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Subject:Re: Seattle weather From:John Hedtke <jhedtke -at- OZ -dot- NET> Date:Sat, 4 May 1996 11:47:55 GMT
Guy McDonald <guym -at- daka -dot- com> wrote:
>> I live in Massachusetts, but work for a company that provides weather
>> information. It looks like Seattle will be rainy and "cool"
>HOLD THE PHONE Mabel!! A Massachusetts company forecasting weather for our
>area? Hell, the local Voodoo Weather "forecasters" statistics are:
>80% incorrect in weather forecast
>19% partially correct in the forecast (which falls into the "incorrect
>catagory")
>1% pre-empted by a Seahawk game
>Here's my take for all you out-of-town folks... IT RAINS ALL THE TIME HERE.
> Sooooo.... remember that if you ever consider relocating to the Pacific
>Northwest! We have lousy weather... yuk! And *that advice* goes double
>for all you Kalifornicators. ,-)
My ex-wife and I wrote a book about 4 years ago called "Washington
Trivia." It's 1284 questions about the state of Washington that you
never really wanted to ask but we'll tell you anyway. :)
One of the things we found out as we did research on the book was the
official answer to how much does it really rain here. The technical
answer is "Between 30-40 inches a year." Now, that doesn't sound like
a lot, but there's more to it than that.
You see, the rain is a continuing thing. According to the US Weather
Service, Seattle has 240 totally overcast days a year, 67 partially
overcast days a year, and 68 sunny days a year. This means that
there's really only 2 months when the skies are completely clear. We
usually use these up in July and August. But then, 'long about
September, the gray skies roll in like a nice thick blanket and it
rains... it drizzles... it drools... (There are over 131 different
words for precipitation in the Seattle area, did you know that?)
Sometime in February or March, you get to see the skies again.
Add to this the fact that Seattle is farther north than the northern
tip of Maine. We are, in fact, at the same latitude as London. In
winter, the sun rises at 8:00 and sets at 4:30, so you go to work in
the dark and come home in the dark. The skies are unrelentingly
leaden and dull. It's always cold and clammy. Getting a respiratory
cold you can't shake is almost anticlimactic at this point, but that
happens a lot about then, too.
Let me say one last thing: Seasonal Affective Disorder (caused by a
lack of sunlight; also known as phototropic depression) is a lot like
claustrophobia. You don't know it's a problem until it smacks you
right in the face.
Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
Yours Truly,
John Hedtke
=================
All this is true, and you can check my facts if you don't believe me.
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