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The Rain Myth of the Pacific Northwest

Tulips

As I was taking pictures of tulips the other day at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, it got me thinking about the perception that it rains all of the time in Oregon. So I did a little research and according to WeatherBill

The 10 rainiest cities in the U.S. by amount of annual rainfall are:

Mobile, Alabama--67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
Pensacola, Florida--65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
New Orleans, Louisiana--64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days
West Palm Beach, Florida--63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days
Lafayette, Louisiana--62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days
Baton Rouge, Louisiana--62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
Miami, Florida--62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days
Port Arthur, Texas--61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days
Tallahassee, Florida--61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days
Lake Charles, Louisiana--58 inches average annual rainfall; 50 average annual rainy days

The Pacific Northwest cracked the list at #24 with Olympia, Wa. Salem, OR averages 40 inches per year.

Now, to be fair,having grown up in the Midwest...when it rains there, it RAINS. Out here in the PNW we tend to "spit." With spit comes clouds and with clouds, gray skies...

When most people talk about Oregon rain, they are in fact talking about the gray skies. If you are looking to relocate to Oregon, you do need to be able to handle the gray skies. The rain is really not an issue.

In case you forgot what rain is good for...this is what we get in April here in Woodburn, OR, and we beat the blooms in Holland, MI by a month or so.

tulips

If you are thinking about relocating to Salem-Keizer Metro area and need more information about what our city is like, please call or email me for more information. If you are considering a purchase or sale of a home, I'd like to discuss your real estate needs with you.

Melina Tomson, MS

call: 503-371-6515

email: melina@tomsonburnham.com

http://www.tomsonburnham.com/

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Posted by Melina Tomson, M.S. Salem Oregon Real Estate Specialist on 04/16/2008 11:01 PM

Comments (13)

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13 Comments on The Rain Myth of the Pacific Northwest

APR

2008

Isn't that afternoon, I'm from Vancouver and its probably the Canadian capital for rain - but I've always heard that Hawaii (Kaui in particular) was the rainiest! Then I would have thought Washington......but Oregon ? hmmm.....anyhow I often go to La Conner for the Tulip Festival there and love it! As for oregon.......Canon Beach always been one of my favorite vacation destinations!

APR

2008

Ah, brightening up my day with those stunning photos. Tulips are called "wooden shoes?" Learn something new everyday.

Melina, I'm surprised that Houston isn't on that top 10; we have a LOT of rain. I do miss tulips though. I lived here several years before I noticed they were missing. Out winters are too warm so the only way to have tulips is to plant them every year. I bought some bulbs when we were in Holland but gave them to my sister in Colorado when I discovered that little tidbit.

Liz-Cannon Beach is a wonderful place. If you hit it again take a jaunt down to Manzanita.

Andrew-you are too kind.

Marchel-Houston rains a lot? Actually that makes sense because the article that talked about this list talked about the impact of the gulf. Most of the top states are hit by gulf rain. Maybe Houston is #11?

APR

2008

Melina, these tulips are absolutely beautiful! I love their coral color. I did live in Olympia, Washington during my high school year, and it was always "wet." Always a drizzle, always gray skies. Love it here where the sun shines, but love the green, green, green of the west coast. ;-)

Great post Melina. I lived in the Skagit Valley (Anacortes, LaConner) in WA for 15 years. My husband is a pilot and we used to go up in an airplane to fly over the fields in April. So amazing - like rainbows on the ground. Here's the interesting thing - I never owned an umbrella in WA as we seldom had "real rain." Now that I live in Florida I have dozens of them - and big ones - two in every car, one in the office and who knows how many scattered around the house. When the rain comes down here it really comes down!

Teri-Those were my favorite tulips at the festival. They were truly unique.

Robin-I don't own an umbrella, and we Oregonians point out Newbies and tourists by their umbrellas. We don't typically get "real rain" here, not like what I grew up with in the Midwest. I remember the rain being so fierce, that you would have to stop your car because you couldn't see anything in front of you. Now that was RAIN...

APR

2008

Melina, I enjoyed your beautiful pictures and info on rain. There are places in OR that are drier and sunnier. Being born in Portland I didn't know this until I moved away and discovered that Bend has a lot of sun and about 12" of precip, The Dalles- 12" of rain and here in Hood River we get about 25" annually including snowfall. Amy

Melina - What gorgeous tulips! We'll have to head your way for next year's festival. Being from Southern California, we had the same misconception about Oregon and rain. When we discovered the Rogue Valley's climate is so similar to that of Northern California - four distinct seasons, all of which are pretty mild - we decided this was far enough for this girl who loves her sunshine. I'm sure the "Natives" laughed at the umbrellas and parkas we dragged out the first year we were here, but we're seasoned now.

Amy-is that all you get in HR. I thought you got more than that.

Karen-The Rogue Valley is so beautiful. I hope you are getting some good rafting in.

APR

2008

Melina - I think Spring is my favorite time here in the Rogue Valley when it comes to the scenic side of our area. But, summer wins hands down when it comes to water play! Rafting on the Rogue River is a popular past time, for sure.

APR

2008

Wow, Melina... those are incredible photo's. The only thing blooming up here is idiots. :) Mother Nature is dropping snow on us left and right. Thanks for the dose of spring!

Jesse-thanks! I like your new photo by the way.

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