Is It Always Raining In the Northwest?

The short answer is that it depends on where you live. Like many other places, there is a season that brings more rain and there is a period of little rain. One of the keys to living on the Kitsap Peninsula, as we do, is to be in or near the rain shadow from the Olympic Mountains (see picture below). Depending on where you live, the rain totals can vary greatly. We are located to the right of Port Ludlow in the bottom-right corner of the map.

When we moved here two years ago, Rose was already aware of the rain shadow, having lived on Whidbey Island when her father was stationed there and later in life too. She knew that it was better to be north of Silverdale into Poulsbo or even farther north to Kingston. When you compare the average rainfall for these cities that aren’t very far apart, the difference is striking. For example, Bremerton gets an average of 51″ of precipitation, while Silverdale to its north gets 46″, and Poulsbo even farther north gets 40″. Further up the peninsula are Kingston and Hansville, which get 38″ and 33″, respectively. We settled in Hansville (top of the map below) so we are on the low end of precipitation in this area.

For some perspective, the U.S. average for precipitation is 39″ per year. Seattle gets an average of 37″, Pittsburgh gets 38″, Washington, D.C., gets 41″, and Fallon, Nevada, gets a paltry 5″ per year.

After we received our household goods in October 2016, I was able to set up my weather station. With our own station, we can view our own microclimate in the area. Other weather stations in the area can be seen too, so it’s easy to see what the weather is doing around you. The weather forecast for us is located at the bottom of the site web page.

The data below is for 2017. While our average annual precipitation is 33″, we received 38″ in 2017. This year, we are drier so far through March, with only 9.42″ versus 16.3″ in 2017. Check back at the end of the year, and I’ll post the complete 2018 data.

Where we live is definitely affected by the rain shadow and the winds. It is often raining in Silverdale, where I work and it is dry at home.

The average highs and lows from our weather station by month are also listed in the table above. Due to the proximity of the water, the highs and the lows are moderated where we live as compared to more inland. On an average summer day, the temperature at our house is a good 6° cooler than in Silverdale, where I work. Likewise, the lows in the winter aren’t as low as in other locations more inland.

What I find to be the bigger change living here is the change in daylight throughout the year and how fast it changes. These significant changes have to do with how far we are from the equator. On the Summer Solstice on June 21st, it will be light until after 9:13 p.m. In the winter, the daylight is short, but that period seems to go by quickly. We really like spring and summer when the days are long and the temperatures warm. See how much the amount of daylight changes in the table below.

*The times are affected by changing into and out of Daylight Saving Time

The climate here is a lot different from Fallon, where we lived for 14 years. No need to worry about the sprinklers working to water the lawn; that is taken care of by nature. Rose is having a field day planting and re-planting, and everything seems to be growing well and thriving. This isn’t that different from where I grew up in Pennsylvania, with the trees, humidity, etc. I would say that it is nicer here, though because the temperatures are more moderate due to our proximity to the water.