Looking for a couple of details about the "gray" winters/spring (Portland: transfer to, law school)

[SFit]

I've lived in the south my entire life, and yes I love the sunshine. My oldest brother also spent most of his early life in the south until he went to law school in Sacramento which is also very sunny, then shortly after he started working with a law firm in California, he was offered a transfer to Seattle and took it. Sadly he passed away from a rare medical condition 5 years ago, so I can't ask him all the questions directly now that we are considering a move. However, I do remember him saying that the weather was not a big issue at all to him and he loved being out in the sun at least as much as I do. His take on it was that when the sun isn't out almost all of the time, you tend to make the most of it and really appreciate and enjoy it when it comes out. Makes sense to me, and I think the trade offs would be worth it because me and my wife LOVE the outdoors, rain or shine, and living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area is sunny PLENTY but there is very little worth doing outdoors here without driving at least 2-3 hours (really there's just a couple of great spots 2-3 hours out, not much really). We are considering North Carolina on the west side of Winston-Salem as it offers a lot of outdoor activities in the Appalachian Mountains and the nearby foothills as our other option to moving to the PNW, but would rather move out of the south right now.

I've read about how cloudy it is most of the time in the late fall through spring in the Portland area. What I am wondering is this. Is this gray basically from dawn until dusk each day? Or does the sun occasionally break through a few times during the day on most days, even if its just for a minute or two?

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by SFit

I've lived in the south my entire life, and yes I love the sunshine. My oldest brother also spent most of his early life in the south until he went to law school in Sacramento which is also very sunny, then shortly after he started working with a law firm in California, he was offered a transfer to Seattle and took it. Sadly he passed away from a rare medical condition 5 years ago, so I can't ask him all the questions directly now that we are considering a move. However, I do remember him saying that the weather was not a big issue at all to him and he loved being out in the sun at least as much as I do. His take on it was that when the sun isn't out almost all of the time, you tend to make the most of it and really appreciate and enjoy it when it comes out. Makes sense to me, and I think the trade offs would be worth it because me and my wife LOVE the outdoors, rain or shine, and living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area is sunny PLENTY but there is very little worth doing outdoors here without driving at least 2-3 hours (really there's just a couple of great spots 2-3 hours out, not much really). We are considering North Carolina on the west side of Winston-Salem as it offers a lot of outdoor activities in the Appalachian Mountains and the nearby foothills as our other option to moving to the PNW, but would rather move out of the south right now.

I've read about how cloudy it is most of the time in the late fall through spring in the Portland area. What I am wondering is this. Is this gray basically from dawn until dusk each day? Or does the sun occasionally break through a few times during the day on most days, even if its just for a minute or two?

Can't answer because I haven't lived here for 4 seasons. IMO Your question is too narrow. You have to give something up in order to experience an incredible summer that Portland has. For example, when I went to school in Southwest Virginia, I dealt with 15 degree days, 30 mph winds and 100% humidity (which in cold air is awful) which was literally painful during the winter. During the summer though, while my friends in DC and Richmond were dying of humidity and heat, I was enjoying 80 degrees, no humidity, mountain air and good times. I'm in Portland right now visiting before my anticipated move in October, and it's 83 and actually pretty humid right now. It honestly feels like Virginia

[Squidlo]

I lived in Portland for 40+ years.

Yes, there are periods of sun almost any time of year and the summer is amazing.

You can expect the gray to go a week once in awhile.

I worked outside for a few years and honestly I remember days that it seemed the sun was barely there. It got light and then it got dark I really couldn't tell you what position the sun was in at any point of the day. Keep in mind I was working down on the river near a set of hills adding to the effect. I am sure some places in the area may get more sun than that. If you love the sun and have the cash/time you can always fly south for a week or two to recharge.

The real key is having the time to enjoy any decent weather that comes your way. Don't let a little rain ruin your day. Plan for rain and enjoy anything else you get.

[Larry Caldwell]

//www.city-data.com/forum/orego...s-weather.html

[Sprightly]

You can absolutely go way more than a week here without seeing the sun in the winter. Even during the occasional "sun breaks" you might happen to be indoors at the wrong moment and miss your chance for the entire day. So weigh carefully how important this is to you. It's all about biology really and how you uniquely will react. As you can guess from my post it doesn't affect me well... And yet, I am absolutely fed up with the sun and heat right now because it's too much. This is the first year I've actually craved the winter. We'll see what tune I'm singing in a couple months though!

[JBPisgah]

Originally Posted by SFit

does the sun occasionally break through a few times during the day on most days, even if its just for a minute or two?

No, not in winter.

[wanderbygrace]

I moved here in June of 2011, but here are/were my observations:

July-September, 2011: Most days were so clear, that you can easily see Mt. Hood. I could probably count on one hand the days that had constant cloud cover all day w/no sun breaks.

October-December, 2011: Far more clouds, but you'd get sunny breaks for about an hour or so every day. Few completely clear days, but also few completely cloudy days. I could see Hood roughly every three days, so obviously there were some very clear days, not just partly sunny days.

January-March, 2012: I'd be lucky to see Hood once a week. At one point, I remember at least two full weeks going by w/o seeing her. While that didn't mean that it was 100% cloudy all the time, it was cloudy enough to not see her. However, I will say that 100% cloudy days were pretty common, and it wasn't unusual to go 5-6 day w/zero sun breaks. Some days were mostly cloudy, but offered a few openings around 2-4pm that last maybe 5-10 minutes each time.

April - Mid June, 2012: Hood was becoming more visible, probably once every 3-5 days. Most days were more cloudy than not, but most did offer some sun breaks that could easily last 30 minutes or more. My son ran track, and I can remember that about half of his practices & meets were in fairly sunny weather, especially later in the season. A lot of times, the marine layer would mean cloudy mornings, but by 1-2pm, the day rapidly became sunny(ier).

Late June - Current, 2012: What clouds? We've had 1/4" of rain TOTAL since late June, and not many more even mostly cloudy days.

[AndyAMG]

"I love sunshine" That says it all. YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY HERE. don't even bother, you can look at weather stats till your blue in the face, but you will not be happy here.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by AndyAMG

"I love sunshine" That says it all. YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY HERE. don't even bother, you can look at weather stats till your blue in the face, but you will not be happy here.

I love ice cream. But that doesn't mean I need it, or want it, every day.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by wanderbygrace

I moved here in June of 2011, but here are/were my observations:

July-September, 2011: Most days were so clear, that you can easily see Mt. Hood. I could probably count on one hand the days that had constant cloud cover all day w/no sun breaks.

October-December, 2011: Far more clouds, but you'd get sunny breaks for about an hour or so every day. Few completely clear days, but also few completely cloudy days. I could see Hood roughly every three days, so obviously there were some very clear days, not just partly sunny days.

January-March, 2012: I'd be lucky to see Hood once a week. At one point, I remember at least two full weeks going by w/o seeing her. While that didn't mean that it was 100% cloudy all the time, it was cloudy enough to not see her. However, I will say that 100% cloudy days were pretty common, and it wasn't unusual to go 5-6 day w/zero sun breaks. Some days were mostly cloudy, but offered a few openings around 2-4pm that last maybe 5-10 minutes each time.

April - Mid June, 2012: Hood was becoming more visible, probably once every 3-5 days. Most days were more cloudy than not, but most did offer some sun breaks that could easily last 30 minutes or more. My son ran track, and I can remember that about half of his practices & meets were in fairly sunny weather, especially later in the season. A lot of times, the marine layer would mean cloudy mornings, but by 1-2pm, the day rapidly became sunny(ier).

Late June - Current, 2012: What clouds? We've had 1/4" of rain TOTAL since late June, and not many more even mostly cloudy days.

Good observations, but remember year to year it changes. Some are very wet almost year round, This summer we have had very little rain in the last three months. Just a couple of brief showers and over 50 days without a drop.