2011 has been a cool, damp year in the Pacific Northwest, even by our usual cool damp standards, but as much as Seattle has a reputation for rain, we really don’t get all that much in terms of volume. For example, year-to-date, Seattle has accumulated a little more than 24 inches of rain, no more than 6.29 inches in any given month. Compare that to the deluge of 10 fucking inches that fell on South Jersey yesterday as I struggled to get from the shore to the Philadelphia airport in time for my return flight. (Speaking of which, how come if I’m late for my flight due to weather, I’m fucked, whereas if the airline is late due to weather, I’m fucked?)
The result is that everything grows bigger in New Jersey, even its elephants:
- Goldy | The Stranger
- Lucy the elephant stands guard over Margate NJ as the storm blows in.
Having lived and traveled elsewhere, I often tell Seattleites this. The only ones who seem to believe were all born in other states.
My granddad lived in Margate. I love the elephant.
Seattle gets less rain than ANY eastern city — less than Cleveland, Montreal, New York, Baltimore, Providence, Charlotte, Miami, you name it. The only parts of the country that get less rain than us is the southwest and the mountain states.
Born and raised here, I’ve been informed of this every few weeks ever since I learned English.
And #4 for the WIN!!
Seriously, anyone with half a brain who lives in Seattle knew this already.
Yeah, well Montclair and greater Essex County, NJ got 11 inches yesterday. It rained steady from very early morning until evening. Scattered showers today. But we needed it since it’s been hot – 90’s plus every day – and relatively dry for weeks.
And how come SLOG readers are fucked every time Goldy posts, while the Horse’s Ass Happy Hooligans are fucked because he doesn’t post there anymore (I look in every few weeks and see the same old same old soap opera [in Lee’s case, dope opera] with nothing new or exciting).
Seattle has girly rain – it mists all the time – while the East Coast has downpours that are he-man in their power. Yesterday’s 11 inches equals nearly one-third of what Seattle gets annually. Wussies.
it’s a trade off. we have girly rain and he-man mountains, they have girly mountains and he-man rain. i’ll take our mountains.
A horrendously tacky elephant like that would be perfect for Alki beach, don’t you think?
@8 yes.
If we’re going to have a contest of arbitrary weather values, let’s compare solar radiation. Seattle will beat out all comers, except for Alaskans who don’t see the sun in the winter.
I grew up in the Seattle area and have been told constantly ever since I can remember that it does not rain that often in Seattle. I can say however that I have lived in other states and countries and this is just not true.
Sure we get less inches per year of rain but as far as how often it rains combined with the general cloudiness you get a very “rainy” city. The fact that high humidity and no sunlight don’t let mudpuddles dry up leads to a the ground always being wet which makes it feel even more rainy.
Seriously everyone, shut the fuck up, we know that we are not actually the rainiest city in the USA.
Yeah, but we don’t have fireflies. Which never ceases to amaze me.
Missing the entire point. How many consecutive & cumulative days of rain did you get in Jersey YTD?
Frequency, not quantity or quality, is what causes the malaise.
And @3 – 5, ditto. It’s the standard retort when east coasters say, “How can you deal with so much rain?”.
Growing up in Seattle, I was taught this. The rainy reputation in Seattle is because it drizzles for months on end, not because it pours down buckets. But locals don’t want to admit it’s not that wet, for fear of attracting more people from other states to tell us all about what we’re doing wrong.
When we talk about rain in Seattle, what we’re really talking about is a lack of sun. And dry. It’s relentless and memorable. Where else do the streets not dry for weeks at a time?
I’ve hiked in the (debatably) wettest spot on Earth, and it was.. er… mostly sunny. Shit, it rains harder in San Francisco—when it rains—that it ever has in Seattle, and half the city goes dark with fog every day at 6pm, but none of that defines this city like rain defines life in Seattle.
@8, here’s what used to be on the West Seattle shore – nothing quite that exuberant. Not even Luna Park could last forever….
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?Dis…
“Cloud burst” is a phrase I don’t miss not saying, having grown up and lived in Connecticut until 30, and having spent monster amounts of time everywhere from Baltimore north to Boston.
Add me to the pile of people who get tired of hearing others in Seattle talking how it’s “pouring” rain when it’s doing nothing of the sort.
Oh, how cute: a “journalist” stumbles over a statistical anomaly and loudly declares The Accepted Reality Is Not What You Thought It Was!!!
stop the presses — be still my heart — my delicate sensibilities are all a-flutter:
the east coast has downpours and my knowledge of local weather means nothing!
How did we ever survive w/o the valued insights of such “journalism”???
Man, natives here are touchy about their claim to rain. This post was mainly a springboard to mention the astounding 10 inches that poured down in few hours yesterday, as well as an opportunity to post my photo of Lucy.
But if it’s any consolation, I much prefer the weather here over my native Philadelphia. And @11… there’s not humidity here, even when it rains. Not compared to the East Coast.
You’re killing me, Goldy. I live in Ballard, but grew up in Philly and have spent the past 25 Labor Days stuck in traffic going from the Jersey Shore (LBI) to the Philadelphia Airport. I do not envy you.
BTW, what’s up with that dump of an airport getting best customer service ratings in the country? (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20…). How is that even possible?
What amuses me most is the complete inability of Seattleites to drive in the rain. Anything beyond a gentle drizzle and… instand gridlock!
Still raining here in Jersey, 5 more inches expected by tomorrow.
@22
They don’t know how to drive *period*. Rain, sun – doesn’t matter. A bunch of slowpoke space cadets behind the wheel. If these people grew a pair, traffic would be nil.
@20
I prefer the weather here too (also grew up in Philly), but I do miss me a good summer thunderstorm.
It’s not the rain, it’s the near-constant cloud cover. Seattle just feels like the rainiest city in America.
Y’all know that you’d be much wetter if it weren’t for the Olympic Mountains, don’t you?
@24 exactly.
if everyone went AT LEAST the speed limit and honked when someone did something idiotic, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…
Rabun County, Georgia (where GA, SC, and NC all meet), gets in excess of 70 inches of rain each year. This is because the clouds run into the rising Appalachians, and dump their rain on Rabun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabun_Count…