So living in Truckee and in the Sierra mountains I thought I knew what cold was. Think again! The Pacific Northwest weather is no joke! Now that I have lived here over 6 months and we are in the middle of the winter weather I have a better understanding about what it means to live in the Pacific Northwest and it’s weather. I know that I can’t really say I understand ALL about the weather up here but I do understand why Columbia Sportswear and REI are based up here in the Pacific Northwest!
Late Spring
We stopped off in Portland in May to check out the city and see if this might be an option for us to put down some roots. In May the weather was off and on over cast with some sunny days as well as some rain. Everything was green and lush! We fell in love with all the green grass and all the beautiful green plants. The temperature was in the 60’s to 70’s and felt pretty moderate except for the dampness. The humidity in the air has been something both Eric and I have had to get used to.
Summer
Summer came early! In a flash the temperatures shifted into to the high 90’s and over 100. It was miserable! We hadn’t unpacked the pod so we didn’t have fans and the house was built in 1909 so no air conditioner. Several trips to the store and a couple of fans later we worked out a GREAT system to keep the house cool! I never knew I would miss the dry heat of the Sierras but I learned pretty quickly that the humidity here in Portland was going to be a HUGE adjustment for me.
Fall
Fall was very pleasant and just gorgeous with the changing of the season. Our neighborhood is filled with trees and every day it was an adventure to see the changes of the leaves. I can honestly say that fall in Portland is probably the most comfortable season to live in.
Winter
The title of this post is the “Pacific Northwest Weather Is No Joke” and I am not kidding! Winter came and brought the rain and the bitter cold with it. I believe in December we had 23 or 24 straight days of precipitation every day! I have been told by locals that have lived here all their lives this was an unusual winter with so much rain at once. It rains here a lot but the quantity that we received was extraordinary! Parts of the Portland area flooded and there was even a sink hole that happened. We were pretty lucky that it didn’t flood in our neighborhood and if it hadn’t been for the news I wouldn’t known about all of the flooding in the area at all.
The Rain
What we haven’t been so lucky with has been the leaks. We discovered just by accident that we had leaks in the attic! I am very thankful Eric checked on the attic and discovered the leaks pretty quickly. It’s been a trial and error with the roofers coming out to fix the leaks but I think we are making progress!
The Cold
As for the cold, that has been the biggest surprise. The cold winds blow hard up here! You have probably heard the expression “bitter cold”. I have now experienced the bitter cold! I am thankful for my thermals from time to time as well as layering up to stay warm. Living in Truckee I learned to adjust to the cold and figured out the layering recipe that worked for me.
Here in Portland I am still working on figuring that recipe out but I think I am getting there. The phrase “having the right gear” is very true when it comes to the Pacific Northwest weather! When you get dressed for the day it’s always good to see if it has already rained and if it’s going to rain. However, the most important piece is the temperature and wind chill factor! The cold air that blows in the Pacific Northwest is chilling and doesn’t take long to get you back inside.
My most challenging time to deal with the cold is actually with the boys (Buddy & Samson). Taking them for walks and just letting them outside I have to think about what I am going to wear. Generally on rainy days I wear my rain jacket but recently it snowed here and then there was the ice. Thankfully I still had my snowboard jacket from when I lived in Truckee and my snow boots! I have been told that it snows here in town maybe once every 7 years. It has snowed here twice since we’ve been here!
The Ice
I mentioned ice earlier and this is what makes the Pacific Northwest weather no joke! After it snowed then there was freezing rain! The freezing rain and then the ice that covered the streets, steps, and sidewalks was treacherous! In Oklahoma we had some black ice on the roads but nothing like the Portland black ice! They don’t have snow plows and as far as I could tell the maintenance on the roads to deal with ice the was slow and mainly for highways.
I actually had to walk to the vets to pick up medication for Buddy the day of the freezing ice which was quite an adventure. It’s about 2 miles from the house and Buddy really needed his medication. So, I suited up and hit the streets. It was dangerous is some places but I mainly walked along the grassy areas where the snow wass and arrived at my destination safely. The walk home was better because I took a route that had had a lot of foot traffic which really helped.
I waited 2 days before I took the boys for a walk in the park because of the ice. It was kind of sunny and warm so I thought ok let’s get are walk on! Unfortunately there were patches of ice and it ended up being a little tricky to navigate. We made one lap if that around the park and then headed straight home.
Pacific Northwest Weather Is No Joke
Even with the cold and rain both Eric and I are REALLY starting to adjust to our new surroundings! The rain for the most part isn’t that bad. It is fantastic when the sun comes out and we definitely get outside and enjoy the sun rays. I am looking forward to seeing what a full spring looks like but until then I will keep a look out on my weather app – Weatherbug for the forecast, have a rain jacket ready for the rain, the snowboard jacket or my Patagonia puffy for the cold, and snuggle up in my cozy bed when I can!
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