By "west coast" OP probably means CA. Despite popular belief there are other states on the west coast of North America. The weather in OR, WA and AK is much more variable.
I once considered doing a project similar to this one, using an esp8266, but decided against it since it would be too depressing.
> Additionally, since it rains so rarely, if it’s going to rain, people are usually talking about it at least a day in advance.
Was odd that such prevalence was placed on the coasts by the author.