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Who do you think has it better: Seattle/Portland/the PNW vs Philadelphia/Boston/other NE cities? Seattle/Portland have milder weather (doesn't get freezing cold, no snow), but its constantly gloomy for 9 months of the year which can be a real drag for many people. On the other hand, Boston/Philly get 4 seasons, more sunshine (overall days), but have bitter cold winters and lots of snow (perhaps a plus for some)?
I dunno, what do you guys think is a better overall climate?
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I really enjoy rain, so I'll take Seattle!
04-26-2010, 02:34 AM
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I wouldnt say its "consistently gloomy" for 9 months of the year at all for Seattle/Portland. Not even close. This February, March, and April had plenty of sunny days. Last week, it was sunny 6-10 days in a row. It was sunny today and most of yesterday. Most years, there can be plenty of sunny days for 5-9 months of the year. About 3-5 months of the year there isnt that much rain here at all. Actually, most places in the East and South get more precipitation than Seattle/Portland, including the Northeast. However, parts of the Northwest do get much more precipitation than Seattle/Portland.
And "not so much" sunshine? Seattle for example gets about 2,000 annual sunshine hours. Technically speaking, thats a lot of sunshine. If it is compared to a place like Phoenix, it might not seem like a lot of sunshine, but many places in northern and western Europe get as much sun or even less sun than Seattle. Some people make it sound like this region of the world gets only 100 hours of sunshine or something like that, which is far from the truth.
Also, I think Seattle and Portland get 4 seasons, even though the temperatures may be moderate year round most of the time. The Northwest DOES get 4 seasons and I disagree with that. I find plenty of pronounced weather variations here in the Northwest throughout the year. In the winter, areas of the Cascades and Olympic mountain range literally get at least 100 inches of snow a year, while areas of the Pacific coast here is usually snow free throughout the winter but still can get into the 30s-40s. In the summer, it can be 75-85 degrees here while in the higher elevations it can be in the 30s-70s.
Seattle in December 2009 was in the 20s-40s, January 2010 40s-50s, February was in the 50s-60s, March it was in the 60s-70s, while in April it went from the upper 30s-50s to 60s in the past week. In August 2009, it went from the upper 80s-low 100s to the 50s-70s within a few weeks with low 30s-low 50s in the higher elevations. There is definitely a 4 season weather variation here.
I overall find quite a few people to be delusional about how the weather really is here.
I actually choose the Northeast for weather in this poll because I like snow and Seattle and Portland usually doesnt get snow(however I could easily get lots of snow a few hours away in the mountains. I went to Mount Rainier two hours away from Seattle in mid February and there was at least 4 feet of snow there). Even though I voted for the Northeast, I find plenty of positives about the weather/climate in the Northwest and like it. The Northeast, and Northwest are my two favorite weather regions in America as well as Hawaii. And no, I like sunny weather. I find plenty of sunny days here in the Northwest. I hate the weather/climate in most areas of the South, Midwest, Desert southwest and someone couldnt pay me to live there, mostly because I hate hot temperatures above 85-90 degrees, and thunderstorms.
This is how I would classify the two regions you mention:
Seattle/Portland/Pacific Northwest: 4 seasons, More rainy late fall-early spring and more dry late spring-early fall, More sunshine/as much sunshine Late spring-early fall and less sunshine late fall-early spring, Usually milder weather year round with some exceptions.
Boston/Philadelphia/Northeast: 4 seasons, More dry late fall-early spring and more rainy late spring-early fall Less sunshine/as much sunshine late spring-early fall and more sunshine late fall/early spring, Usually colder winters and hotter summers.
Who do you think has it better: Seattle/Portland/the PNW vs Philadelphia/Boston/other NE cities? Seattle/Portland have milder weather (doesn't get freezing cold, no snow), but its constantly gloomy for 9 months of the year which can be a real drag for many people. On the other hand, Boston/Philly get 4 seasons, more sunshine (overall days), but have bitter cold winters and lots of snow (perhaps a plus for some)?
I dunno, what do you guys think is a better overall climate?
The whole "gloomy nine months out the year" thing is so over exaggerated. People who have never been here act like there's never any sunshine in the winter. While just this winter there was plenty of sunny days. Plus Seattle also has a good amount of days that start cloudy, but then get and stay sunny through the rest of the day.
The whole "gloomy nine months out the year" thing is so over exaggerated. People who have never been here act like there's never any sunshine in the winter. While just this winter there was plenty of sunny days. Plus Seattle also has a good amount of days that start cloudy, but then get and stay sunny through the rest of the day.
I would agree according to wiki
Seattle has 138 days of precipitation
Philadelphia has 119 days
The whole "gloomy nine months out the year" thing is so over exaggerated. People who have never been here act like there's never any sunshine in the winter. While just this winter there was plenty of sunny days. Plus Seattle also has a good amount of days that start cloudy, but then get and stay sunny through the rest of the day.
Yeah, people exaggerate the weather in the Northwest...This winter was especially warm, but every winter I've lived in Oregon seems to have a stretch of bluebird skies and mild weather. It will ocassionally get into the 60s in the middle of February. You just have to be prepared for any type of weather in Seattle and Portland however...It can rain in the morning and be perfectly sunny in the afternoon all through the springtime.
As you can see, during the winter months Philly averages a lot more sun than Seattle. Once again, those are averages, but one can easily see the difference.
I'm well aware of Portland weather as I've lived here my whole life. Yeah, there are stretches of sunshine, even in the winter, but then there are more days of overcast to make up for it. Last week, we had sunshine nearly the whole week, but now this whole week is overcast again. There's a reason why people complain about the weather here. Having said that, I think I personally prefer the rain because snow frankly sucks.
As you can see, during the winter months Philly averages a lot more sun than Seattle. Once again, those are averages, but one can easily see the difference.
I noticed in some weather statistics a day like January 19, 2009 that start out like this
but end up like this
..go down as being partly cloudy or even mostly cloudy in some books.
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