It plays bass, not lead guitar.

What is meant by that is the rain in Seattle is persistent rather than voluminous, playing the consistent bass rather than the louder lead guitar. That's why the city has such a rainy reputation. What most people don't know is that a lot of its reputation is a misconception.

It's been raining in Denver, A LOT. I spent ample time looking out the window today, not once seeing a lack of raindrop rings in the puddles throughout parking lot. This stuff is serious rain too...big, heavy drops that soak you when you walk from your car to your front door. It's been raining like this for more than a week and people are reaching their breaking point. It has a lot of people angrily uttering the word "Seattle" in response to these soggy days. I will say, though, that this is far from the norm here. I've lived here for three years now and this ultra-wet weather is a first.  

Having lived away from Seattle/Tacoma for five years, I've heard more than enough annoying reactions my response to the question, "Where are you from?". I have to admit that I get defensive when people assume I "must be so relieved to get out of the rain". In response, I highlight the closeness to the ocean and the rain forest and the constant greenery. Today, though, I wanted to dig deeper and get to the bottom of this agonizing assumption.

How much rain does Seattle get? I, myself, was surprised to find out that the city only gets an average of 37.1 inches of precipitation annually. Let me put that into perspective. In Miami, annual rainfall averages 60 inches. You'll also be surprised to find out that Seattle actually ranked 44th among major U.S. cities in annual rainfall. Houston, New Orleans, Nashville, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and most other cities on the Eastern Seaboard get more rainfall than Seattle.

So why the bad rep? Most of the precipitation in Seattle falls as drizzle or light rain, meaning there are more days of precipitation each year, but much less volume. It rains less, but it's spread out over more days. A day of precipitation could be a mostly sunny day that started out with a light mist. So Seattle isn't as wet as everyone thinks, but unlike notoriously sunny Colorado, Seattle only has an average of  93 partly cloudy days per year and only 71 completely clear days. That means the sun's only making an appearance during half of the days in each year. I think this is where the reputation comes from.

Those who love Seattle appreciate its beauty, which doesn't require the sun. The city is protected from Pacific Storms and arctic air by the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges. Multiple mountain ranges = beauty. To the west of the Olympics is the Olympic National Rain Forest, receiving an average of 142 days of rainfall annually. Rain Forests = beauty. The coastal temperate rain forests are the result of marine hair bumping up against the coastal Olympic Mountains, trimming off most of the moisture coming from the ocean before it gets to Seattle. Mount Rainier is absolutely breathtaking climbing 14,411 feet from sea level to it's volcanic summits. From the chorus of the song, "The View From Home", "But all the natives know when the mountain lifts her skirts, the view from home will flat out melt your mind." Mount Rainier when it comes out = beauty.

All of those days of moisture, but not necessarily rain, mean snow in the mountains and great skiing, abundant water supply and power generation from rivers, and a successful salmon run to the ocean. To my friends, Denverites, and all those out there who associate Seattle with rain, I hope you learned a little something. If you want to keep thinking what you do about the city, it'll only benefit the locals because you won't move there. Maybe that's why so many of them keep the truth about the Emerald City their little secret.

On a side note, I have another secret to let you in on. Most of the pictures of the Seattle skyline highlight the Space Needle displaying it to look like the tallest structure in the city. When it was finished in 1961, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It also operates the oldest continuously operating revolving restaurant in the world. Back to it's height...it's 605 feet tall. The stratosphere in Vegas is almost twice as tall as the Space Needle, which is crazy to think about considering I almost jumped off of it a year ago and plan to next weekend! Anyway, the true tallest building in Seattle is the Columbia Center at 937 feet and 76 floors, the 20th tallest building in the U.S. Now you know some useless Seattle skyline info. You're welcome.

XO...

Sources:

misconception junction

new york times