(by 10 people)
Does It Really Rain In Seattle All The Time?
I love the rain. On a sunny day I'm inside or in the deepest shade I can find, but on a rainy day you'll find me walking in the open enjoying the weather. Some years ago, I had the choice of where to be sent for a computer programming conference. One of the options was Seattle, rain capital of the world, so naturally I jumped at the chance to go there. I'm pretty sure the conference topic was something useful, too.
My wife and I arrived on a Sunday afternoon. The conference was a week long, so while I planned to spend the days inside she would get to drive around and experience the rain in all its glory. As luck would have it, the weather was sunny the entire week, with barely any cloulds. Everyone told us the weather was unusual for that time of the year (I'm pretty sure it was October).
It was actually this reassurance that led us to the theory that, rather than simply being a popular myth, the idea of Seattle being rainy is part of a widespread conspiracy.
(Photo of a rainy commute used from http://pdphoto.org/PictureDetail.php?mat=pdef&pg=7167 )
Seattle Facts
By contrast, the town where I live, Columbus Ohio, gets two more inches of rain each year, on average, than Seattle. How disappointing!
What Other People Say
I thought I might be biased, so I went out and discovered what other people are saying about Seattle rainfall. Judge for yourself!
Seattle Weather
This site suggests that the rainfall comes more sl more...1 point
Seattle Sucks
This quite biased page touches on the rainfall myt more...1 point
Bungie.net : Inside Bungie : Soapbox
A blog entry from someone who had just moved to Se more...0 points
Myth or Conspiracy?
I suppose this could be the case. It's hard to credit that Seattle's reputation for rain is based on everyone simply not being observant enough to notice if it's raining or not. Wikipedia claims that the reputation is based on a large average number of cloudy days each year (226 days each year ). That makes it a bit more believable...when you see a cloudy day, you think rain is coming. So the infrequent rainy days all blend together with the cloudy days.
What if, though, it wasn't just a myth?
When we stayed in Seattle, we stayed on a hotel right next to route 90 leading out of town. During rush hour, traffic on route 90 was absolutely horrendous (I had a good view, being stuck inside next to a window during the days). Even at three in the morning, traffic was still heavy. I could only imagine that those were people who were just now getting out of town after sitting in rush hour traffic. Seattle seemed like a city that had grown too fast for the highway infrastructure to support.
Could it be that the best solution for Seattle was to invent the myth of rain to keep new people from moving to the city? Seattle has a huge number of other draws going for it. Mount Ranier is beautiful and visible on "unseasonable" days. The Olympic peninsula is a huge natural area in easy driving distance. Leavenworth is a picturesque Bavarian style village in northern Washington state.
With so much drawing new people to the area, can you blame the city for deciding a little bad press might help keep its population down until the infrastructure can be built up?
Seattle Travel Books
Now that the myth of rain has been dispelled, if the prospect of cloudy days doesn't scare you away from Seattle, here are some good guides to the city.
I can highly recommend the Underground tour, if it's still running.
Frommer's Seattle 2007 (Frommer's Complete) by Karl Samson
A recent guidebook to the city, geared toward fore more...1 point
Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Seattle Including Bellevue, Redmond, Everett, and Tacoma by Monica Fischer
Thinking of taking the plunge and moving? The book more...1 point
Streetwise Seattle (Streetwise) by Michael Brown
This map of Seattle will help you find your way ar more...1 point
Relocating to Seattle and Surrounding Areas: Everything You Need to Know Before You Move and After You Get There! (Relocating) by Guy W. Steele
This book has nice overviews of the various neighb more...0 points
More About Me
Let Me Know What You Think!
Have any experience with Seattle rainfall? Let me know your experiences!
Seattle rainfall totals are measured at the airport, one of the driest areas around Puget Sound. For example, a popular suburb just east of Seattle (Issaquah) gets 61 inches a year!
Many folks believe that the location of the rain gage was selected to underestimate the true rainfall picture and promote tourism.
Newcomers often visit during the five weeks of summer that are dry, but are disappointed to experience the months of dark, damp days during the fall, winter, and spring.
Seattle's notorious dark and damp winters probably contribute to the highest suicide rate in the USA.
Posted August 13, 2008
I think the right measurement to look at is # of cloudy days or days with rainfall, rather than inches of rain. What drives people crazy is the many days, even weeks with continuous rain (even drizzle) and cloudy skies. 7 years here and moving away as we could all enjoy more sunny days :-)
Posted March 19, 2008
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thomasz
Cool lens. Interesting info. Posted February 13, 2008 |
I live in Seattle and will tell you the sun comes out at least once every day, it is cloudy often, but no more than New Jersey or New York, where I grew up. Rarely does it rain hard either, it's more of a mist, so you can still be outside. In fact, it rarely gets too cold also, so you can be outside all year long. Great place to live, especially if you don't drive. You can easily live here without a car.
Posted February 08, 2008
Seattle has more rainy DAYS than most places in the country. These generally happen from October through April or May. June through September actually are very dry and often sunny. Very pleasant weather, to most people.
If you like drizzly days, Seattle is perfect... but only in winter.
Posted December 17, 2007
