Does it really rain all the time in Seattle?

Question

I'm considering moving to Seattle. Some people say the weather's actually OK, others say it's pretty bad. What do you say?

Answer 1

The total amount of rainfall in Seattle in on average lower than that for many other major U.S. cities. However that is largely because Seattle doesn't experience alot of really heavy rainfall events. (Although that isn't the case lately). The reputation comes from the days and weeks of continous overcast skies with drizzle, sprinkles, showers, light rain, medium rain, rain, hezvy rain, mist, fog, sleet, snow mixed with rain, freezing rain, and a few more types of "rain" that I probably am overlooking that we get here.

The weather is OK. In fact it's great if you like gray, wet weather. I do. I love it. That's not a sentiment shared by everyone, but to each his own.

We do get sunny weather too. In fact, this past summer had many weeks of continuous sunny weather. It sucked. ;)

Answer 2

Seattle is a lovely city. I've lived here all my life and love it. It doesn't rain as much as the hype says, but we do have a lot of overcast days. Meaning the sun's just not showing through, but it's not necessarily raining. We have some wacky spring and fall weather where you'll have a little bit of everything in one day too. But truely, nothing compares to seattle the day after a big rainstorm. The city is washed clean and sparkles. So when the sun does shine, and believe me, it does...this white girl's gotten many a sun burn by it...It's crystal clear and beautiful becaus the rain has cleared the air. There is also a sunbelt up northwest of the city if you really want it, they tend to have clearer weather than the city does.

Answer 3

These are all good answers.

I will tell you this, for whatever weather we have that doesn't suit someone, we make up for in Arts,Literature, and Culture.
Some people may label the weather "dreary"; we do have a high incidence of SAD (seasonal affect disorder) here, because it is overcast more than it is sunny, but it's quite beautiful here.
And oh...those sunny days! We play hard and strut around in our warm weather gear....we soak it up for all it's worth.

I will also tell you this, if you've never experienced a chilly early morning with the fog creeping in off the Bay when all is quiet but the gulls, you will fall in love instantly.

I don't suffer from SAD because this weather suits me. It's not for everyone, no.
But there are reasons enough that Seattelites stay, and I hope you explore those.
I like to say we "drizzle" alot. Ha
Drizzling sounds alot better than rain to those not used to rain.
Rain does have it's cleansing properties however, and we have great skin over here.

All that being said, our weather is actually ok.
But everyone will give you their own opinion, and sometimes they'll give you two. :0)

Answer 4

Seattle ranks behind a lot of cities when it comes to annual rainfall totals. Chicago, Houston, New York City, and Miami, among others, all get more rain per year than Seattle's 37 inches.
But that's because while it indeed rains a lot here, it doesn't rain very heavily. It could rain all day here, and we'll pick up maybe 0.10" of rain. Meanwhile, a 20 minute thunderstorm in Miami could drop 0.75" of rain.

On the other hand, our area is still the champ when it comes to number of cloudy days. Seattle ranks in the top 5 nationally 226 cloudy days per year behind Anchorage, Forks, Astoria and Olympia. We're in the top 20 with 140 days of measurable rain.

There is a place in Northern California that gets 100 inches a year.

Answer 5

I have lived in the Seattle area all my life, and it irritates me to hear people talk about it always raining here. it's really not that bad. Our summers (especially in the last couple years) have been great. We have our seasons like your suppose to. I must say it is alot better then having the same weather or temperature all year long! Plus you gotta have a nice good rainy day, those are the days when you curl up on the couch and read a good book or watch some t.v.

Answer 6

during summer it is very nice and doesn't rain that much. Fall, spring and winter can get pretty gray. When I moved over here everyone told me it doesn't rain as much as they say. First month, last January, it rained almost everyday for a month. This November had the most rainfall in recorded history and that was by the 17th.
It doesn't downpour that often though, most the time when it rains it is just drizzle or a shower.

Answer 7

No. Recently it's been pretty bad (2 big storms since Thanksgiving), but we actually get less rain than the east coast; it's just more spread out. It is cold and overcast a whole bunch though, and we get about a month and a half of summery weather.

Answer 8

Sigh...

No it doesn't rain ALL THE TIME. It does rain in the winter when other areas are getting snow. The coldest it gets is usually around 34, but it's often in the 40s. The summers are warm, sunny and beautiful. The fall and spring are gorgeous and thanks to the rain that we DO get, it stays green around here all year round.

Answer 9

the quantity of rain in inches in line with 3 hundred and sixty 5 days is unquestionably decrease than manhattan city and maximum different prevalent cities around the rustic. the style is that we've greater "wet/overcast" days with drizzle and heavy cloud cover instead of stable downpours and thunderstorms.

Answer 10

I'm going to say that the weather's pretty dreary. It's been getting better with global warming and all, but it's gray and wet and rainy a lot.