you'll get lots of them but they'll all be clustered in the summer. Though you also get periods in the winter where it's cold and sunny.

At least a few times each winter you get these "pineapple express" storms that are almost like tropical storms with very heavy winds and pouring rain. But they usually last just a couple days or so. Then you get lots of drizzly days elsewhere in the winter.

You might also want to think about Portland, which is a little warmer than Seattle.

Problem with anywhere in the West is that when there's lots of forest fires you get really smoky air.

The climate of Seattle is nothing like any "major city" in California south of 41 degrees latitude.

Pretty much every day is sunny with very little precipitation in places like San Diego and Los Angeles. Even the farther north major cities of San Francisco and Sacramento are are quite a bit dryer than Seattle.

It is not nearly as wet on a consistent basis, and the period between October and June is much brighter. The summers in the cities mentioned above are quite a bit hotter as well. Although Seattle does have fairly dry summers once you hit July through August. That is about it.

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by r6991b

Seems that there are two perspectives I hear about PNW, one that the darkness/wetness is overstated and one that it is understated. Regardless, it's probably a climate upgrade from what I've experienced here in the northeast and midwest. Would you say that summers are warm enough to enjoy swimming (in pools, lakes, etc)?

Keep in mind that Puget Sound is pretty cold.

People drown and die there in summers without wet suits due to hypothermia. Puget Sound water temp in the summer is in the low 50s. Much colder than anything you would experience on the eastern seaboard in summer.

Air temps could be in the 70s and 80s and water temps could easily be in the 40s. People do swim in the lakes and rivers in the Puget Sound area, but the water is cold are mostly fed by snowmelt and glacier water from the mountains.

Even on hot days people do die of hypothermia and drowning deaths are quite frequent in the lakes and rivers around Seattle during summer. People still do enjoy the lakes though.

Water ways in the PNW are not as inviting as Miami.

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by nadnerb

Yeah, if you’re coming from the Northeast or Midwest, it’ll probably be an upgrade. I’m pretty sure most of New England has earlier sunsets than western Washington. I lived in the Midwest (Ohio) for a few years and it felt just as cloudy but like 10-15 degrees colder on average. .

Sunrise is a later in Seattle though during winter. Sunsets are earlier on the eastern seaboard because of its eastern location on the continent. Seattle is significantly farther north than most of New England. (equivalent to New Brunswick and eastern Canada).

Consequently Seattle still has shorter day light hours in the winter.

[mhays25]

And really long days in the summer.