Unusual Rainy weather in Seattle

[danlehosky]

Know all of you guys think it rains everyday here in this PNW but this has been the driest summer and fall on record for us. We went 75 days without any measurable rain which was a record. I was actually hoping for some rain so I could be sure my roof was not leaking.
I know other parts of the country were hot and dry but was this the case for everywhere.
Here's my question. How was your summer? Did any unusual weather variants help or hinder your camping trips?

Adios,
Dan

[Ag&Au]

Hi Dan,
It was also very dry here this summer. Coincidently, it is also raining her today, but not hard. We had perfect weather for our whole trip to the San Diego area last month. I got my required yearly "ocean fix." I love walking barefoot on the beach. What have you been up to for the last month?

Ken

[Jim Foster]

Originally Posted by danlehosky

Here's my question. How was your summer? Did any unusual weather variants help or hinder your camping trips?
Adios,
Dan

It was your unusual weather that gave us a nice summer. We spent all of July and 27 days of August traveling in Washington. We only had four wet days, two in Grayland and two in Port Townsend, and they weren't too wet. We did have some gray mornings along the Pacific Coast, but that is to be expected.

[Mike Leary]

We were born and bred in the PNW, and spend the summers up there. NEVER seen it so dry. Nice for all you cruisers, though.

[Skater]

Originally Posted by danlehosky

Know all of you guys think it rains everyday here in this PNW but this has been the driest summer and fall on record for us. We went 75 days without any measurable rain which was a record. I was actually hoping for some rain so I could be sure my roof was not leaking.
I know other parts of the country were hot and dry but was this the case for everywhere.
Here's my question. How was your summer? Did any unusual weather variants help or hinder your camping trips?

Adios,
Dan

It's funny you posted this - a friend of mine that lives in Washington state posted almost exactly the same thing today on another forum (that one for owners of Mercury Cougars).

Our summer was hot, which isn't unusual for DC. The derecho storm was pretty interesting, along with the several day power outage result. We slept in the camper at night (and finally got around to ordering a second generator so we will have A/C in the camper during those outages). Otherwise it was summer as usual for us.

[Fly at Night]

The fury of the rain and wind hasn't let up since Friday. This is the biggest dump of precipitation since February, which is very unusual for the "wet" coast.

The FaN has been buffeted from all sides, and no leaks! Horray! I thought there might be something after all that hot sun on the seals/sealant.

The rain was coming down so hard at times - you could hardly hear yourself think with the pelting on the vent covers.

I had the nicest nap today in the trailer. Turned the mattress heater on -
was so warm and cozy as the weather howled outside. I really enjoyed the trailer today.

[slowmover]

Read up on the Palmer Drought Severity Index.

The USGS and others make very good use of this. Where I currently live the drought is no joke . . but rainfall is only indirectly linked to calculating drought when properly understood. Climate change may mean the same annual rainfall amount, but it all comes on three nights versus spread over three weeks.

The PDSI makes sense of how to "read" these things.

And, as the thread was re-opened, hows the weather in SEA, now? Will be up there to visit son at Whidbey Island late this month.


.

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by REDNAX

And, as the thread was re-opened, hows the weather in SEA, now? Will be up there to visit son at Whidbey Island late this month.


.

Here are the rainfall totals for 2012 in the Seattle/Olympic Peninsula area as printed in the Peninsula Daily News on 12-31-2012.

[10Smiles]

Yea, as indicated above, we caught up on our rain and had one of the rainiest years on record. If you are visiting this month or next, I would expect rain.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by danlehosky

I know other parts of the country were hot and dry but was this the case for everywhere?
Here's my question. How was your summer? Did any unusual weather variants help or hinder your camping trips?

According to the National Weather Service "Year in Review" for New Orleans:
1 - 2012 was the warmest year on record. Average temp year-round was 72°F, mainly due to a very warm winter.
2 - 68 inches of rain for the year, about 4~6 inches above normal, helped along by Hurricane Isaac, which set the New Orleans area record for the highest 24-hour precipitation— just over 20 inches.
3 - Summer was the 3rd wettest on record since they started tracking precipitation in 1871.
4 - To make up for the summer, autumn was the 7th driest on record.

Since it was my first year with an RV, I have nothing to compare it to, so I can't say whether the overall effect was positive or negative. I didn't have to postpone or cancel any trips due to weather, didn't have to change destinations for any trips, and didn't have to evacuate for any hurricanes. Had to drive through heavy rains several times to get to my destinations, though I wasn't ever rained out. But I can't let rain stop me. As they say, "People in Lousiana don't tan, they rust!"

Overall, I have no complaints. I made nine camping trips altogether, two each to Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi, and three within Louisiana. Plus one road trip to Oklahoma in my Airstream that didn't include camping, when I took it to the family homestead to show it off. Earliest trip was Mardi Gras (February), last was just before New Year's Day.