Seattle Weather?

Question

Hey guys, this is for those of you who know Seattle/Washington really well. I'm moving there next summer, and I was curious about the weather habits. I know it rains a lot, blah blah, but I mean bad weather. Here in Texas we have tornadoes and really bad thunderstorms, etc. and I'm kind of going to miss that. What does Seattle have?

Answer 1

I guess if you're from a very dry area, the weather can seem very rainy here, but in actuality, it's no rainier than New York.
Our winters have, until last winter, have been mild, with rain and morning frosts. Sometimes we'd get an inch or two of snow that would stay a day or two at most. We were unprepared last winter with a wild wind storm that killed the power in most of the pacific northwest and then some nasty freezing weather. Later we got several inches of snow. We are supposed to expect more winters like that in the next several years.
Springtime, the clouds are confused. Quite often the weather changes its mind several times in a day. An average spring day could go something like; Sun, rain, sun, hail, wind and rain, sun, a boom or two or thunder, sun and wind.
Don't plant your gardens too early. Often, we are fooled by what looks like an early spring and the flowers open up, and then we get some frosty mornings that kill the young blooms.
Summertime usually greets us with some thunderstorms and wild rainstorms. Then comes the hot and dry season. We're on fire-watch right now with upper eighties to nineties weather.
Fall is my favorite. After a few rainfalls to cool us off from the summer, the trees explode with color. Things usually dry back off for a while so people can go outside and enjoy the fall colors.
Suddenly, one morning, there will be fall on the ground and things are never quite warm again for that year as we slip once more into winter.

Answer 2

I live in the Seattle area and just the state in general is one of the best. You can stay on the westside and experience milder temperatures or go to the eastside (as in eastern wash) and get into much more extremes... hotter in the summer & colder in the winter.

There is access to water from so many locations in the Seattle area, ferry rides or trips to the ocean. Easy ways to cool off! The rain is really overrated. It'll rain a lot in the spring, but so does Chicago. It's nice to not have the same weather everyday of the year. Seattle is a beautiful city rain or shine... or SNOW!

Answer 3

The weather here is probably one of the better kept secrets around. It rains, sure, but not as much as most would think. Washington averages 27" of rain per year, while Florida averages 50" and New York 39".

It seems to rain more due to its frequency, as opposed to the amount. While most states get buckets of rain over a short period of time, we get sustained light showers that go on for what seemed days. Add to that the fact we get more cloudy days than sunny ones, it is easy to understand the "wettest state" distinction.

The summers are generally mild and most homes don't even have A/C in them. Seattle right now is experiencing a "heat wave" of temps in the high 80's. The average summers here are days in the 70's and cool evenings in the 50's. The western part of Washington is cooler while the central and easter part see more of the 100 degree weather.

Answer 4

We had a ten year windstorm this year which knocked out power for days. (The last one like it was in the early 90s). In the winter, we will sometimes get a storm. No one knows how to drive in the snow because it only snows once a year, so when it does, the entire region shuts down. There have been localized reports of tornadoes a few times, but none that have caused damage. We rarely have thunderstorms that last more than two thunderclaps.

Answer 5

You answered your own question. Rain and major storms pushing in from the pacific north west are the major problem. The Islands around Seattle create their own weather paterns and some Islands and area are dryer than others. No real problems with destructive or massive type storms. Actually a real nice place to live.

Answer 6

I am from Seattle but have lived and traveled all over the counrty. I really do believe we have the best summers in the US. Mid July to mid Aug can get pretty warm (80's and a few 90's) but no humidity. The rain usually returns mid Oct and sticks around till late spring. All-in-all it's pretty mild.

Answer 7

Summers are beautiful, from July to late September.

Lots of gray days with light rain in the winter. Maybe 2 or 3 days of snow and freezing weather.

Very rarely do we get thunderstorms, and it is usually like 2 lightning strikes total. lol.

We are mainly just sitting around waiting for the big earthquake to hit...

Answer 8

My husband is from Dallas and misses the dry heat and thunderstorms from time to time. We have some killer wind storms in the fall/ winter, and if you need an extra dose go to the ocean in the winter...