One last thing. You've all mentioned that it does occasionally snow here. Does anyone have a ballpark figure for how often that occurs? The reason I'm asking is that one of the apartments I'm looking at in Bellevue is at the top of a rather steep hill. If it snows a lot or ices up on a regular basis in the winter, my car is definitely going to have trouble with that slope. Is that something I should be concerned about, or is it a rare enough occurrence that I shouldn't worry too much about it?
Thanks again, Rohit Patnaik On Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 9:55 PM, Rohit Patnaik <[email protected]> wrote: > Wow, so many good responses from everyone. This thread has definitely been > useful in helping to reduce the guesswork in preparing for winter. Now I'm > really looking forward to meeting you all in person in September. > > Thanks again, > Rohit Patnaik > > > On Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 6:52 PM, Mike Orr <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Randolph: >> > Anything that doesn't get dried will stay wet through the winter and, >> probably start growing mold. >> >> Keep furniture and boxes an inch away from walls That'll prevent >> trapped moisture and mold from growing behind them. >> >> According to my friend who's a third-generation Seattlite, in the >> 1950s there were routinely 5' snows every year. I've never seen more >> than 1', once in the 70s, once in the 80s, then not for a long time >> until 2008 and 2010 (or give or take a year, whenever the >> snowpocolypses were).Some years it snows for an hour or two and is >> gone. Some years there's a couple inches on the ground for a week, but >> it's always gone in three weeks. Temperatures hover around 32 >> degrees, so it melts in the daytime and refreezes in the evening and >> causes trecherous ice. That's why there are so many car accidents and >> thus why most people stay home when it's on the ground. Seattle never >> had snowplows until recently and it still only has a few. Both >> snowpocolypses led to the non-reelection of the mayors, so there's now >> a street map and transit map of which streets will be plowed. So on >> Capitol Hill here, it's Pine Street and Broadway. >> >> Temperatures may get down to the 20s or 10s for a day or two, but not >> for several days. The ocean winds keep the temperature stable. One >> interesting phenomenon is that the ocean winds drop all their rain and >> snow on the west side of the mountain ranges, so the east sides are >> unusually dry and warm. This occurs on both the Olympics and the >> Cascades and the Bitterroots. Seattle is kind of medium in terms of >> storms/rain/snow because the winds are partially diverted around it >> through Everett and I think Olympia-ish. Portland gets cold winds >> from the east through the Columbia River Gorge gap in the Cascades. >> >> For summers, you're experiencing it. The northwest has been described >> as the land of the long Springs and Falls. The sun comes out >> intermittently in late May and becomes more reliable in mid-July till >> the end of August. It may last intermittently through September and >> October up until just before Thanksgiving. So the farmers' markets are >> generally open May-November. >> >> Winters expect rain or clouds most days, with occasional clear cold >> days that may last for a half-week or a week. In December and January >> the sun comes up after 8am and goes down before 5pm, so you're going >> to work and back in the dark. >> >> -- >> Mike Orr <[email protected]> >> > >
