Weather question for Oregon
 

Info, please, about "typical" late-Feb-into-March weather along the Oregon coast and the Columbia River Gorge? Thanks!

Every time we have gone during that period it has been miserable... In fact, the only time we have been lucky enough to visit the NW from PDX to SEA has been in the summer. Of the last 8 trips to visit family, it has rained 8x!
Arghhhh......
I go back for a week in January and pray the weather cooperates.

I meant to say... In fact, the only time we have been lucky enough to visit the NW from PDX to SEA AND SEE THE SUN has been in the summer.

We spent many Spring break vacations on the Oregon Coast and yes it is vey rainy! Our kids used to put on their raincoats and rubber boots for the Easter egg hunts at Tapiola Park.

I do remember periods of sunshine tho that would come and go throughout the day. Surprisingly enough, one Christmas we were roller-blading on the prom in Seaside with beautiful sunny weather. Not typical at all for that time of year.

If you do encounter many rainy days, there are still numerous activites that you can do and have some fun without going outside! The Maritime Museum in Astoria is outstanding. There is also a very small winery there called Shallon where you can go and have complimentary tastings. The winemaker/owner is very chatty and informative and will give you a tour if you ask him for one.

There are many shops, restaurants, galleries along the coast to keep you busy and a theatre in Cannon Beach. Just bring a nice umbrella and have fun!! ***kim***

Ever hear the joke about Oregonians?

The don't suntan...they just rust!

Utahtea

Yes I have! When I start my vacation in Astoria each summer after being in California I always get the "where did you get the suntan?" thing from the people there.

By the end of the trip, I'm purchasing self-tanner!! LOL ***kim***

You might see snow in Portland that time of year. Multnomah falls are amazing in the winter.
The coast as mentioned will be rainy that time of year. BUT the storms on the coast are so beautiful(especially on the cliffs) if you can handle the rain it is my favorite time of year.
FYI we do tan! If you cant see sunlight through us its summertime!

The lookout stations at Fort Stevens are wonderful storm-watching places. Do they still have the docents there serving complimentary hot chocolate, coffee and tea? ***kim***

While it's true that fall, winter and spring on the Oregon coast are very wet and often stormy, it's also important to note that the pattern of Pacific storms that hit the Oregon, Washington and N. California coasts tends to run a routine - stormy or blowy, then driving rain, then showers and squalls, then - often - patches of clear or partly cloudy skies that can last anywhere from a couple of hours to a day. Then the cycle repeats. The clear-ish periods are gorgeous; the sun angles make for vivid scenery, and the locals all walk around blinking for a time. Unlike more inland areas, where it can get gray and drippy and stay that way for days on end, the weather at the coast if often more variable and certainly more interesting.

Meant to add, during those clear periods, the air at the PNW coast is the freshest and best you'll ever taste anywhere.

Which is the perfect time for photography if that is one of your interests!! ***kim***

when your subject is perfectly posed? or is this a trick question......

February is probably the worst and ugliest month in Oregon (and I love my state!). That said... as people have mentioned the storms move fairly fast at the coast so it will be storming and clear all in one day (or hour). I have been in mid-January, warm, sunny, beautiful. Gone to the beach clean up in late March and it has never rained on us (we have missed a few years here and there, and it has rained) but it is warm and beautiful. Then the next day it rained. Mmmmmm a pattern here.... Probably if you were to stay for a week you would have at least one nice day. I actually think summer is among the worst time at the coast, cold, foggy and WINDY. I prefer fall and spring.

As for the Gorge, it would be much colder and more susceptible to snow and ice, windier too. However, if it isn't cold it would just be wet. You are more likely to have every day be gray and damp in the Willamette Valley (Portland) and the Gorge than at the coast, the storms get caught between the mountain ranges. The waterfalls at the Gorge are pretty when frozen if it gets that cold.

There really is no typical, but do expect WET. The later in March you come the better it will be. March gives many hints of spring and flowers are coming up.

Hope we haven't scared you off, it is what makes the state beautiful and green. Just layer and wear something waterproof on top.

Enjoy!

Speaking of spring and the flowers coming up...... there is a Presbyterian church between Warrenton and Astoria that makes a large cross on their front lawn out of daffodils each spring. It is just beautiful! ***kim***

arjay,

As an almost life-long resident, I think you might want to rephrase your thread title as, "Whether question for Oregon."

RAIN!!!!!!!
I have webbed feet