Seattle Weather/Climate Thread (Bellingham: schools, area, architect)

[AzDreamer]

The closer you are to Puget Sound the more moderate the temps will be. In the Winter temps close to the water are likely to be higher than areas farther in and in the Summer this is reversed.

Here's a link to a map of WA state historical rainfall. You have to head to the the Olympic Peninsula or Whidbey Island to find the rain shadow.

http://www.wamaps.com/maps/precipitation_map.gif

[jm31828]

To answer your 2nd question, yes heating is available in all homes and apartments. It depends on your comfort level if you would need heat when it's 60 degrees outside. What we do in our house is just set our thermostat at 65 degrees, and no matter what, if it drops below that in the house the heat comes on. Our place warms enough during the day just from the sun that on days like this heat doesn't turn on during the day, but at night when it gets down to 50 or even into the 40's as it does this time of year the heat will come on a couple of times.

And as was also mentioned, the east side suburbs will have less of the moderating effect from the Puget Sound as you get farther from the water. For example, I live in Lynnwood- which is not far from the Sound- but work in Redmond, over on the east side. On colder winter mornings it may be 37 or 38 degres at my house, but when I get to Redmond it would be 31 or 32 with frost on the ground. And in the Spring and Summer when warmer weather arrives, it may be 67 degrees in Lynnwood while it's in the mid 70's in Redmond, again because they are farther from the water.

This is not always a solid rule because winds blowing in from the east or southeast can mostly do away with the cooling effects of the water in the Summer, but it's a good general rule to go by.

[Scotty Dosent Know]

Originally Posted by usernametaken

Do some areas of Seattle and the surrounding areas get slightly less rain?

Also, is heating always available when you rent an apartment? Do you need heating if the temperature is 60F like at the moment?

Depending on how far from Seattle you are looking if you are worried about rain you could move to Sequim wa across the water. They are in what is called a rain shadow and average 15" or less a year (about the same as LA) but it is a a smaller town.


Heating in WA is always available and when its warm you just turn it off lol most people have a programmable thermostat any ways so if the sun is heating the house to your set temperature or hotter the heat will not come on.

[usernametaken]

Thanks! I do not mind the 30s in winter, since I am moving from Ohio where it is usually in the 20s or less.

In summer, I prefer at least 60 F, so it seems like the further east I am the better my chances of getting that kind of temperature in summers.

[Botev1912]

Originally Posted by usernametaken

Do you need heating if the temperature is 60F like at the moment?

hahaha. I probably need A/C right now because it's 77 in my room

[Masika]

This last winter we had a pretty mild one, lot of warmer sunny days. The winter before was nice and cold, and I loved it. It snowed where I lived and it kept snowing for two weeks, a rare treat. I like the long dark nights, and the rain, but when spring comes I enjoy the sun and warmer weather for a little while. Last summer we had a long stretch of 90+ weather, and it got to be 91 in the house. No A/C, yuck, and we are 20 minutes south of Seattle, so you see there is a wide range of weather patterns all over the Puget Sound. My partner would like to keep the house above 70, she doesn't like the cold at all. She would be happy with a year round temp in the mid 70's.

[pw72]

The average temp in the Seattle area does not vary much. However, if the further away from major bodies of water you are, you will notice a couple of degree temp difference in the summer, and winter, as the water moderates the temps. Beyond that, don't expect much change. One exception would be the the area north of Seattle and south of Everett, known as the "convergence zone", where weather can be be wildly unpredictable in both temp and precip due to storm systems "converging" from both the south and north. It is is a weird weather area, but usually is short-lived.

[CarlB328]

Warm? What's that?

[AlohaHuey]

The foothills are generally warmer when it's warm, colder when it's cold. By 5 degrees or so.

[CarlB328]

If you're not from here you probably won't be able to distinguish any temperature difference anywhere in western washington except on the coast (windy)