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Old 04-21-2010, 01:17 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, AK
14 posts, read 41,495 times
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Hello, we are moving to Poulsbo this summer and wonder what the rain is like there. Are there many thunderstorms? Are there many rains where it's actually pouring or is it all light and drizzly?
Thanks!
Susan
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Old 04-21-2010, 07:51 PM
 
Location: Southwest Washington
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From late October through May or so you have lots and lots of light drizzle. Thunderstorms are a very rare occurence. Summers are dry as a bone.
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Old 04-22-2010, 02:29 AM
 
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I disagree with Backdrifter.

The rain can fall much heavier than a light drizzle. It did just last night in the Seattle area and it is late April. On March 30, there was heavier rain too, as well as in November 2009. Usually in November-January there can be heavy rain.However, a lot of the time the rain does fall as a light drizle when it does rain. Poulsbo on average gets a bit more precipiatation than Seattle itself and getting heavier precipitation than Seattle.

May-October is usually dry most of the time. Late October, February-April can get some rain, but usually not nearly as much as November-January. There can be exceptions even in November-January where there are days and weeks that go by without rain, but most of the time there can be weeks in a row that go by where some rain falls. November, December, and January have 15-25 days for each month on average where at least some precipitation falls. Months such as June, July, August, and September on average usually only have 1-5 days for each month where there is at least some precipitation, so there is a huge difference.

Thunderstorms and lightning strikes are very rare in western Washington. Actually, Washington has the lowest number of thunderstorms and lightning strikes out of all states in America. Washington, Alaska, and Oregon, are in top 5 USA states with the least thunderstorms and least lightning strikes. Usually when these states get precipitation, it almost never falls nearly as heavy as places in the South, the Midwest, the Great Plains, Appalachia, or the Northeast.

I heard that years can go by in Western Washington state without a single thunderstorm or lightning strike.
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Old 04-22-2010, 01:40 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, AK
14 posts, read 41,495 times
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Thanks for all the great info. We're glad to hear that there are at least occasional good downpours. I will miss the thunderstorms, but my daughters are thrilled not to have them! True about Alaska, I've been here 21 years and we never had them, until the past few years that is. As the weather has warmed up, we've actually had quite a few bouts of thunder and lightening each summer. Not the big, scary storms, but, they were fun for me :-)
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Old 04-22-2010, 08:00 PM
LMB
 
Location: Poulsbo, WA
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Susan, heavy rainstorms are few and far between, but maybe 3-4 times a year the rain will be medium heavy. By the way, the rain yesterday in Seattle never made it to Poulsbo--we were dry all day after a light shower in the morning. We've only seen one almost "downpour" in three years--but we lived in FL for many years before moving here, so it's a perspective thing. We had summertime daily deluges in FL, incredible lightning and booming major thunderstorms every afternoon (and then there were the hurricanes that made us wish for just the daily deluges!). We've heard thunder only once or twice a year since moving here, but it does happen on occasion. I think we saw lightning once a few years ago. We don't miss those daily storms at all.

What we lack here in lightning and storms, we make up for with summer fireworks. There's always a festival of some sort going on and fireworks are frequently seen and heard.

Lynn
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Old 04-23-2010, 12:36 AM
 
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Thunderstorms are indeed uncommon in W. WA, but not unheard of. And there is no real season for them, they are possible from March through October. It all has to do with instability in the atmosphere, and that can happen especially east of the Olympic rain shadow, many times in the south sound and developing over Kitsap Co. with movement at times into Seattle. Let's just say they are not as frequent as the midwest or south, but they do occur, usually short-lived but can be spectacular.
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Old 04-23-2010, 01:36 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, AK
14 posts, read 41,495 times
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I'm happy to hear that we will get maybe a few heavy rains at least, and it sounds like thunder a few times as well, that's enough for me. Lynn, I know what you mean about the huge thunder and lightening storms, we lived in Oklahoma for a year and the storms there were terrifying, although thrilling in a way. Mostly scary though, we had lightening striking all around our house a few times! Happy to not have that again.

The festivals sounds like so much fun, but my first thought at all the fireworks was "oh no!" 2 out of 3 of my dogs is terrified of fireworks. We're going to have to de-sensitize them it sounds like!
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Old 04-25-2010, 07:20 PM
 
Location: Pluto's Home Town
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If you like thunderstorms (of the W. US, thrilling, non-terrifying variety) a trip east of the Cascades will provide a few each summer. The get more common the further east and south you go. We get a few each summer down here in S. Oregon, and I love them.
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