Why is Seattle always rainy?
In: Earth Science
It is incorrect to characterize Seattle as “always rainy”. However, many locals do not mind that characterization – it acts as a deterrent to too many people moving here.
There are about 156 days which have some precipitation during a typical year in Seattle, or 209 days without any precipitation.
The vast majority of the days that do have precipitation the “rain” consists of light drizzle or mist – the kind where an umbrella is not needed.
As well as the other replies there is also this.
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Seattle is a coastal city with mountains a short distance inland. The land tends to heat up from the sun more than the ocean so the air above the land heats up and expands, becoming less dense. More dense, moist air flows in from the ocean to push the warm air upward and over the mountains.
As the moist air rises it cools, reducing the amount of water it can hold. This means it condenses and rains, making the area nearly constantly wet.
It’s a coastal city with prevailing winds coming from the west. Those winds pick up loads of moisture from the Pacific Ocean, and as the air is forced to rise by the higher land to the east of the city they dump that moisture.
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