Seattle weather and other stuff...

J

JamesTXSD

Active member
Our stay in the Seattle area was rather short and we were "involved" in other stuff, but... the locals told us "all that talk about rain is over-played." You wouldn't know that by us; it rained every day. But not all day. In fact, it seemed that the rain held on while we were doing outdoor stuff and rained when we were indoors or in the car. Darn thoughtful of Mother Nature, if you ask me.

Days at a time of no sunshine would really wear on me. When we returned to south Texas today (after the red eye out of Seattle last night), it was sunny, mid-70s, and low humidity. Given the options, we'll take sunny and warm, but we sure were taken with the beauty of the Puget Sound area: love the mountains and islands! We are looking forward to spending some time there on the boat.

And one more thing that really stood out to us: the pleasant demeanor and civility of the people in the area. We didn't run into any maniac drivers (now, remember we are very close to Mexico here... and any part of the road or sidewalk (!!!) is a driving surface), people waiting in lines at restaurants were nice (I enjoy striking up a conversation with strangers). In fact, the only person we came in contact with who was less than polite had an accent that made it clear he was not from the area. :wink:

Is there a "polite season" that runs concurrent with the rainy season? I'm sure this is old hat to you locals, but we had to chuckle at the t-shirt that displayed: "Seattle Rain Festival - January 1 through December 31".

We dressed for it; wasn't a bad thing.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan (aka James TX/SD)
and boy do I need a nap!
 
Jim,

Emmett Watson, founder of the Lesser Seattle movement from the 80's would be thrilled if he were alive today. During a time of great movement into Seattle from Californians and other warm weather states, Mr. Watson made certain to remind the new inhabitants or those considering moving up, that it rains ALL THE TIME in Seattle. :cry:

Actually, in a normal year, it just seems like it's gray or drizzly from October through May. On a typical day during this time of year, we may have intermittant rain showers with occasional sun breaks. This being a very wet year, the incessant rain we've been getting every day for the past month is even getting to long-time residents of Seattle, myself included. Plus, it seems to be raining harder than it usually does with very little sun breaks. Oh well, after 35 years in the great Pacific NW, that's life!

That being said, you and Joan should really plan on coming up in the summer, it is absolutely beautiful up here, dry and rarely humid, not like down south or back east. Join us for a CBGT, it's great fun cruising in some of the most beautiful areas of the world.

Peter
 
Hey Peter, don't let the cat out of the bag! We don't need anymore people moving to this area! ;)

Sure the days of rain can get to you. But just as it does you get a beautiful view through the clouds of Mount Rainier or the Olympics and you realize just how lucky you are to live in such a wonderful place. All the rain just makes you appreciate the wonderful spring and fall weather!

Can ya tell I have webbed feet? :) 4th generation Seattleite and loving it.
 
No question about the scenic grandeur of the area. And a spectacular downtown overlooking the waterfront. All that beautiful water! There is SO much going for that area. I understand why you wouldn't want the rest of the country to move there, though. Same situation down here in the Tropical Tip of Texas as more and more people move here to escape the frozen northland.

There was that "sunbreaks" term that we heard for the first time while we were there. :wink: We even got to experience it a time or two over the 5 days. Hope this wet spell breaks for you and you get more of those sunbreaks.

Best wishes,
James TX/SD
 
Seeing as to how you arrived by air, you were probably driving a rental with Washington plates. :wink:
A word of caution for those that drive up from the "warmer states", keep some "vacation supplies" and maps plainly visible in your car. That way the locals will know you are just visiting--- works also to keep the "supplies" in place until you obtain Washington plates if you just moved up. :lol:
I sometimes think about moving back up. I really enjoyed the country above Seattle the 12 - 13 years that I was there.
 
(With a tip of the hat to Emmett Watson and Peter) For all you out of staters - it is like this ALL the time in Puget Sound / San Juans / Gulf Islands, really! Summer is from July 31 to August 1...we don't have toes, we have webbed feet. We don't tan, we rust. Stay in Cal / Tex / Fla, you would HATE it here. (Blah, blah, blah). And SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is genuine of course.

OK, it is occasionally somewhat rainy here (well, it is now a near record number of consecutive days with measurable precip) - BUT Daydream is not waiting for the ice to melt (hello, Dan - I love that shot) - it is sitting there in the driveway 12 months a year, ready for an overnighter whenever the wind and waves let us. A quick hop in to Shilshole or up to Everett, and we are in another world - let it rain, the cabin is warm and dry (thank you, C-Dory and Wallas), and the sundowner in the cockpit tastes just as good (thank you, Canvas Riggers)! And the winter sun, when we get it, makes it that much better!

So all in all, I will take the rain...
 
I remember many times as I was driving along the Alaskan Way Viaduct- on a cold, crisp, clear winter day looking over at the Olympics thinking that I could just reach out and touch them, it was that clear and beautiful.
Then again, I rather enjoyed working downtown Seattle in the summer. As an inspector, I've worked on a few of the taller buildings in town. It gets very scenic on some of the rooftops when the sun comes out! :shock: Seems some people like to grap as much sun as they can, while they can. :lol:
 
Fishtales":18ndjpaj said:
It gets very scenic on some of the rooftops when the sun comes out! :shock: Seems some people like to grap as much sun as they can, while they can. :lol:
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I would suspect that you didn't get much work done on those days and the "people" mentioned didn't get much of a tan line either.... :smilep
 
I came in by air last night, in the dark and the rain. Had to get from SeaTac to the hotel. Sure wish I'd brought my handheld GPS but the Google Map did it OK, only made one wrong turn....

Saw a picture of the Washington State Bird today, looked suspiciously like a fish... :shock: They're all looking for :hot out here...

They're working on their 28th day or so straight of rain and all sorts of items on the local news TV about flooding, mud slides, etc. All in all though, it's a great place, I've spent many great visits here and am very happy to be back :lol:

The SBS was great and I even stopped at the Boeing Museum on the way back to the hotel, that's great too. Now, having seen that and the one at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, I can say I've seen nearly every kind of airplane made! :wink:

Now, off to the "gathering", glad I don't have to drive :cocktail :cocktail

Hope I can find my way back to the room, no small feat here at the Hawthorne Suites where the buildings/room have numbers but all the large structures are labeled with letters... There must be some trick but so far, all my breadcrumbs have either been eaten by birds or washed away....

Charlie (glub)
 
Gotta tell you this joke that was on the news broadcast last night in Seattle ---

Man arrives in Seattle. It is raining. Wakes next day, it's raining. Third day, he wakes up and it's raining again. He makes up his mind he'll ask the next person he sees....happens to be a six-year old -- he asked "Does it ever stop raining here?" Boy answered, "How'd I know. I'm only six!"
 
Young lady arrives in Seattle to attend U of W. In February she calls her Dad in Wisconsen and tells him to sell the store and move to Seattle-- "no winters, little snow."
In July she calls and tells him to forget it, no summer either.
 
This is a wonderful site. Thanks. For those who boat (or fly fish from the beach :wink: )on Puget Sound it gives great real time information. It is hard to find wind station reports that are at sea level. Robbi
 
I always check that site before heading out. its linked on the puget sound anglers home page. Sorry I never thought about posting it here. I was just wandering, We have , as a group, posted good links on this site maybe the more usefull ones should be list on a link section of the home page hear at c-brats?
 
Thanks guys for the link. I've just added it to our Yacht Club web-site. Remember the State Flower of Washington is Mildew!

Here in Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula, we had 6" of rain last year and 5" the year before! One just has to pick their spots carefully in the Great North West.

Cheers, Roger
Dreamer
 
Dreamer":3bep936i said:
Thanks guys for the link. I've just added it to our Yacht Club web-site. Remember the State Flower of Washington is Mildew!

Here in Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula, we had 6" of rain last year and 5" the year before! One just has to pick their spots carefully in the Great North West.

Cheers, Roger
Dreamer
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Ouch! I believe I saw on the news the other night that NW Oregon/SW Washington's gotten 23" since the end of October -- raingear sells like hotcakes 'round here :) Stock tip...buy! cuz the rain ain't goin away any time soon . . . ar ar ar
 
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