Month-by-month weather description (Portland: neighborhoods, school, college)

[MtnSurfer]

Alinka,

I can relate to to you. I grew up and lived on the mild S. Cal. coast most of my life. I enjoyed the 60-80 temps year round. There was a lot of sun year round however. Now that I am living in Colorado there is also a lot of *bright* sun. I find myself longing for cloudy days with rain/thunderstorms which we also get in the summer. While I love the outdoors I have spent so much time in the sun that I am ready for a break. Skin cancer also runs in my family and is no fun.

I have heard another person who lived in Sacramento mention 'reverse' sad. I am one who could never live in places like Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, etc... That constant swelting heat is worse than any snow, rain or colder temp area to me.

[PDXster]

Originally Posted by Supernova7

Wisconsin does get a lot of snow and cold but that's not the entire Midwest. It sounds like Portland would be more on par with Chicago, Michigan and Indiana. Regardless, Portland is no Southern California, Las Vegas, Texas or Arizona. When I lived on the East Coast the coldest I've seen it get was 7 degrees below zero and that was maybe (3) times in my whole life. Still 30 degree Fehrenheit is pretty cold. I think 60-70 degrees is perfect temperatures. At 40 degrees you'll need a jacket/scarf.

In the winter I'd say our temps are sort of a combination of New York's and San Francisco's. We CAN see real cold weather during the winter, like the Northeast does, but generally the marine influence wins over and the highs stay closer to 45 degrees. Much colder than California, but much milder than the Upper Midwest. It rarely stays below freezing for more than a few days in the winter, I'd say we average one major freeze up a winter where ponds and creeks freeze over and you'll need to pay a real heating bill.

[oldtintype]

Portland is NOTHING like Chicago, Michigan or Indiana! It's just a colder, slightly wetter San Francisco with a little less sun.

[PDXster]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

Portland is NOTHING like Chicago, Michigan or Indiana! It's just a colder, slightly wetter San Francisco with a little less sun.

Portland is actually a lot wetter than San Francisco, and has much more temperature variability. Portland also sees snow every winter, San Francisco does maybe once every 50 years.

[nancy thereader]

But, not a lot of snow ? Right ?

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by PDXster

Portland is actually a lot wetter than San Francisco, and has much more temperature variability. Portland also sees snow every winter, San Francisco does maybe once every 50 years.

I realize that--I'm originally from San Francisco, but it's a lot more accurate to describe Portland as closer to San Francisco weather than it is to describe it as similar to Chicago! Portland is absolutely nothing like Chicago. We also don't see snow every winter and if we do, it's a few inches that lasts a day or two, not a few feet!

I don't find the weather here to be that much different than San Francisco. It can rain a lot in the winter in SF, it can be fairly cold (though not as cold as Portland) and yes, the summers are colder in SF, but in general San Francisco doesn't have extreme weather and either does Portland. It rains more here, there is less sun, but people complain about the fog and cold summers in SF as much as they complain about the rain here in the winter. Moving from San Francisco to here wasn't a huge adjustment. It was just wetter and it got dark earlier in the winter.

[PDXster]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

But, not a lot of snow ? Right ?

Depends. Some winters we don't see more than a few flurries, some winters we get an inch or two of wet snow that immediately melts off, and occasionally we get true blizzards. I can remember winters where it's snowed upwards of 1 to 2 feet and lasted for days. In January 2004 the city had a major snow and ice storm that shut everything down for about a week.

Most of the time snow isn't a problem, but it does occur in the winter and during our worst storms chains are required on I-5, 205, and Highway 26. I would suggest patching up on your winter driving just in case.

If you're coming from L.A. or Phoenix, it might be an adjustment. If you're from the Midwest, you'll probably laugh at the way our news stations turn an inch of snow into a major catastrophe.

[PDXster]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

I realize that--I'm originally from San Francisco, but it's a lot more accurate to describe Portland as closer to San Francisco weather than it is to describe it as similar to Chicago! Portland is absolutely nothing like Chicago. We also don't see snow every winter and if we do, it's a few inches that lasts a day or two, not a few feet!

I don't find the weather here to be that much different than San Francisco. It can rain a lot in the winter in SF, it can be fairly cold (though not as cold as Portland) and yes, the summers are colder in SF, but in general San Francisco doesn't have extreme weather and either does Portland. It rains more here, there is less sun, but people complain about the fog and cold summers in SF as much as they complain about the rain here in the winter. Moving from San Francisco to here wasn't a huge adjustment. It was just wetter and it got dark earlier in the winter.

I agree, it's not a huge adjusment, but Portland gets double the rain San Francisco gets and can see extreme weather, whereas San Francisco is extremely temperate and mild year round. I've lived here my entire life, so I've seen some major storms that have shocked California transplants.

[oldtintype]

There were a few Januarys where it rained all but one or two days in SF! SF can get pretty wet and with the COLD summers, it doesn't even out as much as it does here. Here you pay for it Dec-Feb but you get beautiful warm weather July-Sept. SF is like 50-75 year round for the most part with lots of fog, a good amount of rain, etc. SF is more moderate but depending where you live, since there are major microclimates, it can be freezing quite often year round. I lived last in Alamo Square and it could be a rare 100 degree day but by 3pm on the top of Hayes St. Hill (Alamo Square Park) the fog would be rolling in, the wind would be whipping and you'd be out there walking the dog in freezing weather in July with a huge jacket, laughing at the tourists in t-shirts freezing to death. I also lived in the Mission district which has glorious weather. I know someone who lives in the Sunset and it's always cold and foggy there so...depending where you live in SF Portland it's not necessarily that different. After living on the top of Hayes St. hill (Hayes and Steiner) for six years and constantly freezing every time I walked out of the house, seeing nothing but fog for weeks, Portland was nothing.

[PDXster]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

There were a few Januarys where it rained all but one or two days in SF! SF can get pretty wet and with the COLD summers, it doesn't even out as much as it does here. Here you pay for it Dec-Feb but you get beautiful warm weather July-Sept. SF is like 50-75 year round for the most part with lots of fog, a good amount of rain, etc. SF is more moderate but depending where you live, since there are major microclimates, it can be freezing quite often year round. I lived last in Alamo Square and it could be a rare 100 degree day but by 3pm on the top of Hayes St. Hill (Alamo Square Park) the fog would be rolling in, the wind would be whipping and you'd be out there walking the dog in freezing weather in July with a huge jacket, laughing at the tourists in t-shirts freezing to death. I also lived in the Mission district which has glorious weather. I know someone who lives in the Sunset and it's always cold and foggy there so...depending where you live in SF Portland it's not necessarily that different. After living on the top of Hayes St. hill (Hayes and Steiner) for six years and constantly freezing every time I walked out of the house, seeing nothing but fog for weeks, Portland was nothing.

Eh, Portland got down to 19 degrees this past January. When was the last time that happened in SF?