ok, how bad is the rain-REALLY? (Seattle: living, babysitter, gardening)

[seattlenextyear]

Another zombie thread. Who's digging into the archives?

[tada]

Originally Posted by obsidian97

I'd say traffic is worse than the grey. You have to deal with traffic every day no matter what.

Weather is worse than traffic.

Weather: You have to deal with it 7 days a week.
Traffic: You have to deal with it only 5 days a week, and on the other two days it isn't as bad.

Weather: There are no real fixes, just things to make it more tolerable.
Traffic: You could move closer to your job, or leave earlier or later than rush hour.

(on a larger scale)
Weather: Can't really be controlled with modern science. Even if we could, there would be controversy over the ethics of playing God
Traffic: Could be controlled if we elected the right government.

Weather: Causes depression and anger.
Traffic: Just causes anger. Never really causes depression.

Weather: Makes traffic worse.
Traffic: Actually makes the weather here better. More global warming = Jet stream goes off of us = less clouds/rain. One of my friends who is a meteorology major told me this, and he is also an intern at NWS.

[azoria]

Originally Posted by tada

More global warming = Jet stream goes off of us = less clouds/rain. One of my friends who is a meteorology major told me this, and he is also an intern at NWS.

Hooray! Three cheers for global warming!

[Freebird2007]

Houston and Boston get twice as much rain than Seattle.....

its just more consistent here. not that many downpours from what I can see

[tada]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

Houston and Boston get twice as much rain than Seattle.....

its just more consistent here. not that many downpours from what I can see

It's mostly the gray that gets to us. I wouldn't care if it rained 200" a year if it condensed it all into 20-30 minutes a day and then cleared up, like it does in most other places.

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

Okay - I'm one of the Seattle people who is leaving.

Sure if you are used to cold snowy winters the mild weather will seem great - but what you don't get is it's ALL YEAR LONG

There is no season change - there isn't a warmth that comes when Spring arrives...it's just blah all year long - EXCEPT in about Mid July when it gets near 70 degrees for about 6 weeks - then it's back to the gloom.

It's the Grey Gloom that gets everyone, and it's MOIST here. It's not rainy. I like rain, it's just wet air and wet everything -- constant grey and mist. LITERALLY CONSTANT GREY! If it snows where you are - doesn't it get sunny after the storm? Well it doesn't here! JUST GREY - from what I would say Oct through June. and it never leaves the same temperature - it's always between 40 or 60 (and 60 is rare!!!)

If you have no kids maybe it's better

It's nicer here than 6 weeks. It's been great since mid-June here. July couldn't have been nicer, and August is fine.

I moved from Dallas (where it's sunny constantly) but unlivably hot. I have really enjoyed the weather here despite having issues with SAD even in Dallas winters (I'm solar powered). It is overcast a lot, but it's usually the 'chunky' kind of clouds and not a gray pall (except in June, but it burns off in the afternoon).

Here's the best thing about Seattle... if the clouds are killing you softly, it's really easy to get away from them. You do need to learn about the convergence zones and the rain shadow if you want to avoid the grey as much as possible. You can also always drive over the pass (usually in the winter) and get away from the grey for the weekend or up to the San Juans. You have options.

Here, read this.

What Is The Olympic Rain Shadow? | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | F.A.Q.

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by tada

It's mostly the gray that gets to us. I wouldn't care if it rained 200" a year if it condensed it all into 20-30 minutes a day and then cleared up, like it does in most other places.

Most other places in the tropics.

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by brightcopperkettles

Some of us hate where we live (Western Washington) but love who we live with (in my case, my husband) so we can't move unless and until that person moves or until we can't stand it here any more. Be a little generous, would you?

Although I would seriously love to move yesterday, my husband wouldn't, so one of the things I spend my time doing is visiting this board and giving my opinions as honestly as possible as to what I have learned since I moved here in 1993. There are those of us who see the great things Washington State has to offer but we personally just can't love this state because of the things we have found difficult here; it's a very personal thing.

Not every place is meant for everyone, but it is a great idea for anyone thinking about moving to be advised as best as possible as to what each of us has experienced in a particular area as well as where we came from originally. It helps folks make a better, more informed decision about moving here, which is what most people are looking for when they visit this site. If you want everyone who visits this board to say everything is wonderful, then you're on the wrong board.

Perfect. You could replace weather with XYZ and you'll know exactly why I wanted to get out Dallas.

[obsidian97]

Originally Posted by Freebird2007

Houston and Boston get twice as much rain than Seattle.....

its just more consistent here. not that many downpours from what I can see

Seattle gets as much rain (almost exactly) as Dallas.

It's the clouds, not the rain.

Another thing to factor in about Seattle is the latitude. You're pretty far north, so the days are really long in the summer (you get to enjoy the evenings for a loooong time) but really short in the winter.

So, you get the most sun when it's nice, and least sun when it's crappy anyhow.

[tada]

Originally Posted by obsidian97

So, you get the most sun when it's nice, and least sun when it's crappy anyhow.

It varies so much throughout the year though that it can, and does completely screw with people. In most other places, the days do vary in length, but the percentage of the time it's sunny is pretty much the same, and the change in day length is not nearly as much as Seattle's.

And overall, it is far less sunny here than other places. Look at City-Data's chart for sunshine in Seattle. Even in the summer we get less sun than other places. So much less that even the days being longer here than in other places during the summer wouldn't make up for it.