Straight talk on the PNW rain. (Vancouver, Hockinson: Valentine's day, 2015, power lines)

[silibran]

I think the answers here are pretty good. We've lived here for 4 years, and I've noticed that the weather is not consistent. But the pattern seems to be, hot after July 4 or so. This year we seem to be having a cool summer. Hot weather has not persisted more than a day or two, and that infrequently. Of course we have to get through August and September yet.

In the winter, there will be rain. But not all the rain is heavy, and it doesn't usually last all day. At least, in the time I've lived here. Often in the afternoons, you will get a smidgen of sun in the colder months.

Spring starts early and lasts a long time.

The cold weather here is damp, and I find it often miserable. But I've learned to layer up, and finally, I think I gotten a little tolerance for the cold. Many houses here have gas fireplaces, which will take the chill off a room and take the dampness down. I recommend having a gas fireplace in the living area.

I don't mind the weather, actually. I do not miss the weeks of 95+ temps in the summer or the 20 deg and colder days in the winter. I certainly do not miss the 2 or three snows or ice storms I lived with for over 60 years before. I do sort of miss thunderstorms, but I don't miss tornado warnings!

I suspect that each area tends to exaggerate the more extreme characteristics of the local climate. In St. Louis, we always moaned and complained about the summer heat and humidity. Here, we talk about the rain.

SW Washington is a nice place, as far as I'm concerned.

[fluffydelusions]

Originally Posted by silibran

Hot weather has not persisted more than a day or two, and that infrequently. Of course we have to get through August and September yet.

You're going to jinx it!

[notnamed]

Also don't skimp on the sunscreen when you get here. Many people assume just because it's overcast it's not necessary. But Washington state has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the nation. UV happily goes right through the clouds and in some cases actually magnifies it.

[Desert Digger]

Thank you, I am encouraged to hear from others who have lived elsewhere with their perspective. It seems overall people are very happy there. I can't wait to get there, I think of it daily.

[missca]

It rained almost every day last summer of 2016. A few gorgeous days of Sun around 75 degrees but that was it. Its in the 30's now in January, complete opposite of AZ but if that's what you like it's perfect. Too dark and cold for a lot of people.

[notnamed]

Not sure where you live but that does not describe the summer of 2016 for Vancouver, WA.
https://www.wunderground.com/history...ic=&reqdb.wmo=

Had a very warm spring hitting 89 in April. Very little rain through the summer and hitting 99 in Aug. 0.01 inches of rain avg for July and August. Several solid weeks with no precipitation at all.

[USDefault]

Yep. Spring and Summer 2016 in Washington was low precip and beautiful. Summer was fantastic. This winter sucks, but it's an outlier.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by USDefault

Yep. Spring and Summer 2016 in Washington was low precip and beautiful. Summer was fantastic. This winter sucks, but it's an outlier.

yep, winter is usually an 'outlier' only 240 - 280 days / yr of cloud cover! (Might be winter ALL this yr!) We have run our woodstove in July and August, but not for 25+ yrs. 2017 might be a 'repeat!'.


Frigid in the Gorge tonight and promised to get a LOT worse again this week. Still a few 3- 4' drifts (and 6'+ in 'The Cut' (Old Belle Center off SR 14)

Head on out this weekend if you would like ICE instead of rain!

But.... there is always the PDX 'Escape plan'!!!

We enjoyed 75F in LaJolla today until our $50 flight back to 'reality' this evening (SWA Buddy pass this yr, so 1/2 price ($25) for each). Spirit does not seem to be running anymore $19.90 direct flights to San Diego on their $9 fare club Only Vegas... that's not very interesting. (except for Valley of Fire) https://www.google.com/search?q=Vall...w=1478&bih=867


Still worth the 2 hr trip if the rain is wearing on you. 2 other parks near LV, and Death Valley is not so far in case you REALLY need to D-R-Y out (sometimes you NEED that!) You can get a 'day-pass' to the Death Valley pool, and get all dried out (baked) in a day!

[silibran]

I moved here from MO. The winters are milder in general, and the skies are very often overcast in the winter. The cloudy skies are like a blanket that keeps us warmer in the winter, so there is that. (This winter has been an exception, but it is a La Nina year.) I find that the dreary days are a lot like dreary days in MO, but I get that dreary days are rare in AZ.

I have found that a couple of weeks of consistently cool and dreary days do make me feel a bit blah. But if the temps remain normal for this time of year, it doesn't bother me as much. Yeah, it rains. There will be a few days a year when it rains buckets. We also have high east winds, that are a real annoyance to a newcomer. I would never live in Camas or Washougal for that reason. If you stay somewhat north, the winds aren't as bad, but there will be days of wind, no getting around that.

However, there are compensations. On Saturday when I was in Portland, I noticed that there were bulbs pushing up, in spite of the cold weather we've had. This is what I love about early spring here. You can see that the world is waking up. There are camellia blossoms now, and more to come before it gets warm. In just a few weeks, there will be a big rhododendron blooming its head off on a nearby street, and I know that as a true harbinger of spring's arrival.

Spring here starts early and lasts. That is the compensation for cloudy days for most of the year.

Here is a term I had never heard before moving here: sunbreak. Everyone loves a sunbreak. We get those fairly frequently on cloudy days. The other term I had never heard before is, freezing fog. We get that in the fall, apparently.

On the other hand we don't get many bad thunderstorms and almost never have tornadoes. And what they call a storm here, is often merely rain.

If you move here with an open mind, you can enjoy the weather.

Old timers state that they like the rain. I'm not there yet, but it isn't an annoyance to me now.

[notnamed]

Heh yeah thunderstorms are a rarity here. I remember one rolled through last year and some locals were getting all riled up on the local FB group asking what that explosion was.