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Comment by cpeterso | Hacker News Reader

It doesn't rain all the time in Seattle, but it rains almost every day most of the year. When I lived in Seattle, I remember some months when the sky was gray 24/7. Crushing, relentless gray. It felt like living inside a concrete dome. :\

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No it doesn't. Seattle has some of the best summers anywhere; it's one of the city's best-kept secrets. July and August are gorgeous.

The relentless gray of which you speak is true of months like December and January.

Exactly, the summer only lasts for July and August. November to February it rains non-stop, and every other month is hit or miss. You can't really plan any trips because those clouds come out of nowhere. And that was the worst part. I would wake up and the sun is shining. I decide to go ride some trails on my bike, half way to the location it starts to rain. Plans ruined.

Outside of winter (November -> March) the rain is really light and doesn't interfere with wandering around outside. But I'm a Seattlite =).

Yes, this. An old roommate of mine who was a Seattle-area native called it "spitting drizzle". It's like an agressive fog.

Those two months are the best summer you'll find anywhere. When I moved to SF, I missed them dearly. SF summers are terrible, and I found three of them more depressing than seven rainy winters in Seattle ever were.

I'll also take nonstop rain from Nov-Feb any day over the snowy winters in the Midwestern states where I grew up.

Finally, the key to not letting your plans get ruined by rain is to always plan for the possibility of rain. =)

Yes, Seattle summers are beautiful. 10 months of rain makes for a very green summer. :)

cpeterso is likely a member of Lesser Seattle. Started by curmudgeon Emmett Watson as a way to discourage Californians from moving to Seattle.

When I travel, I always emphasize the rain, the cloud cover, the risk of death by volcano, the very real likelihood very overdue The Big One earthquake, how traffic sucks, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Watson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesser_Seattle

Whatever you do, don't tell them about the statue of Lenin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Lenin,_Seattle

No, we used to have a concrete dome, and it didn't actually feel the same. It was much nicer inside the actual dome.

Good point! And I remember when they blew it up. :)

OTOH, grey skies make photography easier and better.

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