Northwest Rain
 

Anyone else sick of the rain and darkness this year? We've leaved in the PNW for 18 years and I recall only one other winter that was as gloomy. How is everyone else surviving? How are the newbies in our corner of the world fairing? Ready to pick up stakes?

LOL...I am loving it. Granted, I was born and raised here, so maybe it is in my blood. Rainy, windy days are my favorite. Odd, I know, lol!

I have lived in Portland just over 13 years and honestly, I've gotten used to the gloom - kind of. I am not crazy about the period between Thanksgiving and New Years for a number of reasons, one being that the days get shorter and shorter every day until the 21st. Now that days are getting longer again, I am OK with the rain.

Oh, and this year, I went to Hawaii for a few days in December - that helped. :-) Whenever I feel a hint of gloom, I look at some of the hundreds of Hawaii pics I took to remember the 80 degree shorts weather and swimming in the Pacific Ocean!

I don't think this winter is particularly gloomy (I'm in Seattle-maybe Portland has been worse?). Crazy, yes-wind, snow, cold...but it doesn't seem any gloomier than usual.

None of you have reason to complain until you've lived here at least 45 years. ;-)

Geez, I hope it snows tonight.

Compared to last year, this year has not been so bad in Portland for us ( newbies)..We have had a lot more dry days...beachbum, I am watching for the first snowflakes!
Orcas, those stakes are always ready to be picked up lol

It's been a VERY strange winter weather-wise, that's for sure.

I often think about the several forums I have posted on (including but not exclusively this one) where I advised people... "Sure move to Seattle, the weather's not as bad as people make it out to be!"

Oh boy do I pity those folks who THIS is their first winter here! I feel the need to apologise to them all -lol!

Pick up stakes? Nah, but I am going to Hawaii in a couple weeks - a plane ticket in hand really helps.

Spent first 26 years of my life in Seattle. gloomy seemed normal...then maried my world traveling military husband and moved to Durham NC & Duke Post Grad school.
My husband thought I'd lost it: I would open the curtains every morning and say "It's sunny!!!"
That's when I first knew the sun could shine more than 2 days in a row.

N Carolna was heaven..then one day I had the TV on and the someone actually was SPEAKING on the Emergency Broadcast alert.
Yes indeed we were right in the middle of a Tornado.
Not knowing what to do & in disbelief I looked out the window and yes I could swear I saw cows flying...husband came home with orders back to Seattle..would I like to go?...yes pls..I'd like gloomy!!

Another Seattlite who cringes at a cloud-free sky. Rain? Bring it on!

1JAR--I can relate. Born and raised here, but after college married a career military man. So off we went all over the country for many years. He is from Seattle, and we finally got orders back to there. So got to live there for a while before he retired and then we returned to Portland. So we really appreciate being back in the rain after some of those climates!

I have lived in the PNW for 15 years- I expect this time of year to be gloomy and rainy and doesnt bother me too much- but when its still cold and gloomy in June and I am still wearing my winter clothes I start going a little crazy!
Thats the time of year I REALLY need to get out of here.

I hear what you are saying, sunbum. Let's hope this doesn't go on until June.

I think the winds are part of what is making this such a "special" winter. During the windstorm a few weeks ago, 6 douglas firs fell on the house right next door to ours. They were very lucky, as the trees didn't do a lot of damage. They fell from a hillside below the house, and rested on the roof, damaging the eaves and slightly damaging the roof. We have some very tall douglas firs that tower over our house and it is nerveracking when the wind blows. It is just a matter of time....I've heard the fir have very shallow roots that die slowly after damage caused by construction (I've heard it takes 15 years). And douglas firs prefer to live in stands which protect them from the wind. The ones around our house are in pairs or threes and the contractor built retaining walls near their base...another very smart move by our builder. We don't want to leave the location we are in, but I think we'll have to think more seriously about finding a house that is out from under the trees.

Orcas,
This is my first winter In PNW. I lived on St. Simons Island Ga for 26 years, before that I lived in Greece for 13 years. I have to admit the weather has not bothered me. The power being off for 60 hours mid-Dec. wasn't too much fun. It happened now and again during the summer on St. Simons with the northern side of hurricanes. I'd rather be cold than living with no AC in 95 degrees and humid. After summer before last, I was so happy when my daughter said they were relocating to Seattle and were going to live on Bainbridge. I'm very happy I made the move. I love the people here and the climate is fine. Maybe ask again in a day or two. I think I'll still be happy.
Joan

I'm from LA and was in the NW for a few days last week- I love the weather! The cold, dreary, rain/slush/snow, everything. Imagine my disappointment when I stepped out of LAX into 90 degree heat!

O.k time for me to chime in here. I'm "Chatham's son.....

When we got word that we were moving here. I wanted to cry. Here,being Bainbridge island Washington..

I'd lived in the same town most of my life.I knew everyone and everyone knew me

I was within walking distance of the beach. Sure,it was hot in the summer time. But at least I had a beach to go to and a swimming pool.

NOTHING we needed was within walking distance for my mother. I often made trips by bike or a 15 to 20 minute walk,or more,to get to what I needed.

Now?Pretty much everything we need is within walking distance.

One of my hobbies is listening to police communications and such on my scanner radios. I have five. I dedicate two base stations to military communcations. And at the time we lived in Saint simons I had two scanners that were pretty much programmed in the hsame manner. One I would have hooked up to my computer to broadcast on the net,I do that here too. My feed is down at the moment :(

There is a lot more activity on my scanner radio's here compared to Saint simons and the surrounding area's that I monitored there. .

Also,being near SEATAC. I can often see AND hear aircraft arriving and departing from the area airports.

There are a few things I miss about my old home town.Obviously the friends I made. But having the beach on one side of the street and marsh on the other side. Warmer weather,sunny days through out the year and not just during certain times of the year.

I'll close with one final thought about CLIMATE.. One thing I DON'T miss is the political climte of the south. .

P.S Last summer when we had a few days of "record heat" and everyone was in a panic. I had to laugh and say "You people don't know what hot is at all!"

Stavro38, Glad you are enjoying living here. Funny about the complaints about the record heat. You'll be complaining soon, too.

We get used to it being cool. When people visit from the east, where they spend winters in their heated homes, they are usually freezing here, as, more often than not, our windows are open or our heat very low. We wear layers indoors and enjoy the fresh air more of the year than in other places.

Do you miss Greece? Did you live there like your Mom? That is one beautiful place!

Stavro--We were stationed in St. Marys for 3 years. That humidity was awful! Of course the locals loved to tease us about that:)

Orcas I've only been to Greece twice in my life. Back to back trips in
1992 and 1993. I've got some stories to tell about both trip's that's for sure...

mms : So you, unlike many, KNOW what hot and SUMMER are REALLY all about then huh?! :) I used to monitor the police, and fire, communications from Camden county. And that included the base operations at Kings bay. In fact you'll appreciate that I used to be near a submarine base. Now I practically have one in my back yard. Living near "base communities" . And now living in one,is really weird! :)

Stavro--Yes, you've got Bangor right near you. My husband was stationed there for a couple years too, in charge of the squadron. We really do not miss Kings Bay at all. Well, maybe the real estate prices compared to here, lol!

Stavro's mom has to chime in here. He was born in Athens and I brought him home to Mykonos when he was 10 days old. He had a major health, I took him to Sweden when he was 4 months old and on to the States for about a year. I took him back to Greece to Naxos where my husband had moved. After about 6 months, we had to return to the States and he didn't go back until he was in his 30s.

lol, I love this, mother and son posting! Mine just rolls his eyes when I quote "Fodors"..

Stavros, we moved here (Portland Or) a year and a half ago from Florida. I don't have a hard time with the wet grey when I think of the hot wet hurricane prone days back in Fl.
Today is fun, I am watching the sun shine one minute, then the sleet/flurries/sun/snow/sun..nothing boring about todays weather :)

Yeah, todays weather sure is interesting!!! Hail and snow at the same time (never seen that before), and it keeps changing literally every minute or two.

mms and Scarlett,

Facinating weatehr combination. Oh joy. :-<

Orcas-have you had a certified arborist check out your trees? That could either give you some peace of mind, or let you know that you do have some potentially dangerous trees that need taking care of. I don't know the law where you live but here in Seattle, if the scary trees are on a neighbor's property, you can notify them officially of the dangerous trees, which makes them liable for any damage that is caused.

It was snowing with the sun out just a few minutes ago, downtown Seattle.

The scary trees are on our property. We're in Bellevue and I've heard mixed things about the rules re removal. I believe the cost would be Xtreme, if we tried to take out the ones above our house.
We're getting some quick snow right now that is coming down like pieces of styrafoam and sticking wherever it lands. The roads are coated. I guess I have to agree with Scarletta and mms that it is very interesting.

I think christy has a good idea to get those trees checked out. When we lived in NY in the boonies, we had huge trees come down a few times. One fell on DD's bedroom, but thank god we had a log home so it didn't come all the way through (she was about 4 and in her room playing).

DD said they only had a bit of sleet today at the high school. But we are way up at the top of a hill in town, and still have the ground covered. Not a lot, but it's white.

You know, this weather today reminds me so much of Ireland where we would get sunshine, hail, snow all within a few minutes of each other.
Scarlett, did you move from Jacksonville?
One of you young ladies did a few months before we moved.

The PNW is a lot like Ireland, but before all the trees were cut. The Oregon Coast reminds me of the Irish coast, in fact.
I remember when Scarlett lived in Florida. Those hurricanes got to be too much. It's been a good move for you, hasn't it, Scarlett?

Are we having fun yet? Another snowstorm in Seattle. Our normally 12-minute ride home took 2 hours tonight. Then we drove downhill to our home, and are stuck until we chain up the car.

I consider myself a PNW native (lived in Portland since age 5, with the exception of the college stint in Boston). I don't mind this weather at all - find it exciting - but my New Yorker husband (who himself has lived in Portland for 12 years) keeps grumbling about the fact that he misses having "real" winter. Says he wants heaps of snow. I usually mention that we can look at snow year-round on Mt. Hood but that we don't have to shovel it. That statement is usually met with more grumbling...

Yes, I moved from Jacksonville in Aug 2005.
Orcas, yes, it was a great move .. I love it here for so many reasons.

Count me in as one of those who is kind of sick of the weather this year!
I guess that is because 50% of my work is outside so it can be a little wet for me...of course I do water damage restoration so I guess rain = money. Supposed to get cold cold tonight!

BTW not a newb here =)
12 years in Coos Bay on the coast and 7 in Southern ORegon (Grants Pass) I actually moved to Grants Pass to get rid of some of the rain!!

well it snowed several inches in Eugene last night- I have to laugh- all the schools are closed and so far there are only 3 of us at work. The roads really are not bad- but everyone panics and stays home.
However, I bet many of them will figure out how to get to the ski areas on the weekend.
I grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada where the snow and cold seldom shut anything down so this state of panic is pretty funny to me.

We had lots of snow in Bellevue. It is so pretty today, with blue skies! Lots of people I know were stuck in traffic for hours and hours, as the snow hit quickly and stuck immediately. Today there is a sheet of ice under the snow.

There are lots of differences between snow here and in the midwest that affect driving. It's not just the drivers are less experienced. First, there isn't as much snow removal equipment. Second, in Oregon, no salt is used, and I don't think it is used much in Seattle. Third, Portland tends to get ice storms, which are hard to drive on, no matter what, and the snow is wetter, too, so is icier, everywhere. Fourth, the roads twist and wind and go up and down hills. I learned to drive in Chicago, where everything was flat, snow was drier, and salt ruined your boots and cars, but melted the ice. I think it's very different driving here in the snow.

We have friends who had a 5+ hour trek home last night. Their bus dumped them off at Eastgate and said "good luck". They live in Issaquah. They managed a ride to downtown Issaquah and hiked (in work clothes) up to the Highlands where they live.

Talk about not being prepared.

But I don't think this winter has been particularly gloomy. Strange, yes, but not gloomy.

But then again, I have webbed feet being born and raised here.

I'm so jealous of your snow in Eugene! We lived near 18th & Mill, whenever it snowed, we would take the dog out for fun walks in the green spaces nearby.

Is it expected to last or will it melt away soon? I imagine the driving was fun for people in the southeast and southwest hills.

OK, I'm jealous of all of you! Send some rain or snow MY way! I live in Tx, and while we have had some rainy weather, we are still trying to recooperate from a summer drought (a summer that lasted from March until November)And snow, I hav never even SEEN snow, except for a inch or sothat melted by noon!

I don't know about Eugene, but around Seattle the snow is expected to stick around for days. It is very cold out (which here means below freezing). But what a beautiful day, blue sky, blue water, and the Olympics floating between, all covered in white.

I may pull out my XC skis and go for a spin in the park with the dog after work.