Seattle rain

[georgepds]

Just started watching a police show called the killing, takes place in Seattle... it's always raining in the show...

Anyone from Seattle know if it's really that damp..or is it just for dramatic effect

 

[BrotherBart]

When I visited Seattle years ago they sold t-shirts that said "People in Seattle don't tan, they rust." It rained the whole two weeks that I was there.

 

[Highbeam]

Just started watching a police show called the killing, takes place in Seattle... it's always raining in the show...

Anyone from Seattle know if it's really that damp..or is it just for dramatic effect

It's raining right now. It really is that damp, grey, and dark. I am born and raised here. When the sun does come out, which occurs off and on for our 2-3 months warm season, it is a very nice place to be. Lush greenery from all the rain!

It's also dark due to the very high latitude and the heating season is very long due to the lack of solar gain, rain, cloud cover, proximity to cold saltwater bodies, and high latitude.

I burn wood for 9 months out of the year! Will burn a quick one tonight as the temps aren't predicted to climb out of the 50s today.

 

[iamlucky13]

No. It only rains a few times a year in Seattle - usually January through May, October through December, and a couple other times in between.

More seriously, it actually rains very little in Seattle, in so far as rain is different from drizzling, sprinkling, or misting. It is grey most of the year, and there is frequently some form of water falling from the sky, but it only on rare occasions rains hard enough in the valleys that somebody who grew up in the NW would change their plans due to the weather. As you get into the hills, that changes though. The same clouds that only misted on Seattle tend to drop much heavier rain as they climb the Cascades.

We just broke a streak of 13 straight days with no rain, including Memorial Day, which is never dry. I was starting to get restless by the end of that drought. August is a difficult month for me.

It's definitely not for most people though. I know of couple who moved up here from California for high paying jobs in the tech sector (I suspect their combined income was mid 6-figures) in the summer, when we actually have long stretches of dry weather. It turns more consistently cool and grey in October. By December, they were so fed up with the what they considered to be depressing weather that they ditched the jobs, paid thousands of dollars to break their lease, and fled south again.

Not many people are that desperate to get away, but I'd say a majority of the people I know would move some place sunnier if they had a good opportunity to do so.

 

[begreen]

Seattle area rainfall can vary a lot. Normally in winter it is more of a drizzle then rain. Seattle gets about the same annual rainfall as New York, it's just distributed differently. However, there are a lot of local micro-climates due to the mountains and rain shadows. While Seattle gets about 34" a year, we average about 17". We often can look north and see Seattle rainy while we are dry.