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Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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True, most of the populated areas west of the Cascades actually don't get an awful lot more than the national average of about 32 inches. And many states get even more, like say, Arkansas, averaging over 50 inches a year. Though the 'catch' is that the PNW doles out its moisture steadily, a little at a time (and the weeks on end of overcast skies don't much help the net 'effect' either). So there's a good reason WA is known as the 'Evergreen State'.
Also these days with climates changing all over, and arctic blasts becoming more frequent during the winters, now even typically mild Seattle winters can start to look like Buffalo (and why I finally moved to AZ, 'cuz I've lived in both)!
I'm in the PNW, about 450 miles south of Seattle and what we've seen is warmer and a LOT dryer. We've been in and out of drought conditions (mostly in) for the last 15 years. February has, so far, been one of the driest on record - 0.48" of rain total and it is 72deg F here today.
Most of Oregon, with the exception of the coast, is either in "slight" to "moderate" drought and a few areas are above that.
There is a lot more to the "Pacific Northwest" than just Seattle and the Puget Sound area. Just like there is much more to Oregon than the Portland metro area (where, admittedly, almost half the state's population lives), but a lot of people say "Oregon" when they just mean Portland.
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Though the 'catch' is that the PNW doles out its moisture steadily, a little at a time (and the weeks on end of overcast skies don't much help the net 'effect' either).
Yeah, I noticed this too when I moved here. Although rainy days are a lot more frequent in Seattle than I was used to, we haven't gotten many of those intense, multi-hour downpours I remember from Illinois and Ohio.
(Though one night when we did, I was out on the Kitsap Peninsula, my wipers were gunked up so I could barely see anything, and the power was knocked out so the traffic lights at intersections were just invisible in the darkness, not even flashing red. I narrowly escaped a couple of accidents, and I'm sure there were several that night. Not a fun experience.)
The Pacific Northwest has always been Washington, Oregon, and most of Idaho. However, it can be broken down to two different regions, the west and the east. The climates are different, the politics are different, but the general region is held together by geography. The west needs the east, the east needs the west. It is a fantastic, fertile, and growing region that actually is quite important to the entire country in many ways. Agriculturally, Technologically, and Geographically. How does this NOT factor into the impression of the region?
True, most of the populated areas west of the Cascades actually don't get an awful lot more than the national average of about 32 inches. And many states get even more, like say, Arkansas, averaging over 50 inches a year. Though the 'catch' is that the PNW doles out its moisture steadily, a little at a time (and the weeks on end of overcast skies don't much help the net 'effect' either). So there's a good reason WA is known as the 'Evergreen State'.
Also these days with climates changing all over, and arctic blasts becoming more frequent during the winters, now even typically mild Seattle winters can start to look like Buffalo (and why I finally moved to AZ, 'cuz I've lived in both)!
This year, we had basically a couple days where the suburbs and hills got snowy, but the urban core only got dusted. In my four-plus decades in Seattle that's pretty typical. I'd say climate change has made us a little less snowy actually.
Here's a source...the general trend has been down per this.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal
I'm in the PNW, about 450 miles south of Seattle and what we've seen is warmer and a LOT dryer. We've been in and out of drought conditions (mostly in) for the last 15 years. February has, so far, been one of the driest on record - 0.48" of rain total and it is 72deg F here today.
Most of Oregon, with the exception of the coast, is either in "slight" to "moderate" drought and a few areas are above that.
There is a lot more to the "Pacific Northwest" than just Seattle and the Puget Sound area. Just like there is much more to Oregon than the Portland metro area (where, admittedly, almost half the state's population lives), but a lot of people say "Oregon" when they just mean Portland.
Yep, and then there are all the little 'microclimates' along the coast. Though maybe we also oughta define what we mean by 'Pacific Northwest', especially when '450 miles south of Seattle' is Ashland, OR... right on the California border!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars
Yeah, I noticed this too when I moved here. Although rainy days are a lot more frequent in Seattle than I was used to, we haven't gotten many of those intense, multi-hour downpours I remember from Illinois and Ohio.
(Though one night when we did, I was out on the Kitsap Peninsula, my wipers were gunked up so I could barely see anything, and the power was knocked out so the traffic lights at intersections were just invisible in the darkness, not even flashing red. I narrowly escaped a couple of accidents, and I'm sure there were several that night. Not a fun experience.)
We don't get those, heavy downpours are rare, though we have had a couple this year. . Most of our rain is a steady drizzle or even mist over many hours or even days. That's why we still have kids playing soccer in the rain, and most residents don't even own an umbrella. Seattle itself doesn't actually get all that much rain, averaging about 38", while the whole USA average is also 38". Outlying areas do get a lot more than Seattle. Here in Sammamish we get 53", Redmond and Kirkland get 41", Everett 42", Bremerton 49", North Bend 67".
Quite frankly, I blame the hipster movement as well as the tech scene. Cities like Austin and Denver are experiencing the same problem, largely because hipsters know how to popularize a place and attract hordes of people overnight (literally). It's the tech scene that drives up the cost of living, as that industry pays big depending on your position.
Seattle had a "scene" in the 60s and 70s, but was very affordable, especially Capitol Hill. I don't think so-called "hipsters" drive up anything, except the "gig" economy. The real villian behind rampant real estate prices/rents is massive tax cuts for the rich, funneling massive piles of money into speculation, fueling a boom and bust, bubble and panic economy in the 2000s and 2010s, the likes of which we hadn't seen since the 1890s and 1920s.
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My question is why hasn't the rest of the PNW become so popular? After all, the grand appeal is it's outdoor recreation and it's not like you need to live in the city to experience that. It's not like all the land is ALL in Portland and Seattle. Why can't businesses start migrating outward to the rural counties of the PNW coastline? And they'd be ideal for working class, socialist hipsters. The hipster who wants to work as a barista forever can surely find a job and cheap rent in a place like Hoquiam, Napavine, Centralia, etc.
Seattle, Portland, and parts of Bellingham, Olympia, and Tacoma are oases of urbanity, for which the ability to live without a car, and with a bike, is the most salient feature. Outside of those largely isolated islands is FamilyLand, where cars rule. Beyond that is WeyerhauserLand, where time stands still.
Have you actually been to Hoquiam or Centralia? Greyhound doesn't even go to Aberdeen or Hoquiam. Read up on diminishing "resource-based" economies. They are also definitively outside the rainshadow.
Even on those days, it's only raining a percentage of the time, and it's almost all light rain. I walk 10 minutes to work every day, and maybe 2 or 3 times per year get there wet. (No umbrella obviously...I live here.)
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