My father used to tell me, “It never rains in the Pacific Northwest.”
That was when he lived on the Olympic Peninsula, where mornings were often damp and gray. Yet by afternoon the sun frequently appeared. And even when it rained, it was usually drizzle—not the thunderstorms, downpours, and hailstorms I was accustomed to in Missouri.
I’ve visited Seattle and other locations in Western Washington often enough over the last forty-some years to know that the area’s reputation as a gloomy place is overstated. I often had nice weather when I visited. And spring came earlier to the Pacific Northwest than to the Midwest, where I lived.
Since my husband and I moved to the Seattle area, I’ve discovered that the weather here is often much less rainy than in the Midwest. This year in Missouri, spring weather was downright chaotic.
My husband still owns farmland in Saline County, Missouri, so we pay close attention to the temperatures and rainfall there. This spring, Saline County weather was all over the map. In mid-March, temperatures dropped 42 degrees in a single day. Two days later, they rebounded 35 degrees. Then came a stretch when the temperature hit 92°F on March 22 and only 51°F two days later.
In early April, Saline County saw more than four inches of rain in a single day. The full month brought over six inches of rain, along with more huge temperature swings.
My husband and I anxiously watched the forecast because one field needed to be terraced before it could be planted. Every time the ground began to dry, another storm rolled through. When the work finally began, a bulldozer got stuck in the mud.
The old saying is that corn should be planted by Mother’s Day, but ours wasn’t planted until May 12, a few days late. And that was only after several very busy days for the farmers who manage our land. They needed to make up for lost time.
While we worried about Saline County, Seattle experienced a relatively dry April. Rainfall was well below normal, and temperatures were above average. In other words, while Missouri was issuing thunderstorm and flood alerts, Seattle was enjoying sunshine.
So when friends from the Midwest ask me how I’m surviving all the Seattle rain, I often look out the window at blue skies and views of the Olympic Mountains. Plus, this time of year, sunrise is before 6:00 a.m., and sunset isn’t until around 9:00 p.m. I don’t have much bad news to report.
Instead, I ask them about the weather in their neighborhood. Another thunderstorm. A flash-flood warning. A heat wave one week. A frost warning the next. A tornado through a suburb.
My father may have been exaggerating when he said it never rains in the Pacific Northwest. But I’d say Seattle wins on weather this year, despite its reputation.
How’s the weather in your neck of the woods?
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Bucharest, Romania. Rain and drought alternating. Cold and warm alternating. The weather is upside down lately everywhere.