Where Are Sunnier Parts Of Washington? (Seattle: living, commuting, location)

[pw72]

There is one area of Eastern Washington that DOES get more sunshine and a lot less rain. It is The Tri-Cities. While it is closer to central Oregon than either Seattle or Spokane, the facts don't lie. Is it Palm Springs? No. But it is the driest metro in the state, and has more sunshine days than any other metro. Cold? Yes, but not nearly as chilly as Spokane in the winter, and much warmer than most of the rest of the state from May through October. I'm sorry I don't have time to look up all the stats, but you can be assured this is correct.

[bad apples]

Originally Posted by pw72

There is one area of Eastern Washington that DOES get more sunshine and a lot less rain. It is The Tri-Cities. While it is closer to central Oregon than either Seattle or Spokane, the facts don't lie. Is it Palm Springs? No. But it is the driest metro in the state, and has more sunshine days than any other metro. Cold? Yes, but not nearly as chilly as Spokane in the winter, and much warmer than most of the rest of the state from May through October. I'm sorry I don't have time to look up all the stats, but you can be assured this is correct.

Yes this is 100% correct. Tri-cities does have the best weather in the state and seems to be more friendly as well.

[yip812]

I've lived in Eastern WA all my life. I even bought into the "300 days of sun" thing because sometime about august 25th, you are suffocated by the heat and sun and lack of anything resembling a cloud in the perpetual blue sky and you feel like it's never going to end.

Winter sucks, but it's not nearly as bad as much of the country. We get snow, but not a ton, it only snowed enough to stick I think twice last winter. It gets really cold for a couple weeks once or twice a year, dipping into the single digits, but usually stays in the 20 - 30 range. It's gloomy most days, but the sun peeks out here and there to remind you where you are. This was from December:



But yeah, sometimes feels like it's never going to end and it's gonna be ugly and gray and the trees are going to look dead forever.

Spring is mild and beautiful. Sometimes windy, but this one is pretty nice. Sun shines most days. Green is abundant.

Summer is awful. All the green turns to brown. It's hot and miserable. I don't like heat, gives me migraines. Summer spends a lot of time over 90, hovering around 100 and occasionally going over.

Fall is perfect. Finally cools down. Nice crisp weather but still sunny. Apple orchards EVERYWHERE, pie making season .

[elabraleon]

I have lived in Washington for about 33 years. Mostly western Washington, but a few years on the east side.

Generally on the west side, September through mid-July are primarily grey and rainy. There are usually some nice days in September, October, and early July. However, you can pretty much count on grey, rainy days most of the year. The summer months in contrast, are strikingly beautiful. So perfect, in fact, that many people consider enduring all the grey, rainy days a fair trade for the splendor of the summers.

If you want to see the sun more than just a month or two each year, the east side is the way to go. Walla Walla, Tri Cities, Wenatchee, Yakima, Spokane would all be worth checking out.

[Botev1912]

Tri-Cities is sunny, Spokane not that much.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by elabraleon

I have lived in Washington for about 33 years. Mostly western Washington, but a few years on the east side.

Generally on the west side, September through mid-July are primarily grey and rainy. There are usually some nice days in September, October, and early July. However, you can pretty much count on grey, rainy days most of the year. The summer months in contrast, are strikingly beautiful. So perfect, in fact, that many people consider enduring all the grey, rainy days a fair trade for the splendor of the summers.

If you want to see the sun more than just a month or two each year, the east side is the way to go. Walla Walla, Tri Cities, Wenatchee, Yakima, Spokane would all be worth checking out.

I completely agree. During the few years that I suffered on the West side, I loved the summer months. They are almost enough to be worth the terrible, gloomy, rainy months. They certainly would be worth it if the nice weather lasted 5 or 6 months - but in reality the nice weather lasts about 2-3 months, while the awful weather lasts at least 8 or 9.

[Botev1912]

September is one of the nicest months in Seattle. Spokane has much worse weather than Seattle in my opinion. The same gray, just not as wet, but much much colder and snowier. The only place that has really nice weather in this state is Tri-Cities, but it gets windy. Spokane could be 40 degrees and cloudy in April when Tri-Cities is 70 and sunny at the same time.

[bcreasey66]

My family and I are relocating to WA. My kids are sick of California. I live in OC, of course I love it here but the housing is outrageous! I'm use to gloomy weather in May/June and some July (that's how the beach cities are.) So my question is....which would be the sunniest cities to live in? We're looking for something about 30 minutes from Seattle.

Any recommendations would be great!

[email]bcrzy@yahoo.com[/email] Thank you!

[CrazyDonkey]

Since your question pertains to Seattle ("We're looking for something about 30 minutes from Seattle"), you might want to start your own thread in the Seattle Area forum, rather than tacking it onto an unrelated thread in the Washington state forum.

[prosin]

Originally Posted by bcreasey66

So my question is....which would be the sunniest cities to live in? We're looking for something about 30 minutes from Seattle.

Sorry, had to chuckle at this one a little. There won't be any noticeable change in weather in any community about 30 minutes from Seattle, if you factor commuting during regular daytime commute hours. Now if you broaden your search to 30 miles outside of Seattle (up to a two-hour daytime commute depending on location), then we might be able to give you a better answer.

And Crazy makes an excellent point.