Does It Really Rain in Western Washington?

I know it is a funny question to ask if it really rains in Western Washington. Most people think that it rains here almost all the time which is actually far from the truth; however, everyone here like that people really think that way so people won’t move here.

Recently I saw a survey that showed that in Seattle had about the same amount of people moving into it as people moving out. So other words the population hasn’t changed a lot; however, I would not the same for other cities or towns in the area. For instance, Gig Harbor where I live has doubled at least since I was a kid but I would still consider it a small town. The most recent population increase is in North Gig Harbor. I am not really sure whether it is in the city limits of Gig Harbor; however, it is becoming larger than Gig Harbor itself. I would say there was little population in that area ten years ago but now quite a few homes are being built along with a retirement community. I don’t visit there often except doing some shopping; however, each time I do visit there is more growth all the time. There are a couple grocery stores in North Gig Harbor, and another expected to be built as well. It is a nice area except that there is not real good view like in downtown Gig Harbor. You can’t see water or Mount Rainier there; but if you willing to see when you are out driving than it is OK.

I get amazed sometimes what I write when I begin this blog. So I now I get back to the rain. In August since we had very little rain I decided to do a search to find out how much rain we average every year especially I figured it was down this year. I found interesting that the average rain fall in Washington State is 36 inches a year while the national average is 38 inches. Seattle is a little higher being slightly above the state average but below the national average being at 37 inches of rain a year. So you see we don’t get as much rain as people think though I am sure it seems a lot depending on where you live. Of course, there are other places that rain a lot more.

Another look at rain fall that I found interesting is the Olympic Rain Forest which is north and then west of Gig Harbor. It takes about two hours to drive to the Olympic Rain Forest. I found that it rains over two hundred inches a year so it is a rain forest for sure, and gives an indication how much less rain we have.

Here we only get a downpour once in a while unlike Miami, Florida. Looking at their average rainfall it is over sixty inches a year so much higher than here. So why do people think it rains here all the time and not in Miami. The difference is that we do not have the sun coming out as often as Miami. Here the rain drizzles a lot and we have a lot of cloudy days unlike Miami.

Most of our rainfall will be happening over the next three months in November, December, and January so gives us an idea that we have more rain than we actually do. Another interesting fact is that Los Angeles has more umbrellas sales than Seattle even though they average less than 15 inches of rain a year. Something else interesting Seattle has more sunglasses sales than Los Angeles though they have more sunny days. I believe the reason is that we are accustomed to the rain while Los Angeles is accustomed to sunlight.

Many of the retired people here will be heading to Southern California and Arizona for the winter to stay out of the cold, rain, and the cloudiness. It is understanding because by January it is really easy to get depressed because of the rain and the cloudy days. I really enjoy the rain; however, it is even better when the sun comes out once in a while during the winter. The temperatures usually is in the 30s and 40s during the winter, and on some rear occasions will dip into the 20s or jump into the 50s. Last several years we haven’t had a lot of snow so generally you have to the mountains for snow. I enjoy when the snow comes even if it is only for a couple days or so most of the time. A lot of people here though don’t like snow because they find it hard to drive in it. I figure they should just stay home, and let people like me drive in it. We have a lot of hills as well so that makes it difficult to drive in it. I live where it is more level and near the highway. In downtown Gig Harbor there is three hills that are very difficult to drive in the snow so I pretty well stay away from that area.

We have had some rain this month of October after having little since February. I and may others finding it a very welcome change though the days of sun have been nice as well. Now though I can say let the rain begin, and the sun we will see you around once in a while and for sure in February.