Portland Fog, Raining All the Time, and All That by glabah
This is a weather related tip and thus doesn't fit into any of the currently available VirtualTourst categories:Portland has a well-earned reputation as a place where it rains a lot. The local tourist and convention bureau, colleges and universities, real estate agents, and various others have attempted to pass off the Portland reputation for rain off as overblown and nothing to worry about.
Is everything you have heard true? That depends on what you have heard!
The weather comes from the Pacific Ocean, comes into the Willamette Valley, and hits the Cascade Mountains. The clouds get stuck and unload water until they are light enough to pass over the mountains. We don't get as much rain as, say, the Olympic Peninsula in Washington or the Oregon coast (Newport, Astoria, Tillamook, etc.). However, because the rain frequently comes as very heavy fog rather than hard thunderstorm rain, it means that a "little rain" in terms of quantity can take a long time to fall in terms of days or weeks.
Yes, there are months when we don't see the sun. It is also true that locals tend to not use umbrellas because they aren't very effective with this type of rain - unless you will be out it it for a long period of time. I was born in Portland, and I do in fact own several umbrellas, and do use them - but only on those days when the rain is heavy enough for it to be worthwhile using them.
Some people who visit here, or those who have moved here from California, complain about the weather and the rain. (Didn't they know that it rains here before they came? Apparently not!) So, if you are expecting Portland to be like Los Angeles and have rain only three times a year, you will be sadly disappointed. We are just like the 99% of the world that isn't like California: we get rain here! Be prepared for it!
Isn't it cold in Portland?
Depends on what you consider cold.
Our winter weather is cold, but not as cold as many other cities in the USA. For example, compare winter weather in Portland, Oregon to the weather in Chicago or New York or Bismark, North Dakota, or Havre, Montana, or even nearby Boise, Idaho. Perhaps people think that Portland, Oregon is cold because they confuse it with Portland, Maine?
My Brazilian friends definitely think it is cold here! Look at Belem, or Manaus or Curitiba or Foz do Iguaçu or Londrina or Rio de Janeiro. Keep in mind summer in South America is winter here in Portland - you need to compare opposite months for a comparison of seasons!
The link below is to Weather Underground Portland. Only you can decide if you can handle our weather or not!
