@Blake Needham I grew up in Portland in 60s-70s. There was definitely more rain during summer then. And much stronger marine layer influence, with cooler temps. There was an unusual lengthy ~2 month period without rain. First time our lawns turned brown. When it finally rained, people came outside to literally dance. These days, months without meaningful rain during summer are common place, as you say. Willamette Valley 2020s is California Central Valley of 1970s? Umpqua/Rogue Valleys remain worlds of their own.
Seattle native here, I've lived in a few places both in the US and in Europe, and I have yet to find somewhere with weather I enjoy as much as in Cascadia. It's the best of both world, with the refreshment that the winter rains brings and greenery along with it, and the glorious summers that are hot and dry but never feeling oppressive, as well as everything in between. Our unique climate is definitely a source of pride!
i've lived in portland for the first 10 years of my life and have lived in seattle ever since, and i absolutely love it. I love the rain. I love the overcast winters. I dont get why so many people hate the rain. Maybe im just weird.
I lived in Auburn, WA for the first eight years of my life, then moved to Florida. I love the rain too, although here it's afternoon storms rather than the near constant drizzle, and wet in the summer rather than winter. I do miss the snow, although I certainly don't mind wearing shorts in January.
I live in Seattle, the summers here are just fantastic. The rest of the year is so wet that even though we’re quite dry in the summer, most things stay very green, which can not be said for other Mediterranean climates.
Things stay mostly green. I think a lot of that is due to how many evergreen trees and flora there are, but certainly as you travel east it becomes increasingly golden. But in the more immediate Seattle vicinity, yes it stays green.
Seattleite here. Lived all my life here, it's pretty nice. I've learned to love the gray, rainy days, and embrace the warm, sunny days. On the rare occasions when snow or thunder moves through, it's a welcome gift rather than a pesky burden. (Well, except for windstorms, which occur a couple times a winter and often knock out power across the region.)
The pineapple express phenomena is a very specific one in which warm subtropical air laden with moisture (known as an atmospheric river) flows from the warmer regions of the north pacific to the pacific northwest. This accounts for a significant portion of the rainfall each year as these events produce large amounts of precipitation (and much of the year's flooding in the rivers of the Puget Sound lowlands and Willamette valley), but pineapple expresses occur only a few times a year. Most of the time rainfall events are simply caused by the incursion of the Aleutian low during the winter months which draws the cool, moist air off the coast inland where orthographic lift and other factors cause precipitation. During the summers, the inverse happens. The Aleutian low retreats and is replaced by the more southerly North Pacific high during a transitional period between April and early July which accounts for low humidity/precipitation and high sunshine levels during the summer. Early summer, however, can be quite cloudy due to a phenomena known as May Gray/June Gloom during which high temperatures inland and cool ocean temperatures create an inversion and low clouds cover the lowlands west of the Cascade crest.
Pacific Northwest here.....having lived here for over 20+ years, this region is none other than places I have lived around the world. No joke, you can have a sunny day out, but then from one small cloud comes some rain. Then, in the winter, you get a drench of snow, but then days later, the weather is pretty springy! WTF, but I love it. You will notice the natives wear all-weather gear all year, no umbrellas.
Yeah, I’m from New Jersey and our summers are brutal. High humidity with at least 20-30 days every year above 90°F with nights mostly staying above 70°F. Seattle summers seem nice lmao
I live in Seattle, too. I love it here. I do admit the winters are a bit dreary. But in late spring and into early fall, it is beautiful. Blue water, tall white mountains, green trees and fields. Just love it.
I live just west of Portland’s West Hills and have for many years. There are so many microclimates here that it makes generalizing difficult. But I’d say that every summer brings a dread now. Temperatures above 30C or 94F for over 30 days is tremendously taxing physically and financially, especially when combined with a urban heat island effect, neighborhood poverty, and lack of tree canopy for shade. We’ve also gotten a taste for the horror of wildfire pollution and threats. So that’s summer in the PNW as of 2020. It’s lovely and with a bitter aftertaste of dread.
Much of Oregon in Willamette Valley to Cascades is originally Douglas fir forest and Oregon white oak savanna. Douglas fir seeds are dispersed by wildfire. It is part of the biology. This is the dryer forest type of the region. It is not temperate rainforest with Western hemlock and Sitka spruce.
I grew up near the coast in southwestern Washington, and I've always loved the forest. We get more than twice the amount of rain here than in Seattle. We can go over a week at least without a break from the rain. I hated it until I moved with my dad throughout southern California for a few years. People thought I was nuts to hate the rain since they hardly got any there. And being in a very hot area near palm springs, I got sick of the sun, heat and lack of trees. Then last year I've moved back to Southwestern Washington and I've appreciated the rain so much. I still get a little bored with it after a while, but I appreciate it more than I ever did. I know this comment was long, I just wanted to share it with the web.
Thanks for the local's perspective. Was that near Aberdeen? I remember driving through that small town on the way to US-1 and then down the Oregon coast. I remember seeing moss on all the tree trunks, and thought, yep, this place is WET!
I live in Northern California a few hours away from a full blown Pacific Northwest climate. When I went to Eureka on a school trip it was crazy how cloudy and wet it was compared to us who were about to go into our dry summer season. In my town itself most of the year is dry and hot but as you get into late fall it cools down and occasionally rains. Then it becomes split between torrential downpour and dry frost in the winter with no snow except on the mountains because the cool wet and frigid (okay it’s like 50 degrees Fahrenheit) dry times are so separate. Then in spring it’s sunny and rainy at the same time and I love it. There’s nothing special about fall except the leaves and the harvesting of some crops, it’s kinda partitioned between winter and summer.
Man you are a hero!! Please keep making this videos, it's so interesing! I wonder why we always have dark grey skies here in The Netherlands. Maybe you can compare cities. Like comparing Amsterdam with New York. Or London with New York. Keep it up!
There's also inland places in the Pacific Northwest that experience high diurnal temperature changes (85-95 degree Fahrenheit in the day and 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit in the night) (such as Medford, Eugene, Kennewick, Walla Walla, Richland, Spokane, Salem, etc.), yet their winters are warmer than areas at lower latitudes (such as Chicago, Fort Wayne, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, etc.)
Lived in Vancouver BC most of my life. When I traveled to London a few years back I found myself constantly putting on and taking off my jacket (May) and having the rain start and stop constantly. This was quite foreign to me because over here the weather changes slowly. I can see clouds approaching from the south west and know I have about 1-3 hours before the rain starts. And generally it will rain for at least most of the day after that. In winter the rain might not stop for several days and just go from light to heavy to light etc. During the heat wave last year we didn't get rain for something like 45 days and I was so happy to sit in a chair outside when it finally did.
Interesting local's perspective. Thanks. My explanation for this difference in fast/slow, is that you experienced London during the summer, when it is subject to thunderstorms emerging from hot/humid air over the continent of Europe. Because the entirety of the Western USA/Canada is blocked from such continental flows by the Rockies, you only experience oceanic airflows. This is basically a unique global event (although one could say Chile also has this, albeit on a much narrower strip of land).
Yeah, there's also almost always a bit of a breeze for like a half day before the weather changes between sunny and rainy too. And each weather trend lasts for weeks typically. Going to the east coast has been absolutely _wild,_ the idea that rain almost always comes in avoidable short thunderstorms is so foreign to me. You can just... plan around the rain?!?!?! But on the flip side every now and then you'll get something unexpected. Also the slow changing of the weather is a huge pain when it comes to zone pushing plants, as the minimum temperatures will last for a long time instead of being a brief event like on the east. Folks on the east coast can thus get away with a hell of a lot more than out on the west.
Interestingly the Oregon and California border shows a marked difference in annual cloud cover and dreariness. Redwood trees barely grow past the California/Oregon border.
@@GeodiodeRedwoods actually don't like too much sun -- they need the cool coastal fog in the summers to stay moist. (Why they don't grow south of Monterey County, and why they don't grow very far inland unless irrigated.) But they also need fire to release seeds and reproduce, so that's probably why they don't grow into the Pacific Northwest because there's too much rain. Yes, they are spoiled, picky things who always want the perfect weather...typical of Californians. :)
@@shaynewhite1 also other trees dependent on fire but more widespread than California redwood are the Douglas-fir and the Oregon white oak. Oregon white oaks are more peculiar than Douglas-fir.
Thank you for making this video. Too many people insult the PNW purely because of our winters. This area is more than just rainy winters. In fact, it's because of those rainy winters that we have such beautiful summers. Our plant life stays lush and green in Summer because of all the rain we get. I've lived in Oregon all my life and I love it.
I live in Vancouver. Thank you for making this video! When I heard you describe the Oceanic climates in that other video, I was like “He must not know about the summers here.” Maybe two or three days of rain last summer? And between 20-25 degrees Celsius the whole time. Never thought I’d live in a place where I barely need neither an AC nor heating! And that’s from me growing up in Montreal where I EASILY needed both (a fan wouldn’t do it during the summers, unlike here!).
Meanwhile, JUST north of Vancouver in the mountainous suburbs of North Vancouver and West Vancouver, people complain about the constant rain and grey skies. If anything, THEY might have an Oceanic climate. Gotta love microclimates!
@@codygriffin299 yes, the weather on the south end of Vancouver towards Tsawwassen and Point Roberts is that "Warm Summer Mediterranean." Is Tsawwassen part of the "Sunshine" coast? Victoria, BC is in the high pressure rainshadow spot. Same as Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and San Juan Islands.
anotherdavidc No that’s not part of the Sunshine Coast. Ironically it’s a region NORTHwest of the Lower Mainland (the general region including Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley out to Hope, the former of which includes Tsawwassen) where the climate technically reads as Temperate Oceanic. Apparently the name started as a marketing gimmick (think Greenland), but it is also apparently true that it tends to have more sunshine per year than the Lower Mainland. That said, like Vancouver, it also has drier summers than its winters (similar summer precipitation to Vancouver, but lower than Van’s winter precipitation), and is generally cooler throughout the year. Its cooler summers and _relatively_ more stable precipitation patterns are probably what get it to classify Temperate Oceanic, but I figure it still forms a continuum between the true Oceanic and Mediterranean climate zones of the Pacific Northwest. Just more on the Oceanic side.
From Eugene, Oregon here. Great video. I am fascinated by climate, and Oregon's climates are among the most diverse in the world. We have everything from the subtropical climate of the southern Oregon coast (the Chetco effect) to the more oceanic climate of the northern coast, to alpine tundra, semi-arid steppe and desert climates. The town of Seneca, Oregon has a subarctic climate, and there are areas in the Cascades with a rare Csc-type climate (Mediterranean continental). We're far enough north to have glaciers, yet mild enough to have palm trees (plant hardiness score of 8 in Portland - same as southern Louisiana!). Another thing unique about Oregon is that western Oregon has some of the mildest winters in the country, but Oregon as a whole has the 5th coldest summers. What an amazing place to live! And in many ways, it does seem very much like Scotland and Ireland, but with warmer and drier summers.
Born raised in Corvallis Oregon since 1989. It's my favorite thing ever when it's kind of stormy or cloudy foggy rainy days I love exploring our forest's in that weather. As of these last few years tho the climate has been like we live in lower California tho, it's way drier, it gets way hotter now, seasons are different, we used to have very noticeable springs and now it just go from light winter to feels like our old summers and now the summer summer is way hotter then it used to be most of my life of 32 yrs. Mostly it just doesn't rain as frequently thru the year minus summer like it used too. I hope we can keep our temperate lush rainforest ecosystems Because I love our forest's, moss, fungi, lichen, ferns, dense wilderness everywhere. Its literally my favorite thing in the world and it got me into photography when I got sober and overcame some past addictions I just happened to find going out and taking photos was a very therapeutic thing for me to do not just physically but mentally and with my 2 dogs it's a great exploration experience each time lol 😆
What I find really interesting is the Rogue Valley, a small valley region in Southern Oregon, which is actually Csa despite being surrounded by the Csb of the PNW. The valley causes a rain shadow which eliminates more perception and rises the average temperatures of the valley. It’s a little pocket of Mediterranean coastal climate 100 miles from the Pacific. Good pears too
@@Geodiode yeah he is right. Precipitation wise you are right about Csb Warm Summer Mediterranean. However from around Eugene north to Vancouver BC, the dreariness (gloomy cloud cover) is significant. There is also a high pressure spot of NE Olympic Peninsula, San Juan Islands, Victoria BC, and Tsawwassen BC that is supposedly sunnier than surroundings. Look up Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and Dungeness Valley in Washington State.
@@anotherdavidc Yes, Sequim for example receives average of about 23 inches precip per year. It's in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. However just a small distance south and west is the only temperate US rain forest which receives about 150 inches rain annually.
I lived in Bellevue for my entire life and our weather is super wacky. In the spring, its could warmer and sunnier than summer or colder than winter. In the summer its mild and sometimes it rains even but its mostly dry and warm. In fall its not warm or cold and frequently rains. In the winter it is usually freezing cold and sometimes snows. The weirdest weather I have experienced is probably when it was sunny and dry but it was 30 degrees fahranheit.
In my opinion at least, this continental climate is kinda better than that of a west coast. It is cool to experience both heat and cold throughout the year. And I actually live in one of those
Everyone is on the move these days...rarely content where they are...looking for paradise...the next best thing....living large with something new....when i was young our people stayed close to the birthplace...close to home..and were not longing for something better....the Average American moves every five years.
I live in Portland, and I can tell you how much sun you get depends on where in the Pacific Northwest you are. In Portland, it is overcast for most of the year. I find that August and Early September is when we get the most sunlight if I had to work from memory. We get a fair amount in the Spring too, especially in recent years due to global warming.
Awesome video, @GeoDiode. As a Portland resident I can say the winter rain isn't all that bad. Wish we got more snow though. Since you're doing a case study on specific climates I would love to see your take on BWn/BSn. Keep up the great work
I live in California (SF Bay Area) and I've been told all my life we have the best weather in the world. Except we don't -- most of our annual rainfall is packed into a 3-4 month period and we spend all year praying we get that rain, cause if winter fails us (which has happened a lot recently) we're screwed for the rest of the year. Then fall comes and the whole state burns up. I'm done. I'm seriously thinking of moving to Washington where there's at least a chance of rain each month. I was worried it would be cloudy 365 days a year but this video told me otherwise!
Half of washington is a desert and not like seattle, and even seattle doesnt rain every day. It is one of the rainiest cities in the west coast though, but cities like yakima, kennewick, and walla walla dont even get ten inches of precipitation per year. If you want more precipitation, go to the east coast. California weather is not the best. I never heard anyone outside of california say that unless they live there.
Hi Geodiode, Once again, a wonderful video! Its companion video on “Mediterranean Climates” more generally is also terrific. First off, just wanted to state that like you, I have also lived in Britain (5 years total), the Pacific Northwest (6 years total), Northern California (2 years), and Mediterranean Europe (circa 14 years, in Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland, i.e. Lugano). Although technically speaking Lugano is Cfb. But I’ve been just about everywhere in Italy on vacations. In short, like you I have lots of direct, experiential familiarity with both Mediterranean and Oceanic climates. Now I get the general impression from your videos that you are suggesting that the Csb designation in effect “solves” the wet-Mediterranean problem. Because generally speaking Csb Mediterranean climates are indeed wetter. Note that I fully agree that Köppen was right about most of the Pacific Northwest! The summers in Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland really are incredibly dry, sun-filled, and glorious. And unlike many, I also love the wet winters in the Pacific Northwest. So one might describe the Pacific Northwest as “Hyper-wet Mediterranean”. As you probably know Trewartha tried to solve what he saw as the “Pacific Northwest Problem” by defining the Oceanic versus Mediterranean distinction primarily in terms of quantity of rainfall + temperature. More than 890 mm of rainfall and cooler, and it’s “Do Temperate Marine” (or “Do Oceanic”). Less than 890 mm and eight or more months with average temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius, and it’s “Cs Mediterranean” - see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trewartha_climate_classification , lotusarise.com/trewartha-climatic-classification-upsc/ , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Oregon , www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/7yt1pj/trewartha_climate_types_of_washington_state_1260/ . This then had the effect of reclassifying the Pacific Northwest as “Do Oceanic”. I’ve also been to northern Portugal and northwestern Spain, which as you suggest are also Mediterranean, but very wet in the winter, heavily forested, and classify as Csb. Furthermore, Köppen classifies the Apennine chain below Rome as Csb, as well as the Apennines behind and to the west of Genoa. In both cases these Csb mountains get plenty of rainfall in the winter, so they too are heavily forested. Not many people know this, but as per the Pacific Northwest, historically speaking the natural vegetation of the Apennines was mostly coniferous, various kinds of “Abies” or Fir trees. But the Apennines have been logged and replanted so many times over the centuries, that now they tend to have beech and other hardwood deciduous trees such as oak and maple, even at the highest altitudes. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apennine_deciduous_montane_forests , www.jstor.org/stable/2846006 , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Italy , commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen_World_Map_Csb.png . So fully agreed that almost everywhere one finds Csb, there’s more precipitation, and hence, usually good forest cover. However, there also exist lots of Mediterranean locations that classify as Csa, and that are NOT dry as a bone, as per Los Angeles at lower elevations. For instance, in the Trewartha map of the United States, Marin County and coastal Sonoma county, as well the Santa Cruz mountains below San Francisco, and the mountains along the coast of Big Sur, classify as “Wet Cs” - see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_trewartha.svg . Whereas for Köppen, the entire California coast from Santa Monica north gets classified as Csb, even though there are vast differences in the quantity of rainfall along this coast. The complete disregard by the Köppen system for the amount of rainfall in different areas that have a Mediterranean climate has been noticed by many. For an excellent recent article that attends to this distinction in some measure of detail, see www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/4/259/htm , mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/water/water-09-00259/article_deploy/water-09-00259.pdf?version=1491477653 , www.mdpi.com/water/water-09-00259/article_deploy/html/images/water-09-00259-g001.png . Personally I find it very hard to love the desiccated, ultra-dry islands of the Mediterranean such as Kasos, in the southern Dodecanese, which gets just 271.5 mm of rainfall per year, and nearly no rain at all for five months from May to September - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Greece , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecanese , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasos . Kasos may have the warmest climate and mildest winter in Europe - it is unarguably Csa - and Kasos may even classify as 11b in terms of plant hardiness zones. But the utter desiccation of Kasos leaves me personally cold - see www-karpathiakanea-gr.translate.goog/karpathos-kasos-periodes-ipioterous-xeimones/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc . Here I realise that I am speaking subjectively. If others love such dry, arid islands, more power to them!😌 My personal, very strong preference is instead for the “hot wet Mediterranean”: for places that Köppen designates as Csa, but that even still are very wet, and have thick forest cover. For instance “wet Csa” islands such as Corfu and Capri, and mainland locations such as the Sorrento peninsula just below Naples, Taormina in Sicily, or Berat in Alba. In North America I would much rather vacation in “wet Csb” locations like Mill Valley in Marin County, or the Santa Cruz mountains just south of San Francisco, than vacation anywhere in the “dry Csa” parts of Southern California. All of the “wet Csa” and “wet Csb” locations mentioned get more than 900 mm or 36 inches of rainfall per year, and it shows, very visibly, in their dramatically lush and green landscapes. Everything from the Redwoods of northern California to the dense pine and oak forests of the Sorrento peninsula. These “wet Mediterranean” landscapes have large trees that remain green throughout warm or hot summers that are still, nonetheless, very dry and very Mediterranean. And yet densely forested islands like Capri and Corfu also classify as Csa, just like Kasos…. Now fully agreed, Köppen’s classification is not about plants, but rather, about how humans experience climate. But arguably the amount of rainfall that occurs in a Mediterranean climate so overwhelmingly determines how the landscapes “feels”, that this is one area where perhaps an exception should be made? Similar to the “n” designation now being used by many for frequent Fog, or the “H” designation for High altitudes? The Köppen system’s failure to draw this critical distinction between “dry” versus “wet” Mediterranean climates does seem like a huge oversight. Also note that it’s the dry Mediterranean climates that are most susceptible to desertification, so there’s an ecological dimension to this difference as well. Granted, the total land area of “Wet Csa” Mediterranean locations is comparatively limited. But if “Dry Csb” locations also exist, then a specific “wet” versus “dry” Mediterranean designation would allow Köppen to capture what is distinctive about those as well. All best wishes, L
I love the winters especially the cold snowy ones that leave a good snowpack for the dry season here on the east slope of cascades. The west slope is an hybrid with a strong oceanic dominance especially on both the cascade and Olympic slopes, especially western and Northern aspects. Pockets displaying a more mosaic pattern, leaning more Mediterranean, are readily found throughout the area with an increasing dominance as one moves easterly across the eastern slope into the head of the Great basin to the southeast.
What is very interesting is that Vancouver, BC south to Portland, OR are similar in annual rainfall distribution and temperature duration. Oregon is interesting because once you pass Eugene, OR the rainfall is gradually less and summers hotter. This is the climate of Roseburg, Medford, and Ashland in Southwestern OR. Their rainfall distribution is between Portland and San Francisco but with less winter rains than Portland and hotter summers than San Francisco. There is also less annual cloud cover on the California side of the OR/CA border along the coast. California redwoods barely grow beyond the Oregon border. Csb does have plenty of Coast Douglas fir trees that rely on dry summer fire to disperse seeds. Most of the Csb portion of the Pacific Northwest was known as Douglas fir dominated forest. Parts of the Puget Sound Lowlands and the Cowlitz River/Willamette River Valleys once had Oregon white oak woodlands. Victoria, BC and San Juan Islands also had patches of Oregon white oak woodlands. They were maintained by indigenous Native Americans because of the elk and deer that used them. Now, most of that is urban, farmland, or taken over by Douglas fir. But yeah, Coast Douglas fir and Oregon white oak were indicator species of the csb climate you discussed. Towards California border and the Pacific Coast you get the Coast redwoods mixed with the Coast Douglas fir.
I love everything about Seattle weather. I enjoy the wet rainy season. Summers are good for outdoors. Rain and winter to stay put and do some intense work, tucked next to a window, watching the rain and sipping hot coffee. East or West, Seattle is the best 😊
Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a few years, I have become used to its climate conditions. I also know of some of the other peculiarities of this region. There are 4 areas which are considered as a part of the Pacific Northwest, those being, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and British Columbia. Some definitions also include Northern California, Western Montana, and Southeastern Alaska. A wide variety of climate zones exist here. On the coast, we see the Oceanic/Mediterranean hybrid climate, where we see the Pacific temperate rainforests, the largest rainforest of this type in the world. The forest covers a wide latitudinal range from about 40°N in Northern California up to around 60°N in Southern Alaska. Because of the wide climatic variation in this range, the forest is split into 5 regions: - The southernmost extent of the forest in Northern California is dominated by Redwoods. Below 40°N, it starts to transition into the chaparral and dry woodlands of Coastal California. - From the California/Oregon border up to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, we see the "Seasonal Rainforest". The most dominant plants here are Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Sitka Spruce. - Above Vancouver Island and up to the Alaska Panhandle, we have the "Perhumid Rainforest". Here, Douglas Firs disappear from the local vegetation, and Cedars, Hemlocks, and Sitka Spruce prevail. - Starting from the lower border of the Gulf of Alaska up to the areas near the 60° line, we have the "Subpolar Rainforest". Here, Cedars cannot thrive in these harsh conditions, and the rainforest is now just a thin strip between the ocean and the alpine zone. Here, the forest is dominated by Sitka Spruce and Western and Mountain Hemlock - At the northernmost limit of the rainforest, it is scattered in small pockets in the northern Prince William Sound, the Kenai Fjords, Eastern Kodiak Island, and the Western Cook Inlet. After this, it transitions into subpolar forests and tundra. Starting from around Vancouver, the climate changes from Warm Summer Mediterranean (Csb) to Oceanic (Cfb). After the Alaska Panhandle, the temperatures drop to the point where the climate changes to Subarctic (Dfc), with some pockets of Subpolar Oceanic (Cfc). The rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are mainly made up of coniferous trees, and they actually have more biomass than any other place on Earth, even more than that of Tropical Rainforests. The Pacific rainforests are the only place in the world of noteworthy size and significance where confers have flourished as they did before flowering plants took over. This refers to the Jurassic period, wherein conifers were the most dominant plants. There are also temperate rainforests in the Columbia Mountains, but here, the differences in rainfall between winter and summer aren't as large, and the temperatures in winter often drop below freezing, so much so that most of these areas have a continental climate (Dfb). Areas on the Columbia River close to the US border such as Castlegar are classed as either Continental (Dfb) or Warm Summer Mediterranean (Csb) depending on the isotherm used. Meanwhile, the Columbia Plateau (In Washington), as well as the Southern Okanagan and the Lower Thompson Valley (Both in Canada), have a semi-arid climate (BSk), with some areas being classed as cold deserts (BWk). This is due to these areas being in the rainshadow of the Coast and Cascade Mountains.
Most of the information was from Wikipedia and from my own knowledge of the region. This is because I've lived in the Columbia Mountains for over 7 years. A university in this region actually launched a website over a month ago detailing climate projections for the Columbia basin (on the Canadian side): basinclimatesource.ca/ In addition to higher temperatures, the region is also projected to have increased rainfall in the winter, but decreased rainfall in the summer, meaning the rainfall patterns will be closer to that of the coast and California. Here are a few towns and their original and future Köppen climates using this information: Cranbrook - Warm Summer Continental (Dfb) > Hot Summer Mediterranean (Csa) Revelstoke - Warm Summer Continental (Dfb) > Humid Subtropical (Cfa) Golden - Warm Summer Continental (Dfb) > Hot Summer Continental (Dfa) As you can see, most towns are reclassified into group C (Temperate) because the averages of the coldest month (January or December) exceed -3°C, and the 'a' is applied due to summer temperatures exceeding 22°C. This a Wikipedia page about the Temperate Forests, and it has links to the many types of temperate forests: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_forest
Wow, thank you so much for this extremely interesting information! Especially the correlation with the Jurassic period is completely new to me, but it kind of explains my fascination for the PNW since this area embodies much of what I’ve always loved about the coniferous mountain forests of the Austrian Alps (where I come from), just at a much larger scale, with a bigger variety of conifer species and with more lichen, moss and the breathtaking fauna ofc. My fascination for the PNW is growing ever since I’ve come across the fairy creek blockade on the internet. Considering its uniqueness, its beauty as well as its importance as a carbon sink, every meter left of the mentioned forests should be preserved in my opinion. I’m really looking forward to get to know more about this region via the links attached to your comment, and hopefully I’ll be able to visit this area one day, maybe a roadtrip from Skagway down to San Francisso (including some ferries ofc).
Well, as for the conifer domination, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and perhaps Chile are far better representations of the Mesozoic conifer dominated forests than the PNW. The temperate rainforests are neat, but not terribly unique when compared to all the other coniferous forests of the north. Although that being said, the incredibly large sizes of the trees there is pretty damn special, nothing can truly compete with redwoods and douglas firs which have both historically been measured over 400 ft (these are all unfortunately long gone due to logging). The predictions already seem to be coming true for the climate, however, considering recent heatwaves and winter flooding. Seems like spring and fall have even gotten wetter too. And the more unstable polar vortex has led to much colder winter conditions. Really sucks when you're trying to grow exotic plants, as if the weird hybrid of mediterranean and oceanic climates wasn't already enough of a pain to deal with.
The reason the Columbia Basin will have more rainfall in future winters is because climate change has reduced the amount of snow. Same amount of precipitation but more rain, less snow which sucks because the melting snow is what prevents summer drought there. I have lived in the West Kootenays , and it used to have, in my opinion, the best weather with four distinctive and beautiful seasons. Now the smoke-filled summers and snowless winters have ruined that.
Your videos are awesome.. thank you for this geographic feast I live in Tamil Nadu, part of South India. This region receives most if its rainfall during winter (Oct to Dec), which is the north east monsoon season. However rest of the year is not rain free. Also summers are very hot with few days of heavy rain.
Hello Ben! Happy to see the start of a New series, I think that was the most controversial in the last series (Mediterranean episode), I've passed all my life having clearly that Seattle had an Oceanic climate until now. Despite the climates are classified into differents types always are some that are hybrid between two or more climate, they are going lightly degradating from hot to warm to cool... or to dry to more and more wet. Thanks once again for bring us another interesting and beautiful episode!!
I was born and raised in Seattle metropolitan area. We are a combination of the two, I believe. Dry/warm summers, wet winters, moderate temperatures all year round with slight influx in weather systems. However, I believe he should elaborate on the difference between western Washington and eastern Washington. They are totally different weather systems. Western Washington gets a lot of its precipitation from the tropical pacific moisture carried from the Hawaiian islands. Once it reaches the cascade mountain ranges, it locks that weather system in which basically results in Seattle being cloudy and rainy many months out of the year. Seattle’s weather is dependent on the tropical pacific moisture carried by the winds. Eastern Washington is a little more similar to perhaps the Midwest in climate, very hot summers with very cold snowy winters. Because they are on the other side of the cascades, the wet pacific moisture doesn’t have the same impact on them. This leads to very dry hot summers and very cold winters with less rain and more snow and ice. They have more extreme weather vs Seattle who has more moderate climate. I’ve traveled all over the country and seen many beautiful states. However, Western Washington has the best summers / early fall weather hands down! And although the rain doesn’t officially start to slow down until summer, we can still see some beautiful spring days here with a mixture of spring showers and sun. ☀️
Thanks very much for the local perspective. Always good to hear. Yes east of the Cascades and the picture is very different. I didn't touch on this area, as the controversy centered around the coastal climate. I have heard it referenced as the "High Desert" by some - as it's generally a lot drier than west of the mountains, and is at altitude that give chilly nights and winters.
@@Geodiode I would describe many areas east of the Cascades as semi-arid steppe rather than true desert, with some areas of cool summer mediterranean at lower elevations on the Columbia. Chiloquin, just on the east slope of the Cascades and at about 4500 feet elevation, is one of the snowiest places in Oregon. On the other hand, the Alvord desert in southeastern Oregon is a true desert. Meanwhile, the Wallowa mountains in northeastern Oregon have a cool summer continental climate.
Fairly informative video! Grew up in eastern Washington, we receive less annual rain than Phoenix. Temps exceed 100 degrees every summer. In the winter, 100 miles away in NE Oregon, you will have snow accumulations over 12 feet. Love the diverse climates within the PNW.
I grew up near San Diego and have lived near Seattle for most of the last 20 years. I agree that the whole west coast from Baja California to British Columbia feels like one continuum of the same climate with precipitation increasing and temperature decreasing gradually as you move north.
Born & raised in San Diego, CA and now live just outside of Tacoma & I love the PNW climate. The summers are gorgeous, and the greenery the rains bring is totally worth it…. Winter Scuba diving in the Puget Sound is incredible too!
I wish I was a PNW resident! I've spent some delightful time there in August through early November, and the weather was nearly as much to my liking as were the mountains, rain forests, rivers, and scenery. I was keenly aware that, back home, the highs were running typically around 95°F (35°C), while on the coast I was enjoying 65° (18°C). I actually got a bit of sunburned once, because unlike back at home, the heat didn't drive me to seek refuge out of the sun. My time there being of the road-tripping sort, I spent nearly every night in a hotel/motel. And, although it was quite warm away from the immediate coast and air conditioning would've been welcome, many of the motels had none. Of course, for most of the year, A/C would be unnecessary. 50-miles (80 Km) or so away from the coast, temperatures were more extreme, both hot and cold.
I used to live in an Oceanic climate. But unlike PNW, the summers were much more rainier than winter and January is the sunniest month while August is the least sunny.
@@Geodiode The areas of Oceanic climate in NW Europe have winter maximum precipitation but the areas with continental climate have summer maximum precipitation. Even in continental NW Europe, January is the least sunny month and January is the coldest and sunniest month in my area. So guess for the last time where do I live?
Ok. I will tell you where I used to live. I used to live in a subtropical highland climate which is a variety of oceanic climate and in subtropical highlands winter is the driest and sunniest season.
Been living in Seattle since 1998. Love the climate here. 30 minute drive and there are ski slopes with lots of snow in the winter, then drive back to town and voila, no snow! rains in the winter but locals don't even buy or carry umbrellas.
When I was in Portland, Seattle, and the North Cascades National Park. I was amazed at the cool summer months. I am from Birmingham,Al. So it was s shock to me.
Fantastic video, as always! Hailing from Scotland, the idea of swapping our wet and windy summers with the warm and sunny summers of the Pacific Northwest sounds fantastic. Do you have a list of the climates coming up in your casebook series or do I have to wait and see? I'm secretly hoping to see the Lofoten Islands of Norway pop up somewhere. I believe they come under the Cfc classification, and are one of the few of such that can be found above the arctic circle and is the only place above the arctic circle where the average temperature is above 0 celcius all year. Surely theres some interesting reasons behind that?
@@Geodiode Haha. Sassanach refers to English people! I come from the Southern Uplands of Scotland, so I'm not a Teuchter either. Not really sure what to call myself.
@@Geodiode I would LOVE more rain in the summer here. Since 2014 we have been having a shift much more noticeable south of Portland. There is a garbage patch of microplastics in the Central Pacific that is blocking a lot of ocean currents from working correctly. It's well known out there but it's not been connected yet to the climate shift which happened around the same time the pile grew.
@@Geodiode Sadly most people only know about the trash on the coast which actually is big pieces of garbage and pictures on the media are taken only there ignoring what's out in the central Pacific. The Central Pacific 'trash' which isn't the right word for it actually is bigger then the west coast of the US now and swirls around in a big circle.
Rough guide to climate zones, north to south: Northern BC- Scottish/ Norwegian Southern BC- English/ Scottish Maritime Washington State- Northern French/English Maritime Oregon- French California north of Mendocino- Southern French/ Northern Italian (Milan, Turin, Po Valley) Bay Area- Mediterranean
I think because of the mountains is why Portland, Seattle and Vancouver are all wetter than London. Glasgow, Fort William, Killarney and Galway are all wetter than London’s because of the mountains. Mountains next to the sea = pissing it down everyday!
Yes, the Pacific Northwest is lashed by the "The Pineapple Express" what is an atmospheric river, bringing lot of rain during winter, the Rocky Mountains and the cascades further accentuated the rainfall due to the orographic lift mechanism, so we get very wet winters in that area.
Portland here. I love the summers. Endless warmth and sun. Not fond of the winters, quite wet and dreary. I will say that the summers over the last 10 years have been less warm and more hot. Portland regularly has days in the 90F’s (+32C) and it’s not uncommon to hit higher than 100F (+38C). In fact, Portland now has a record high temperature higher than LA. I personally like the hot weather as it makes for great pool weather, but our fire season (September through October) has gotten noticeably worse. We tend to spend several weeks a year now with hazardous air quality due to the smoke. I think every place is experience something different due to climate change. Great videography, by the way!
Great to hear your local perspective. It doesn't surprise me that much if Portland has beaten LA for high temperature, because you're inland away from any marine layer whereas LA is by the coast. The fire season is a constant worry for the whole Western US these days!
I am curious about Northern Portugal/Galicia Csb vegetation and weather. Same for Southern Chile Csb areas. What are your thoughts of the climate of the Apennines of Italy? Aren't they more Oceanic? I have seen conflicting Koppen Climate maps.
I am from the Seattle region and live in Spain- I hiked through Galicia, lived on its southern coast for a year and may move back! I can't speak too technically, but I did notice some similar vegetation, though the difference in continents certainly affects what native species are there. Lots of ferns, mosses, blackberries, etc in both. From what I've observed, it seems there's more diversity in the types of coniferous trees in Washington versus abundant pines and eucalyptus trees in Galicia and Northern Portugal. I feel very at home in the region because of its similarity in climate! Like a little piece of home in a different culture. I'd be curious to see how Southern Chile's Csb zone compares as well!
I live in seattle, I love it here, but as with many other residents I am not so thrilled about the rain in terms of my experience. I do really love how rainy it is in terms of the wildlife that can exist here, especially the dry summer/wet winter situation which has favored conifers over deciduous trees, I love our western redcedars, hemlocks, and Douglas firs
I don't think people who aren't from the PNW realize just how dry it gets here in the summer. Wildfires are a huge problem, and last year, the town I lived in for 18 years (Phoenix, Oregon) burned almost completely to the ground when a fire came through. The PNW is almost desert-like in summer; the rest of the year is pretty wet, though.
I live in Oregon now, but was born in Las Vegas. Boy can I tell you I much prefer the terrain and weather here in Oregon, yes including our rainy winters. Actually, the rain is a bit of a curiosity to me at this time. What do you think of the rain patterns of the PNW? Do you think the Droughts are here to stay and things in our state are more likely to be like the Central Valley of California?
Aside from Porto, Portugal...Potenza and Cairo Montenotte (both small cities in Italy), small parts of northern Spain and inland Greece all also share CSB. CSB is "sub-Mediterranean" but CSB still definetly resides in Mediterreanian Europe. A place like Tofino (western Vancouver Island) is very similar to London (Oceanic).
I live in Northern Portugal and I can confirm that compared to the rest of the country or even most of Spain, the weather here is alot cooler and more humid, sometimes the country might be experiencing a drought but never here
@@macher2266 i noticed the same inland of the Algarve many years ago when visiting. It's no surprise in a way as eucalyptus is so hardy when it comes to drought
@@Geodiode Yeah, makes sense, after all both areas are in the same climate zone haha Still though I hope u enjoyed ur visit, I have alot of great memories from visiting Algarve when I was kid :)
Hawaii, from tropical to tundra, could make an interesting subject. Or the mild desert Canary islands. Or Reunion island, semi-arid on one side and among the wettest places on Earth the other side. Islands do have interesting climates actually..
One thing not factored but might want to be considered is number of cloudy days. There is a dreary index generally factored by annual amount of precipitation, monthly days of measurable precipitation, and cloud cover. Based on the dreary index, Vancouver BC down to Portland OR might be classified as Oceanic on those grounds. Especially true is NW corner of Oregon State, Southwestern Washington west of Cowlitz River Valley, and much of Olympic Peninsula westward. The less "dreary" would be like Port Angeles and Sequim in WA, Victoria BC and San Juan Islands, and perhaps Southwest Vancouver community of Tsawwassen (north of Point Roberts). That is where people may argue about classifying Pacific NW as Warm Summer Mediterranean. The cloud cover and gloomy days are prevalent in much of October through April and again in June (similar to California coastal June gloom)
Yet also its similar to us, we get the squally showery weather from April to November, very changeable and the occasional southwesterly storm and mini flood, wind is a real problem as we are a thin strip of land and warm highs over Australia became narrow ridges with us. Its the Uk turned up 5 degrees (Average winter/spring is 16 degree rain) yet January to April and sometimes December is warm fine and party cloudy days, highs mid to high 20s and very little rain (Near droughts are common in summer and early autumn). Our seasons are reversed and its generally wet and squally to Christmas time (Yet you can get fine sunny weather anytime of year). We say if you don't like teh weather, wait 15 minutes here. And its like the UK for 7 months of the year and Samoa for the other 5, doing a video on NZ weather particularly the Northern north island you may find interesting
Where I’m from in Volcano, Hawai’i, I think our weather is a hybrid of oceanic and equatorial because we get pretty consistent rain through the year, but our season fluctuation isn’t as much as london
Wonderful ! For me it’s Csb 😌. Please we are waiting for the Po Valley case video ! semi-continental hot summers or mid-latitude humid subtropical :) !?
So ... would you say that Northern Spain (which is also a region of temperate rainforest hard against a cordillera near a oceanic-mediterranean climatic boundary) would be similar to the Pacific Northwest?
Here's a few high quality maps for a more visual look. Notice how Csb seems to be forming a border zone between the city of Porto and Spain's north coast. Europe present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Europe_present.svg Csb present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Csb_present.svg Spain present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_ESP_present.svg Portugal present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_PRT_present.svg Europe prediction 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Europe_future.svg Csb prediction: 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Csb_future.svg Spain prediction 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_ESP_future.svg Portugal prediction 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_PRT_future.svg Based on these future estimates, if you want to enjoy retirement in a Csb climate, it will be in Brittany, northern Spain, the mountains of southern Cascadia, the very edge of the coastline of present Csb Australia, or the part of Chile that is currently an oceanic climate.
Good morning! Love your videos. I live in the Oregon Wine Country near Portland. I think you have reached the correct conclusions. I can say undoubtedly, that we do indeed have wet mild Winters, rarely freezing, and warm dry Summers. In fact, when I look at the data over the last 7 to 10 years, Summers have become much harder. Our summers are always dry, but recently we've had temperatures as high as 116°, with more than 25 to 30 days at 90° F or above. I have lived in Los Angeles, been to London many times, and it's clear that the climate has more similarities with California, then with the British Isles. Thank you for your diligent work and well produced videos
Glad you liked my videos! And thanks so much for your local perspective, and the confirmation of, at least coastal Oregon (including the Willamette valley) being more Mediterranean than Oceanic. I've heard from others also that you've had a run of particularly hot summers.
It is a temperate oceanic climate. The rainfall levels throughout the autumn/fall through to spring are far too high and temperatures lower than that of a Mediterranean climate. The Mediterranean climate is found further south along the US west coast
i would diferentiate this from californian csb by the amount of minimal rainfall, because in the summer it doesn't rain at all in california but in the pacific nw it still rains just much less than in the winter
One of the things people fail to mention that koppen climate classification overlooks is just how ridiculously wide the boundary between Dd and Db/Dc climates is. Barrie, Ontario is classified as Dfb, but so is Brandon, Manitoba even though Brandon has far colder winters. I think there should be another isotherm division at -15c or so to separate Dfb/c with cold winters and Dfb/c with frigid winters. Mabye we can subdivide Db and Dc with another letter if they are that cold. For example, Brandon would be Dfb(c) and Yellowknife would be Dsc(c)
@@Geodiode oh yes, like the trewartha system. That one messes with me a bit to think of oceanic climates as D climates, since C just seems like a letter for temperate climates (mabye because C is a round letter or something)
Well-presented and after much reading up and doing comparisons, I tend to agree that the PNW is more like the Mediterranean or Summer-Dry than it is Oceanic. Starting just north of Seattle and south beyond Portland. Still mixed in Europe though, as Bordeaux FR seems like that but like even parts of Italy, gets summer storms and rain at times to break up the dryness...unlike most of the time in the PNW.
I just want to thank you and congratulate on the very interestong videos and content. I know how hard it is for this to be made. I am also a climate enthusiast. I am in a climate similar to London, UK, but the winters are colder here and summers are warmer. I do like the sunny Summers of the Pacific NW, but i do like the precipitation we get in Summer so i don't have to irrigate my plants much. I am jelaous of midl winters of London and Pacific NW. But my winters are warming do to the global warming.
If you were to say that Seattle is Subtropical, then so should be Auckland New Zealand and pretty much most of New Zealand, you will see most of New Zealand's west coast has a very similar climate to the Northwest. Auckland has an average summer temp of 69f (20.5) but is marked down to Cfb as its under 22c, yet its winter is very mild (Average 11c -52f in coldest month) and it is given the same climate of Britain, southern Norway, Juneau and other freezing places.
You're welcome! Well east of the Cascades it's a very different picture. "High desert" - mix of semi-arid and continental Mediterranean climates. The only commonality is the dry summer.
My grandfather used to grow sweet pea seeds for Suttons across the strait from Vancouver. Suttons chose this area because "it was just like the south of England, only better".
Victoria (largest city on Vancouver Island and capital of the province of British Columbia) is SIGNIFICANTLY drier than Vancouver....in fact, one of the funniest places in all of Canada despite it's location in the PNW. Plus, it's even warmer than Vancouver during winter. The Olympic mountains in Washington State & the mountains along the spine of the island block a lot of precipitation that would otherwise hit the greater Victoria area.
The extreme is San Francisco, where temperatures vary little throughout the year and rainfall is completely absent in the summer. That is Csb, and the difference between San Francisco and the more northerly cities is that San Francisco looks subtropical with palm trees. With global warming, London is likely to go Mediterranean .
Although I am originally from Montreal, I am on the west coast now and the Summers aren't nearly as blistering hot as they can be in the east, but I feel that's better. As for the winters, both winters here I experienced snowfall, although a bit more on the mainland this year than the island last year, but I actually love the winters here better than the east. It gets way too cold often in the east during the winter. 😉
Oceanic. It's not an "Eternal Rain" like in the middle of the ocean, but there is no climate label for that. California isn't usually really Mediterranean since most places on the coast tends to have clouds during the late Spring and then very sunny the rest of the year. Generally, winters are wet much like in the Pacific NW, in some cases it even snows.
I live in a tiny outpost of this climate (Csb) at elevation on the leeward slopes of Haleakala Volcano in Kula, Maui. It's a heavenly climate. At the summit of Haleakala is the exceedingly rare Cold Summer Mediterranean (Csc) climate. I hope you do a video on that one too. These are really well done videos
I live in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains in Washington where the summers are drier than Tempe, AZ and annual precipitation is less than coastal communities north of So Cal. It is more Mediterranean than most of the coast minus the temps. Cool video!
Grew up in Vancouver - loved the summers, hated the winters. Now live in London and it really depends on the year….. sometimes great other times dreadful. Not sure which one I prefer now
In China Qingdao South Korea and Japan are related to as seaside, great seafood, rainny and pleasent weather. Vancouver is viewed as exactly the same too. Canada is viewed as a huge version of NE China.
I’ve lived in Seattle for most of my life so I don’t have much of a comparison. But the one thing I have to say about our almost constant winter storms, is that there is almost always fresh snow at at least one of the many ski locations.
When you are going through a stand of the native broadleaf evergreen Madrona trees, it looks and feels very Mediterranean in the PNW. A great place to experience this is driving through Madrona Way on Whidbey Island.
Very interesting 😊 i am very baffled by the climate of some SE US states. The Gulf stream that runs through Florida waters and is still relatively close to Georgia, SC and NC but still doesn't make winters milder. I mean Lisbon never sees frost, yet Jacksonville which is significantly more to the south has frost. Why isn't the Gluf stream warming this parto of US as much as western Europe ?
Gradually south of Portland, OR, the annual cloud cover and dreary index decreases which makes much of Southern half of Western Oregon more like Mediterranean.
Eugene's still pretty rainy, but maybe a little drier and a little more continental than Portland. Even though it's 110 miles south of Portland, it's slightly higher elevation and further from the coast, so I think it gets a bit chillier here in the winters.
@@mushroomsteve that makes sense. It can get hot. I know for sure south of Portland, weather seems sunnier. I was surprised that Lincoln City is known for sunshine. I do know that Portland northwards is dreary. From a precipitation distribution standpoint, I get it that Portland, Seattle, and other Puget Sound lowland cities such as Aberdeen are "Warm Summer Mediterranean," but the dreariness does not make it feel anything close to "Mediterranean." I am not sure how Eugene is having never lived there.
Amazing video, thank you! I am from California but have Irish ancestry and my skin is craving a more humid oceanic climate during the dry springs and summers here. I am going to look into living near the top left of tip of Washington… anyone live near there?
Portland here, I actually love the winter and hate the summer. It's mild and rainy much of the year so we're not used to the short/warm summers. By the time we adjust, winter is back. Also all the recent fire seasons makes me never want to see the sun again.
Let the controversy continue! Is it Mediterranean, or Oceanic? Or something in between?
Are you saying that it transformed into Mediterranean climate?
I think it's definitely Mediterranean. I am from Northern Portugal, with a very similar climate, which is widely considered Mediterranean.
@@blueflare726 not at all. It's been this way since Koppen first mentioned this type over a hundred years ago.
@Blake Needham I grew up in Portland in 60s-70s. There was definitely more rain during summer then. And much stronger marine layer influence, with cooler temps. There was an unusual lengthy ~2 month period without rain. First time our lawns turned brown. When it finally rained, people came outside to literally dance. These days, months without meaningful rain during summer are common place, as you say. Willamette Valley 2020s is California Central Valley of 1970s? Umpqua/Rogue Valleys remain worlds of their own.
The year was 1967, 71 days in a row with a 'trace' or no rain at all.
Seattle native here, I've lived in a few places both in the US and in Europe, and I have yet to find somewhere with weather I enjoy as much as in Cascadia. It's the best of both world, with the refreshment that the winter rains brings and greenery along with it, and the glorious summers that are hot and dry but never feeling oppressive, as well as everything in between. Our unique climate is definitely a source of pride!
Costa Rica is best
I’m gonna start my Phd studies at Eugene Oregon. I love the climate there, whereas some people are complaining about the weather
The climate is totally opposite of "Oceanic" in San Diego, with clouds in May and June and sunny constantly in the rest of the year.
@@64jsanchez no on the seasides it is oppressing hot
@@SylkaChan June gloom!
i've lived in portland for the first 10 years of my life and have lived in seattle ever since, and i absolutely love it. I love the rain. I love the overcast winters. I dont get why so many people hate the rain. Maybe im just weird.
Yeah. I've recently been into climate and this stuff, and i find your channel amazing.
^^
Username checks out
I hate rain with a passion like most people who have lived a long time in NW Europe.
I lived in Auburn, WA for the first eight years of my life, then moved to Florida. I love the rain too, although here it's afternoon storms rather than the near constant drizzle, and wet in the summer rather than winter. I do miss the snow, although I certainly don't mind wearing shorts in January.
I live in Seattle, the summers here are just fantastic. The rest of the year is so wet that even though we’re quite dry in the summer, most things stay very green, which can not be said for other Mediterranean climates.
Things stay mostly green. I think a lot of that is due to how many evergreen trees and flora there are, but certainly as you travel east it becomes increasingly golden. But in the more immediate Seattle vicinity, yes it stays green.
I am curious about similar weather to the Pacific Northwest in Northern Portugal, Galicia, and Asturias. I can Southern Chile being that way.
Agreed. These PNW summers are beyond amazing. They get paid for in the rainy winters.
A part of Montenegro has a Mediterranean climate and not only gets more rain than Seattle, but more than anywhere else in Europe.
OP Ssssshhhhhhhhh.
Seattleite here. Lived all my life here, it's pretty nice. I've learned to love the gray, rainy days, and embrace the warm, sunny days.
On the rare occasions when snow or thunder moves through, it's a welcome gift rather than a pesky burden. (Well, except for windstorms, which occur a couple times a winter and often knock out power across the region.)
The pineapple express phenomena is a very specific one in which warm subtropical air laden with moisture (known as an atmospheric river) flows from the warmer regions of the north pacific to the pacific northwest. This accounts for a significant portion of the rainfall each year as these events produce large amounts of precipitation (and much of the year's flooding in the rivers of the Puget Sound lowlands and Willamette valley), but pineapple expresses occur only a few times a year. Most of the time rainfall events are simply caused by the incursion of the Aleutian low during the winter months which draws the cool, moist air off the coast inland where orthographic lift and other factors cause precipitation. During the summers, the inverse happens. The Aleutian low retreats and is replaced by the more southerly North Pacific high during a transitional period between April and early July which accounts for low humidity/precipitation and high sunshine levels during the summer. Early summer, however, can be quite cloudy due to a phenomena known as May Gray/June Gloom during which high temperatures inland and cool ocean temperatures create an inversion and low clouds cover the lowlands west of the Cascade crest.
Very fascinating
Pacific Northwest here.....having lived here for over 20+ years, this region is none other than places I have lived around the world. No joke, you can have a sunny day out, but then from one small cloud comes some rain. Then, in the winter, you get a drench of snow, but then days later, the weather is pretty springy! WTF, but I love it. You will notice the natives wear all-weather gear all year, no umbrellas.
@@littin3671 this is a month ago but no it pretty much never happens unless you are in the East or Mountains
Ok
Nor cal oregon and washington are my favorite places
Would you say the forest fires are making you want to move out? I was considering moving from chicago to seattle. Then I remembered the fires.
@@meistsyans6526 , those fires are a beast...I hope we don't get another blast of that kind of air. Not good at all.
New Yorker who lived in Seattle for about 5 months a few years back. I’ve never had a better summer, weather-wise.
Yeah, I’m from New Jersey and our summers are brutal. High humidity with at least 20-30 days every year above 90°F with nights mostly staying above 70°F. Seattle summers seem nice lmao
I live in Seattle, too. I love it here. I do admit the winters are a bit dreary. But in late spring and into early fall, it is beautiful. Blue water, tall white mountains, green trees and fields. Just love it.
I live just west of Portland’s West Hills and have for many years. There are so many microclimates here that it makes generalizing difficult. But I’d say that every summer brings a dread now. Temperatures above 30C or 94F for over 30 days is tremendously taxing physically and financially, especially when combined with a urban heat island effect, neighborhood poverty, and lack of tree canopy for shade. We’ve also gotten a taste for the horror of wildfire pollution and threats.
So that’s summer in the PNW as of 2020. It’s lovely and with a bitter aftertaste of dread.
Much of Oregon in Willamette Valley to Cascades is originally Douglas fir forest and Oregon white oak savanna. Douglas fir seeds are dispersed by wildfire. It is part of the biology. This is the dryer forest type of the region. It is not temperate rainforest with Western hemlock and Sitka spruce.
I grew up near the coast in southwestern Washington, and I've always loved the forest.
We get more than twice the amount of rain here than in Seattle. We can go over a week at least without a break from the rain. I hated it until I moved with my dad throughout southern California for a few years. People thought I was nuts to hate the rain since they hardly got any there. And being in a very hot area near palm springs, I got sick of the sun, heat and lack of trees.
Then last year I've moved back to Southwestern Washington and I've appreciated the rain so much. I still get a little bored with it after a while, but I appreciate it more than I ever did. I know this comment was long, I just wanted to share it with the web.
Thanks for the local's perspective. Was that near Aberdeen? I remember driving through that small town on the way to US-1 and then down the Oregon coast. I remember seeing moss on all the tree trunks, and thought, yep, this place is WET!
I live in Northern California a few hours away from a full blown Pacific Northwest climate. When I went to Eureka on a school trip it was crazy how cloudy and wet it was compared to us who were about to go into our dry summer season. In my town itself most of the year is dry and hot but as you get into late fall it cools down and occasionally rains. Then it becomes split between torrential downpour and dry frost in the winter with no snow except on the mountains because the cool wet and frigid (okay it’s like 50 degrees Fahrenheit) dry times are so separate. Then in spring it’s sunny and rainy at the same time and I love it. There’s nothing special about fall except the leaves and the harvesting of some crops, it’s kinda partitioned between winter and summer.
Man you are a hero!! Please keep making this videos, it's so interesing! I wonder why we always have dark grey skies here in The Netherlands. Maybe you can compare cities. Like comparing Amsterdam with New York. Or London with New York. Keep it up!
There's also inland places in the Pacific Northwest that experience high diurnal temperature changes (85-95 degree Fahrenheit in the day and 50-65 degrees Fahrenheit in the night) (such as Medford, Eugene, Kennewick, Walla Walla, Richland, Spokane, Salem, etc.), yet their winters are warmer than areas at lower latitudes (such as Chicago, Fort Wayne, Cleveland,
Detroit, Pittsburgh, etc.)
Lived in Vancouver BC most of my life. When I traveled to London a few years back I found myself constantly putting on and taking off my jacket (May) and having the rain start and stop constantly. This was quite foreign to me because over here the weather changes slowly. I can see clouds approaching from the south west and know I have about 1-3 hours before the rain starts. And generally it will rain for at least most of the day after that. In winter the rain might not stop for several days and just go from light to heavy to light etc.
During the heat wave last year we didn't get rain for something like 45 days and I was so happy to sit in a chair outside when it finally did.
Interesting local's perspective. Thanks. My explanation for this difference in fast/slow, is that you experienced London during the summer, when it is subject to thunderstorms emerging from hot/humid air over the continent of Europe. Because the entirety of the Western USA/Canada is blocked from such continental flows by the Rockies, you only experience oceanic airflows. This is basically a unique global event (although one could say Chile also has this, albeit on a much narrower strip of land).
Yeah, there's also almost always a bit of a breeze for like a half day before the weather changes between sunny and rainy too. And each weather trend lasts for weeks typically. Going to the east coast has been absolutely _wild,_ the idea that rain almost always comes in avoidable short thunderstorms is so foreign to me. You can just... plan around the rain?!?!?! But on the flip side every now and then you'll get something unexpected.
Also the slow changing of the weather is a huge pain when it comes to zone pushing plants, as the minimum temperatures will last for a long time instead of being a brief event like on the east. Folks on the east coast can thus get away with a hell of a lot more than out on the west.
Vancouverite here, I absolutely agree about this! Our summers are way too dry for an Oceanic climate, I'm glad others are pointing this out!
Interestingly the Oregon and California border shows a marked difference in annual cloud cover and dreariness. Redwood trees barely grow past the California/Oregon border.
@@GeodiodeRedwoods actually don't like too much sun -- they need the cool coastal fog in the summers to stay moist. (Why they don't grow south of Monterey County, and why they don't grow very far inland unless irrigated.) But they also need fire to release seeds and reproduce, so that's probably why they don't grow into the Pacific Northwest because there's too much rain. Yes, they are spoiled, picky things who always want the perfect weather...typical of Californians. :)
@@shaynewhite1 also other trees dependent on fire but more widespread than California redwood are the Douglas-fir and the Oregon white oak. Oregon white oaks are more peculiar than Douglas-fir.
@@shaynewhite1 I never knew this. Today I learned something new. Thanks for sharing that!
Thank you for making this video. Too many people insult the PNW purely because of our winters. This area is more than just rainy winters. In fact, it's because of those rainy winters that we have such beautiful summers. Our plant life stays lush and green in Summer because of all the rain we get. I've lived in Oregon all my life and I love it.
I live in Vancouver. Thank you for making this video! When I heard you describe the Oceanic climates in that other video, I was like “He must not know about the summers here.” Maybe two or three days of rain last summer? And between 20-25 degrees Celsius the whole time.
Never thought I’d live in a place where I barely need neither an AC nor heating! And that’s from me growing up in Montreal where I EASILY needed both (a fan wouldn’t do it during the summers, unlike here!).
Meanwhile, JUST north of Vancouver in the mountainous suburbs of North Vancouver and West Vancouver, people complain about the constant rain and grey skies. If anything, THEY might have an Oceanic climate.
Gotta love microclimates!
@@codygriffin299 yes, the weather on the south end of Vancouver towards Tsawwassen and Point Roberts is that "Warm Summer Mediterranean." Is Tsawwassen part of the "Sunshine" coast? Victoria, BC is in the high pressure rainshadow spot. Same as Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and San Juan Islands.
anotherdavidc No that’s not part of the Sunshine Coast. Ironically it’s a region NORTHwest of the Lower Mainland (the general region including Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley out to Hope, the former of which includes Tsawwassen) where the climate technically reads as Temperate Oceanic.
Apparently the name started as a marketing gimmick (think Greenland), but it is also apparently true that it tends to have more sunshine per year than the Lower Mainland. That said, like Vancouver, it also has drier summers than its winters (similar summer precipitation to Vancouver, but lower than Van’s winter precipitation), and is generally cooler throughout the year.
Its cooler summers and _relatively_ more stable precipitation patterns are probably what get it to classify Temperate Oceanic, but I figure it still forms a continuum between the true Oceanic and Mediterranean climate zones of the Pacific Northwest. Just more on the Oceanic side.
From Eugene, Oregon here. Great video. I am fascinated by climate, and Oregon's climates are among the most diverse in the world. We have everything from the subtropical climate of the southern Oregon coast (the Chetco effect) to the more oceanic climate of the northern coast, to alpine tundra, semi-arid steppe and desert climates. The town of Seneca, Oregon has a subarctic climate, and there are areas in the Cascades with a rare Csc-type climate (Mediterranean continental). We're far enough north to have glaciers, yet mild enough to have palm trees (plant hardiness score of 8 in Portland - same as southern Louisiana!). Another thing unique about Oregon is that western Oregon has some of the mildest winters in the country, but Oregon as a whole has the 5th coldest summers. What an amazing place to live! And in many ways, it does seem very much like Scotland and Ireland, but with warmer and drier summers.
Born raised in Corvallis Oregon since 1989. It's my favorite thing ever when it's kind of stormy or cloudy foggy rainy days I love exploring our forest's in that weather. As of these last few years tho the climate has been like we live in lower California tho, it's way drier, it gets way hotter now, seasons are different, we used to have very noticeable springs and now it just go from light winter to feels like our old summers and now the summer summer is way hotter then it used to be most of my life of 32 yrs. Mostly it just doesn't rain as frequently thru the year minus summer like it used too. I hope we can keep our temperate lush rainforest ecosystems Because I love our forest's, moss, fungi, lichen, ferns, dense wilderness everywhere. Its literally my favorite thing in the world and it got me into photography when I got sober and overcame some past addictions I just happened to find going out and taking photos was a very therapeutic thing for me to do not just physically but mentally and with my 2 dogs it's a great exploration experience each time lol 😆
Thanks v much. Great to hear a local's perspective!
What I find really interesting is the Rogue Valley, a small valley region in Southern Oregon, which is actually Csa despite being surrounded by the Csb of the PNW. The valley causes a rain shadow which eliminates more perception and rises the average temperatures of the valley. It’s a little pocket of Mediterranean coastal climate 100 miles from the Pacific. Good pears too
@@Geodiode yeah he is right. Precipitation wise you are right about Csb Warm Summer Mediterranean. However from around Eugene north to Vancouver BC, the dreariness (gloomy cloud cover) is significant. There is also a high pressure spot of NE Olympic Peninsula, San Juan Islands, Victoria BC, and Tsawwassen BC that is supposedly sunnier than surroundings. Look up Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, and Dungeness Valley in Washington State.
Yup, I live in Medford. It's pretty dry here, overall, and the summers are blazing hot. We get Oregon winters but California summers.
@@anotherdavidc Yes, Sequim for example receives average of about 23 inches precip per year. It's in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. However just a small distance south and west is the only temperate US rain forest which receives about 150 inches rain annually.
I lived in Bellevue for my entire life and our weather is super wacky. In the spring, its could warmer and sunnier than summer or colder than winter. In the summer its mild and sometimes it rains even but its mostly dry and warm. In fall its not warm or cold and frequently rains. In the winter it is usually freezing cold and sometimes snows. The weirdest weather I have experienced is probably when it was sunny and dry but it was 30 degrees fahranheit.
The weather is a hellovalot better than Iowa. We have hot humid summers, cold snowy winters, and a few weeks in between of great weather
At least you have snow, here in Texas we get snow once or twice every other year
In my opinion at least, this continental climate is kinda better than that of a west coast. It is cool to experience both heat and cold throughout the year. And I actually live in one of those
Pacific Northwest native here. I couldn't imagine going through that.
really great video. the Pacific Northwest is the number one place to be during the summer, but most people refuse to believe it's ever sunny here!!
Everyone is on the move these days...rarely content where they are...looking for paradise...the next best thing....living large with something new....when i was young our people stayed close to the birthplace...close to home..and were not longing for something better....the Average American moves every five years.
I live in Portland, and I can tell you how much sun you get depends on where in the Pacific Northwest you are. In Portland, it is overcast for most of the year. I find that August and Early September is when we get the most sunlight if I had to work from memory. We get a fair amount in the Spring too, especially in recent years due to global warming.
Awesome video, @GeoDiode. As a Portland resident I can say the winter rain isn't all that bad. Wish we got more snow though. Since you're doing a case study on specific climates I would love to see your take on BWn/BSn. Keep up the great work
@@Geodiode Yesssss, do BWn! Perhaps alongside other uncommon climates like Dsa/Dsb, Cfc or Dfd.
I live in California (SF Bay Area) and I've been told all my life we have the best weather in the world. Except we don't -- most of our annual rainfall is packed into a 3-4 month period and we spend all year praying we get that rain, cause if winter fails us (which has happened a lot recently) we're screwed for the rest of the year. Then fall comes and the whole state burns up. I'm done. I'm seriously thinking of moving to Washington where there's at least a chance of rain each month. I was worried it would be cloudy 365 days a year but this video told me otherwise!
Best weather is a really overrated statement as sunny weather is only good if enough rainfall exists.
You might want consider moving farther north as they are going to get more of those spells too.
Half of washington is a desert and not like seattle, and even seattle doesnt rain every day. It is one of the rainiest cities in the west coast though, but cities like yakima, kennewick, and walla walla dont even get ten inches of precipitation per year.
If you want more precipitation, go to the east coast.
California weather is not the best. I never heard anyone outside of california say that unless they live there.
You are such a drama queen
Hi Geodiode,
Once again, a wonderful video! Its companion video on “Mediterranean Climates” more generally is also terrific.
First off, just wanted to state that like you, I have also lived in Britain (5 years total), the Pacific Northwest (6 years total), Northern California (2 years), and Mediterranean Europe (circa 14 years, in Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland, i.e. Lugano). Although technically speaking Lugano is Cfb. But I’ve been just about everywhere in Italy on vacations.
In short, like you I have lots of direct, experiential familiarity with both Mediterranean and Oceanic climates.
Now I get the general impression from your videos that you are suggesting that the Csb designation in effect “solves” the wet-Mediterranean problem. Because generally speaking Csb Mediterranean climates are indeed wetter.
Note that I fully agree that Köppen was right about most of the Pacific Northwest! The summers in Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland really are incredibly dry, sun-filled, and glorious. And unlike many, I also love the wet winters in the Pacific Northwest. So one might describe the Pacific Northwest as “Hyper-wet Mediterranean”.
As you probably know Trewartha tried to solve what he saw as the “Pacific Northwest Problem” by defining the Oceanic versus Mediterranean distinction primarily in terms of quantity of rainfall + temperature. More than 890 mm of rainfall and cooler, and it’s “Do Temperate Marine” (or “Do Oceanic”). Less than 890 mm and eight or more months with average temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius, and it’s “Cs Mediterranean” - see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trewartha_climate_classification , lotusarise.com/trewartha-climatic-classification-upsc/ , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Oregon , www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/7yt1pj/trewartha_climate_types_of_washington_state_1260/ .
This then had the effect of reclassifying the Pacific Northwest as “Do Oceanic”.
I’ve also been to northern Portugal and northwestern Spain, which as you suggest are also Mediterranean, but very wet in the winter, heavily forested, and classify as Csb.
Furthermore, Köppen classifies the Apennine chain below Rome as Csb, as well as the Apennines behind and to the west of Genoa. In both cases these Csb mountains get plenty of rainfall in the winter, so they too are heavily forested.
Not many people know this, but as per the Pacific Northwest, historically speaking the natural vegetation of the Apennines was mostly coniferous, various kinds of “Abies” or Fir trees. But the Apennines have been logged and replanted so many times over the centuries, that now they tend to have beech and other hardwood deciduous trees such as oak and maple, even at the highest altitudes. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apennine_deciduous_montane_forests , www.jstor.org/stable/2846006 , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Italy , commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen_World_Map_Csb.png .
So fully agreed that almost everywhere one finds Csb, there’s more precipitation, and hence, usually good forest cover.
However, there also exist lots of Mediterranean locations that classify as Csa, and that are NOT dry as a bone, as per Los Angeles at lower elevations.
For instance, in the Trewartha map of the United States, Marin County and coastal Sonoma county, as well the Santa Cruz mountains below San Francisco, and the mountains along the coast of Big Sur, classify as “Wet Cs” - see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_trewartha.svg .
Whereas for Köppen, the entire California coast from Santa Monica north gets classified as Csb, even though there are vast differences in the quantity of rainfall along this coast.
The complete disregard by the Köppen system for the amount of rainfall in different areas that have a Mediterranean climate has been noticed by many. For an excellent recent article that attends to this distinction in some measure of detail, see www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/4/259/htm , mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/water/water-09-00259/article_deploy/water-09-00259.pdf?version=1491477653 , www.mdpi.com/water/water-09-00259/article_deploy/html/images/water-09-00259-g001.png .
Personally I find it very hard to love the desiccated, ultra-dry islands of the Mediterranean such as Kasos, in the southern Dodecanese, which gets just 271.5 mm of rainfall per year, and nearly no rain at all for five months from May to September - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Greece , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecanese , en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasos .
Kasos may have the warmest climate and mildest winter in Europe - it is unarguably Csa - and Kasos may even classify as 11b in terms of plant hardiness zones. But the utter desiccation of Kasos leaves me personally cold - see www-karpathiakanea-gr.translate.goog/karpathos-kasos-periodes-ipioterous-xeimones/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc .
Here I realise that I am speaking subjectively. If others love such dry, arid islands, more power to them!😌
My personal, very strong preference is instead for the “hot wet Mediterranean”: for places that Köppen designates as Csa, but that even still are very wet, and have thick forest cover. For instance “wet Csa” islands such as Corfu and Capri, and mainland locations such as the Sorrento peninsula just below Naples, Taormina in Sicily, or Berat in Alba. In North America I would much rather vacation in “wet Csb” locations like Mill Valley in Marin County, or the Santa Cruz mountains just south of San Francisco, than vacation anywhere in the “dry Csa” parts of Southern California.
All of the “wet Csa” and “wet Csb” locations mentioned get more than 900 mm or 36 inches of rainfall per year, and it shows, very visibly, in their dramatically lush and green landscapes. Everything from the Redwoods of northern California to the dense pine and oak forests of the Sorrento peninsula. These “wet Mediterranean” landscapes have large trees that remain green throughout warm or hot summers that are still, nonetheless, very dry and very Mediterranean.
And yet densely forested islands like Capri and Corfu also classify as Csa, just like Kasos….
Now fully agreed, Köppen’s classification is not about plants, but rather, about how humans experience climate. But arguably the amount of rainfall that occurs in a Mediterranean climate so overwhelmingly determines how the landscapes “feels”, that this is one area where perhaps an exception should be made? Similar to the “n” designation now being used by many for frequent Fog, or the “H” designation for High altitudes?
The Köppen system’s failure to draw this critical distinction between “dry” versus “wet” Mediterranean climates does seem like a huge oversight. Also note that it’s the dry Mediterranean climates that are most susceptible to desertification, so there’s an ecological dimension to this difference as well.
Granted, the total land area of “Wet Csa” Mediterranean locations is comparatively limited. But if “Dry Csb” locations also exist, then a specific “wet” versus “dry” Mediterranean designation would allow Köppen to capture what is distinctive about those as well.
All best wishes,
L
dayum
I love the winters especially the cold snowy ones that leave a good snowpack for the dry season here on the east slope of cascades. The west slope is an hybrid with a strong oceanic dominance especially on both the cascade and Olympic slopes, especially western and Northern aspects. Pockets displaying a more mosaic pattern, leaning more Mediterranean, are readily found throughout the area with an increasing dominance as one moves easterly across the eastern slope into the head of the Great basin to the southeast.
Thanks for such a detailed description of your area. I didn't know you had patches of scrub on the western sides
What is very interesting is that Vancouver, BC south to Portland, OR are similar in annual rainfall distribution and temperature duration. Oregon is interesting because once you pass Eugene, OR the rainfall is gradually less and summers hotter. This is the climate of Roseburg, Medford, and Ashland in Southwestern OR. Their rainfall distribution is between Portland and San Francisco but with less winter rains than Portland and hotter summers than San Francisco. There is also less annual cloud cover on the California side of the OR/CA border along the coast.
California redwoods barely grow beyond the Oregon border. Csb does have plenty of Coast Douglas fir trees that rely on dry summer fire to disperse seeds. Most of the Csb portion of the Pacific Northwest was known as Douglas fir dominated forest. Parts of the Puget Sound Lowlands and the Cowlitz River/Willamette River Valleys once had Oregon white oak woodlands. Victoria, BC and San Juan Islands also had patches of Oregon white oak woodlands. They were maintained by indigenous Native Americans because of the elk and deer that used them. Now, most of that is urban, farmland, or taken over by Douglas fir. But yeah, Coast Douglas fir and Oregon white oak were indicator species of the csb climate you discussed. Towards California border and the Pacific Coast you get the Coast redwoods mixed with the Coast Douglas fir.
I love everything about Seattle weather. I enjoy the wet rainy season. Summers are good for outdoors. Rain and winter to stay put and do some intense work, tucked next to a window, watching the rain and sipping hot coffee. East or West, Seattle is the best 😊
Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a few years, I have become used to its climate conditions. I also know of some of the other peculiarities of this region.
There are 4 areas which are considered as a part of the Pacific Northwest, those being, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and British Columbia. Some definitions also include Northern California, Western Montana, and Southeastern Alaska. A wide variety of climate zones exist here.
On the coast, we see the Oceanic/Mediterranean hybrid climate, where we see the Pacific temperate rainforests, the largest rainforest of this type in the world. The forest covers a wide latitudinal range from about 40°N in Northern California up to around 60°N in Southern Alaska. Because of the wide climatic variation in this range, the forest is split into 5 regions:
- The southernmost extent of the forest in Northern California is dominated by Redwoods. Below 40°N, it starts to transition into the chaparral and dry woodlands of Coastal California.
- From the California/Oregon border up to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, we see the "Seasonal Rainforest". The most dominant plants here are Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, and Sitka Spruce.
- Above Vancouver Island and up to the Alaska Panhandle, we have the "Perhumid Rainforest". Here, Douglas Firs disappear from the local vegetation, and Cedars, Hemlocks, and Sitka Spruce prevail.
- Starting from the lower border of the Gulf of Alaska up to the areas near the 60° line, we have the "Subpolar Rainforest". Here, Cedars cannot thrive in these harsh conditions, and the rainforest is now just a thin strip between the ocean and the alpine zone. Here, the forest is dominated by Sitka Spruce and Western and Mountain Hemlock
- At the northernmost limit of the rainforest, it is scattered in small pockets in the northern Prince William Sound, the Kenai Fjords, Eastern Kodiak Island, and the Western Cook Inlet. After this, it transitions into subpolar forests and tundra.
Starting from around Vancouver, the climate changes from Warm Summer Mediterranean (Csb) to Oceanic (Cfb). After the Alaska Panhandle, the temperatures drop to the point where the climate changes to Subarctic (Dfc), with some pockets of Subpolar Oceanic (Cfc).
The rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are mainly made up of coniferous trees, and they actually have more biomass than any other place on Earth, even more than that of Tropical Rainforests. The Pacific rainforests are the only place in the world of noteworthy size and significance where confers have flourished as they did before flowering plants took over. This refers to the Jurassic period, wherein conifers were the most dominant plants.
There are also temperate rainforests in the Columbia Mountains, but here, the differences in rainfall between winter and summer aren't as large, and the temperatures in winter often drop below freezing, so much so that most of these areas have a continental climate (Dfb). Areas on the Columbia River close to the US border such as Castlegar are classed as either Continental (Dfb) or Warm Summer Mediterranean (Csb) depending on the isotherm used.
Meanwhile, the Columbia Plateau (In Washington), as well as the Southern Okanagan and the Lower Thompson Valley (Both in Canada), have a semi-arid climate (BSk), with some areas being classed as cold deserts (BWk). This is due to these areas being in the rainshadow of the Coast and Cascade Mountains.
Most of the information was from Wikipedia and from my own knowledge of the region. This is because I've lived in the Columbia Mountains for over 7 years.
A university in this region actually launched a website over a month ago detailing climate projections for the Columbia basin (on the Canadian side): basinclimatesource.ca/
In addition to higher temperatures, the region is also projected to have increased rainfall in the winter, but decreased rainfall in the summer, meaning the rainfall patterns will be closer to that of the coast and California. Here are a few towns and their original and future Köppen climates using this information:
Cranbrook - Warm Summer Continental (Dfb) > Hot Summer Mediterranean (Csa)
Revelstoke - Warm Summer Continental (Dfb) > Humid Subtropical (Cfa)
Golden - Warm Summer Continental (Dfb) > Hot Summer Continental (Dfa)
As you can see, most towns are reclassified into group C (Temperate) because the averages of the coldest month (January or December) exceed -3°C, and the 'a' is applied due to summer temperatures exceeding 22°C.
This a Wikipedia page about the Temperate Forests, and it has links to the many types of temperate forests: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_forest
Wow, thank you so much for this extremely interesting information!
Especially the correlation with the Jurassic period is completely new to me, but it kind of explains my fascination for the PNW since this area embodies much of what I’ve always loved about the coniferous mountain forests of the Austrian Alps (where I come from), just at a much larger scale, with a bigger variety of conifer species and with more lichen, moss and the breathtaking fauna ofc.
My fascination for the PNW is growing ever since I’ve come across the fairy creek blockade on the internet.
Considering its uniqueness, its beauty as well as its importance as a carbon sink, every meter left of the mentioned forests should be preserved in my opinion.
I’m really looking forward to get to know more about this region via the links attached to your comment, and hopefully I’ll be able to visit this area one day, maybe a roadtrip from Skagway down to San Francisso (including some ferries ofc).
... and even within the categories which you have outlined, there are variations due to local microclimates, largely because of local topography.
Well, as for the conifer domination, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and perhaps Chile are far better representations of the Mesozoic conifer dominated forests than the PNW. The temperate rainforests are neat, but not terribly unique when compared to all the other coniferous forests of the north. Although that being said, the incredibly large sizes of the trees there is pretty damn special, nothing can truly compete with redwoods and douglas firs which have both historically been measured over 400 ft (these are all unfortunately long gone due to logging).
The predictions already seem to be coming true for the climate, however, considering recent heatwaves and winter flooding. Seems like spring and fall have even gotten wetter too. And the more unstable polar vortex has led to much colder winter conditions. Really sucks when you're trying to grow exotic plants, as if the weird hybrid of mediterranean and oceanic climates wasn't already enough of a pain to deal with.
The reason the Columbia Basin will have more rainfall in future winters is because climate change has reduced the amount of snow. Same amount of precipitation but more rain, less snow which sucks because the melting snow is what prevents summer drought there. I have lived in the West Kootenays , and it used to have, in my opinion, the best weather with four distinctive and beautiful seasons. Now the smoke-filled summers and snowless winters have ruined that.
Your videos are awesome.. thank you for this geographic feast
I live in Tamil Nadu, part of South India. This region receives most if its rainfall during winter (Oct to Dec), which is the north east monsoon season. However rest of the year is not rain free. Also summers are very hot with few days of heavy rain.
Hello Ben! Happy to see the start of a New series, I think that was the most controversial in the last series (Mediterranean episode), I've passed all my life having clearly that Seattle had an Oceanic climate until now. Despite the climates are classified into differents types always are some that are hybrid between two or more climate, they are going lightly degradating from hot to warm to cool... or to dry to more and more wet. Thanks once again for bring us another interesting and beautiful episode!!
The pacific northwest is very breathtaking
Home sweet home
I was born and raised in Seattle metropolitan area. We are a combination of the two, I believe. Dry/warm summers, wet winters, moderate temperatures all year round with slight influx in weather systems. However, I believe he should elaborate on the difference between western Washington and eastern Washington. They are totally different weather systems.
Western Washington gets a lot of its precipitation from the tropical pacific moisture carried from the Hawaiian islands. Once it reaches the cascade mountain ranges, it locks that weather system in which basically results in Seattle being cloudy and rainy many months out of the year. Seattle’s weather is dependent on the tropical pacific moisture carried by the winds.
Eastern Washington is a little more similar to perhaps the Midwest in climate, very hot summers with very cold snowy winters. Because they are on the other side of the cascades, the wet pacific moisture doesn’t have the same impact on them. This leads to very dry hot summers and very cold winters with less rain and more snow and ice. They have more extreme weather vs Seattle who has more moderate climate.
I’ve traveled all over the country and seen many beautiful states. However, Western Washington has the best summers / early fall weather hands down! And although the rain doesn’t officially start to slow down until summer, we can still see some beautiful spring days here with a mixture of spring showers and sun. ☀️
Thanks very much for the local perspective. Always good to hear. Yes east of the Cascades and the picture is very different. I didn't touch on this area, as the controversy centered around the coastal climate. I have heard it referenced as the "High Desert" by some - as it's generally a lot drier than west of the mountains, and is at altitude that give chilly nights and winters.
@@Geodiode I would describe many areas east of the Cascades as semi-arid steppe rather than true desert, with some areas of cool summer mediterranean at lower elevations on the Columbia. Chiloquin, just on the east slope of the Cascades and at about 4500 feet elevation, is one of the snowiest places in Oregon. On the other hand, the Alvord desert in southeastern Oregon is a true desert. Meanwhile, the Wallowa mountains in northeastern Oregon have a cool summer continental climate.
Fairly informative video! Grew up in eastern Washington, we receive less annual rain than Phoenix. Temps exceed 100 degrees every summer. In the winter, 100 miles away in NE Oregon, you will have snow accumulations over 12 feet. Love the diverse climates within the PNW.
What city is this? Also, how much rain do you think phoenix gets per year?
I grew up near San Diego and have lived near Seattle for most of the last 20 years. I agree that the whole west coast from Baja California to British Columbia feels like one continuum of the same climate with precipitation increasing and temperature decreasing gradually as you move north.
Nailed it!
Born & raised in San Diego, CA and now live just outside of Tacoma & I love the PNW climate. The summers are gorgeous, and the greenery the rains bring is totally worth it…. Winter Scuba diving in the Puget Sound is incredible too!
Thanks for sharing!
I wish I was a PNW resident! I've spent some delightful time there in August through early November, and the weather was nearly as much to my liking as were the mountains, rain forests, rivers, and scenery. I was keenly aware that, back home, the highs were running typically around 95°F (35°C), while on the coast I was enjoying 65° (18°C). I actually got a bit of sunburned once, because unlike back at home, the heat didn't drive me to seek refuge out of the sun.
My time there being of the road-tripping sort, I spent nearly every night in a hotel/motel. And, although it was quite warm away from the immediate coast and air conditioning would've been welcome, many of the motels had none. Of course, for most of the year, A/C would be unnecessary. 50-miles (80 Km) or so away from the coast, temperatures were more extreme, both hot and cold.
I used to live in an Oceanic climate. But unlike PNW, the summers were much more rainier than winter and January is the sunniest month while August is the least sunny.
@@Geodiode
The areas of Oceanic climate in NW Europe have winter maximum precipitation but the areas with continental climate have summer maximum precipitation. Even in continental NW Europe, January is the least sunny month and January is the coldest and sunniest month in my area. So guess for the last time where do I live?
Ok. I will tell you where I used to live. I used to live in a subtropical highland climate which is a variety of oceanic climate and in subtropical highlands winter is the driest and sunniest season.
Been living in Seattle since 1998. Love the climate here. 30 minute drive and there are ski slopes with lots of snow in the winter, then drive back to town and voila, no snow! rains in the winter but locals don't even buy or carry umbrellas.
When I was in Portland, Seattle, and the North Cascades National Park. I was amazed at the cool summer months. I am from Birmingham,Al. So it was s shock to me.
It's certainly unique among all the climate types within the US.
Fantastic video, as always!
Hailing from Scotland, the idea of swapping our wet and windy summers with the warm and sunny summers of the Pacific Northwest sounds fantastic.
Do you have a list of the climates coming up in your casebook series or do I have to wait and see? I'm secretly hoping to see the Lofoten Islands of Norway pop up somewhere. I believe they come under the Cfc classification, and are one of the few of such that can be found above the arctic circle and is the only place above the arctic circle where the average temperature is above 0 celcius all year. Surely theres some interesting reasons behind that?
@@Geodiode Haha. Sassanach refers to English people! I come from the Southern Uplands of Scotland, so I'm not a Teuchter either. Not really sure what to call myself.
@@Geodiode I would LOVE more rain in the summer here. Since 2014 we have been having a shift much more noticeable south of Portland. There is a garbage patch of microplastics in the Central Pacific that is blocking a lot of ocean currents from working correctly. It's well known out there but it's not been connected yet to the climate shift which happened around the same time the pile grew.
@@Geodiode Sadly most people only know about the trash on the coast which actually is big pieces of garbage and pictures on the media are taken only there ignoring what's out in the central Pacific. The Central Pacific 'trash' which isn't the right word for it actually is bigger then the west coast of the US now and swirls around in a big circle.
@@Geodiode The Atlantic Ocean also has their own growing in the last 5 years or more and the climate has changed for the UK from 2014 on.
Rough guide to climate zones, north to south:
Northern BC- Scottish/ Norwegian
Southern BC- English/ Scottish
Maritime Washington State- Northern French/English
Maritime Oregon- French
California north of Mendocino- Southern French/ Northern Italian (Milan, Turin, Po Valley)
Bay Area- Mediterranean
Sounds about right!
I think because of the mountains is why Portland, Seattle and Vancouver are all wetter than London. Glasgow, Fort William, Killarney and Galway are all wetter than London’s because of the mountains. Mountains next to the sea = pissing it down everyday!
Yes, the Pacific Northwest is lashed by the "The Pineapple Express" what is an atmospheric river, bringing lot of rain during winter, the Rocky Mountains and the cascades further accentuated the rainfall due to the orographic lift mechanism, so we get very wet winters in that area.
Vancouver and Seattle have precipitation patterns more like Scotland, than London.
Thank for the information and the Arabic translation 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🌹🌹🌹🌹
Ah! Good to know someone is using them! I spent quite a bit of time getting the main world languages subtitled in all my videos.
Portland here. I love the summers. Endless warmth and sun. Not fond of the winters, quite wet and dreary. I will say that the summers over the last 10 years have been less warm and more hot. Portland regularly has days in the 90F’s (+32C) and it’s not uncommon to hit higher than 100F (+38C). In fact, Portland now has a record high temperature higher than LA. I personally like the hot weather as it makes for great pool weather, but our fire season (September through October) has gotten noticeably worse. We tend to spend several weeks a year now with hazardous air quality due to the smoke. I think every place is experience something different due to climate change. Great videography, by the way!
Great to hear your local perspective. It doesn't surprise me that much if Portland has beaten LA for high temperature, because you're inland away from any marine layer whereas LA is by the coast. The fire season is a constant worry for the whole Western US these days!
I am curious about Northern Portugal/Galicia Csb vegetation and weather. Same for Southern Chile Csb areas.
What are your thoughts of the climate of the Apennines of Italy? Aren't they more Oceanic? I have seen conflicting Koppen Climate maps.
I am from the Seattle region and live in Spain- I hiked through Galicia, lived on its southern coast for a year and may move back! I can't speak too technically, but I did notice some similar vegetation, though the difference in continents certainly affects what native species are there. Lots of ferns, mosses, blackberries, etc in both. From what I've observed, it seems there's more diversity in the types of coniferous trees in Washington versus abundant pines and eucalyptus trees in Galicia and Northern Portugal. I feel very at home in the region because of its similarity in climate! Like a little piece of home in a different culture. I'd be curious to see how Southern Chile's Csb zone compares as well!
I live in seattle, I love it here, but as with many other residents I am not so thrilled about the rain in terms of my experience. I do really love how rainy it is in terms of the wildlife that can exist here, especially the dry summer/wet winter situation which has favored conifers over deciduous trees, I love our western redcedars, hemlocks, and Douglas firs
I don't think people who aren't from the PNW realize just how dry it gets here in the summer. Wildfires are a huge problem, and last year, the town I lived in for 18 years (Phoenix, Oregon) burned almost completely to the ground when a fire came through. The PNW is almost desert-like in summer; the rest of the year is pretty wet, though.
Thanks - great to get it confirmed from a local.
Good video. Questions:
1. why does high pressure control the summer instead of low?
2. Why does low pressure move in from the west in the winter?
I can't answer you about the low pressure, but in the case of the high pressure, it's because it moves up during summer.
I live in Oregon now, but was born in Las Vegas. Boy can I tell you I much prefer the terrain and weather here in Oregon, yes including our rainy winters. Actually, the rain is a bit of a curiosity to me at this time. What do you think of the rain patterns of the PNW? Do you think the Droughts are here to stay and things in our state are more likely to be like the Central Valley of California?
Aside from Porto, Portugal...Potenza and Cairo Montenotte (both small cities in Italy), small parts of northern Spain and inland Greece all also share CSB. CSB is "sub-Mediterranean" but CSB still definetly resides in Mediterreanian Europe. A place like Tofino (western Vancouver Island) is very similar to London (Oceanic).
I live in Northern Portugal and I can confirm that compared to the rest of the country or even most of Spain, the weather here is alot cooler and more humid, sometimes the country might be experiencing a drought but never here
Good to hear - and plenty of forest cover as well.
@@Geodiode Yes alot of forest for real. Unfortunately its mostly imported Eucalyptus, a shame its not native :(
But it is what it is
@@macher2266 i noticed the same inland of the Algarve many years ago when visiting. It's no surprise in a way as eucalyptus is so hardy when it comes to drought
@@Geodiode Yeah, makes sense, after all both areas are in the same climate zone haha
Still though I hope u enjoyed ur visit, I have alot of great memories from visiting Algarve when I was kid :)
Hawaii, from tropical to tundra, could make an interesting subject. Or the mild desert Canary islands. Or Reunion island, semi-arid on one side and among the wettest places on Earth the other side. Islands do have interesting climates actually..
Interestingly the higher "temperate" elevations on islands of Kaui and Big Island have an Oceanic climate. Cloud forests and montane grasslands?
One thing not factored but might want to be considered is number of cloudy days. There is a dreary index generally factored by annual amount of precipitation, monthly days of measurable precipitation, and cloud cover. Based on the dreary index, Vancouver BC down to Portland OR might be classified as Oceanic on those grounds. Especially true is NW corner of Oregon State, Southwestern Washington west of Cowlitz River Valley, and much of Olympic Peninsula westward. The less "dreary" would be like Port Angeles and Sequim in WA, Victoria BC and San Juan Islands, and perhaps Southwest Vancouver community of Tsawwassen (north of Point Roberts). That is where people may argue about classifying Pacific NW as Warm Summer Mediterranean. The cloud cover and gloomy days are prevalent in much of October through April and again in June (similar to California coastal June gloom)
My favourite channel atm
Happy to hear, thank you!
Yet also its similar to us, we get the squally showery weather from April to November, very changeable and the occasional southwesterly storm and mini flood, wind is a real problem as we are a thin strip of land and warm highs over Australia became narrow ridges with us. Its the Uk turned up 5 degrees (Average winter/spring is 16 degree rain) yet January to April and sometimes December is warm fine and party cloudy days, highs mid to high 20s and very little rain (Near droughts are common in summer and early autumn). Our seasons are reversed and its generally wet and squally to Christmas time (Yet you can get fine sunny weather anytime of year). We say if you don't like teh weather, wait 15 minutes here. And its like the UK for 7 months of the year and Samoa for the other 5, doing a video on NZ weather particularly the Northern north island you may find interesting
Where I’m from in Volcano, Hawai’i, I think our weather is a hybrid of oceanic and equatorial because we get pretty consistent rain through the year, but our season fluctuation isn’t as much as london
Great to hear a local perspective. I'm going to touch on the concept of a "subtropical oceanic" climate in the next video.
Wonderful ! For me it’s Csb 😌. Please we are waiting for the Po Valley case video ! semi-continental hot summers or mid-latitude humid subtropical :) !?
GeoDiode It’s Cyprien. Cyprien is my first name. My channel is METEO and Nature. French Translation : Weather and nature ;)
So ... would you say that Northern Spain (which is also a region of temperate rainforest hard against a cordillera near a oceanic-mediterranean climatic boundary) would be similar to the Pacific Northwest?
GeoDiode couldn’t Melbourne be considered Mediterranean, as it have a warm sunny climate, similar to Southern California?
Here's a few high quality maps for a more visual look. Notice how Csb seems to be forming a border zone between the city of Porto and Spain's north coast.
Europe present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Europe_present.svg
Csb present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Csb_present.svg
Spain present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_ESP_present.svg
Portugal present: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_PRT_present.svg
Europe prediction 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Europe_future.svg
Csb prediction: 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_Csb_future.svg
Spain prediction 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_ESP_future.svg
Portugal prediction 2070-2100: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_PRT_future.svg
Based on these future estimates, if you want to enjoy retirement in a Csb climate, it will be in Brittany, northern Spain, the mountains of southern Cascadia, the very edge of the coastline of present Csb Australia, or the part of Chile that is currently an oceanic climate.
Good morning! Love your videos. I live in the Oregon Wine Country near Portland. I think you have reached the correct conclusions. I can say undoubtedly, that we do indeed have wet mild Winters, rarely freezing, and warm dry Summers. In fact, when I look at the data over the last 7 to 10 years, Summers have become much harder. Our summers are always dry, but recently we've had temperatures as high as 116°, with more than 25 to 30 days at 90° F or above. I have lived in Los Angeles, been to London many times, and it's clear that the climate has more similarities with California, then with the British Isles. Thank you for your diligent work and well produced videos
Glad you liked my videos! And thanks so much for your local perspective, and the confirmation of, at least coastal Oregon (including the Willamette valley) being more Mediterranean than Oceanic. I've heard from others also that you've had a run of particularly hot summers.
I love the summers in the pacific northwest more than anything else this world
Like this video a lot. Will show it to my students!
It is a temperate oceanic climate. The rainfall levels throughout the autumn/fall through to spring are far too high and temperatures lower than that of a Mediterranean climate. The Mediterranean climate is found further south along the US west coast
i would diferentiate this from californian csb by the amount of minimal rainfall, because in the summer it doesn't rain at all in california but in the pacific nw it still rains just much less than in the winter
One of the things people fail to mention that koppen climate classification overlooks is just how ridiculously wide the boundary between Dd and Db/Dc climates is. Barrie, Ontario is classified as Dfb, but so is Brandon, Manitoba even though Brandon has far colder winters. I think there should be another isotherm division at -15c or so to separate Dfb/c with cold winters and Dfb/c with frigid winters. Mabye we can subdivide Db and Dc with another letter if they are that cold. For example, Brandon would be Dfb(c) and Yellowknife would be Dsc(c)
@@Geodiode oh yes, like the trewartha system. That one messes with me a bit to think of oceanic climates as D climates, since C just seems like a letter for temperate climates (mabye because C is a round letter or something)
I’ve lived in the eastern side of Washington for a few years. Now back in the south sound. Crazy different.
Almost like two different states, right?
What a perfect place
We live in
Awesome focused video... I wish you can bring more videos like these telling us about specific places.
Well-presented and after much reading up and doing comparisons, I tend to agree that the PNW is more like the Mediterranean or Summer-Dry than it is Oceanic. Starting just north of Seattle and south beyond Portland. Still mixed in Europe though, as Bordeaux FR seems like that but like even parts of Italy, gets summer storms and rain at times to break up the dryness...unlike most of the time in the PNW.
The Lower North island and South island of NZ are very similar to this climate. Northern NZ is much more subtropical.
I just want to thank you and congratulate on the very interestong videos and content. I know how hard it is for this to be made. I am also a climate enthusiast. I am in a climate similar to London, UK, but the winters are colder here and summers are warmer. I do like the sunny Summers of the Pacific NW, but i do like the precipitation we get in Summer so i don't have to irrigate my plants much. I am jelaous of midl winters of London and Pacific NW. But my winters are warming do to the global warming.
Thanks for sharing! What part of the world are you in?
@@Geodiode SE Europe, but inland, Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
If you were to say that Seattle is Subtropical, then so should be Auckland New Zealand and pretty much most of New Zealand, you will see most of New Zealand's west coast has a very similar climate to the Northwest. Auckland has an average summer temp of 69f (20.5) but is marked down to Cfb as its under 22c, yet its winter is very mild (Average 11c -52f in coldest month) and it is given the same climate of Britain, southern Norway, Juneau and other freezing places.
Thank you for this video. What about the Inland Pacific Northwest, east of the Cascades?
You're welcome! Well east of the Cascades it's a very different picture. "High desert" - mix of semi-arid and continental Mediterranean climates. The only commonality is the dry summer.
My grandfather used to grow sweet pea seeds for Suttons across the strait from Vancouver. Suttons chose this area because "it was just like the south of England, only better".
Sounds about right. The "better" part being you have drier summers
Have lived a fe years in Seattle, i've actually loved the cloudy wet winters!
Different strokes, eh? Many would hate it, but I've had a lot of comments from people here who love the winter rains and cloud.
Victoria (largest city on Vancouver Island and capital of the province of British Columbia) is SIGNIFICANTLY drier than Vancouver....in fact, one of the funniest places in all of Canada despite it's location in the PNW. Plus, it's even warmer than Vancouver during winter. The Olympic mountains in Washington State & the mountains along the spine of the island block a lot of precipitation that would otherwise hit the greater Victoria area.
The extreme is San Francisco, where temperatures vary little throughout the year and rainfall is completely absent in the summer. That is Csb, and the difference between San Francisco and the more northerly cities is that San Francisco looks subtropical with palm trees.
With global warming, London is likely to go Mediterranean .
Although I am originally from Montreal, I am on the west coast now and the Summers aren't nearly as blistering hot as they can be in the east, but I feel that's better. As for the winters, both winters here I experienced snowfall, although a bit more on the mainland this year than the island last year, but I actually love the winters here better than the east. It gets way too cold often in the east during the winter. 😉
Oceanic. It's not an "Eternal Rain" like in the middle of the ocean, but there is no climate label for that. California isn't usually really Mediterranean since most places on the coast tends to have clouds during the late Spring and then very sunny the rest of the year. Generally, winters are wet much like in the Pacific NW, in some cases it even snows.
I live in a tiny outpost of this climate (Csb) at elevation on the leeward slopes of Haleakala Volcano in Kula, Maui. It's a heavenly climate. At the summit of Haleakala is the exceedingly rare Cold Summer Mediterranean (Csc) climate. I hope you do a video on that one too. These are really well done videos
Thanks! And you live in an amazing place...
I live in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains in Washington where the summers are drier than Tempe, AZ and annual precipitation is less than coastal communities north of So Cal. It is more Mediterranean than most of the coast minus the temps. Cool video!
Thanks, yep I believe you have the rare "Continental Mediterranean" type (Dsa/Dsb) up there...
I have an interesting topic
Istanbul climate is interesting because it has big contrast in small area
Grew up in Vancouver - loved the summers, hated the winters. Now live in London and it really depends on the year….. sometimes great other times dreadful. Not sure which one I prefer now
Yes, it's less predictable here it seems. Like the heatwave we are having as I write this!
July and August in Seattle feels a lot like April and May in the Greater Los Angeles region.
In China Qingdao South Korea and Japan are related to as seaside, great seafood, rainny and pleasent weather. Vancouver is viewed as exactly the same too. Canada is viewed as a huge version of NE China.
I harvested 100 Meyer Lemons from my Lemon tree in Tacoma Washington State USA. They were huge and very tasty
Galicia in Spain also is known for being borderline Oceanic.
I’ve lived in Seattle for most of my life so I don’t have much of a comparison. But the one thing I have to say about our almost constant winter storms, is that there is almost always fresh snow at at least one of the many ski locations.
When you are going through a stand of the native broadleaf evergreen Madrona trees, it looks and feels very Mediterranean in the PNW. A great place to experience this is driving through Madrona Way on Whidbey Island.
Very interesting 😊 i am very baffled by the climate of some SE US states. The Gulf stream that runs through Florida waters and is still relatively close to Georgia, SC and NC but still doesn't make winters milder. I mean Lisbon never sees frost, yet Jacksonville which is significantly more to the south has frost. Why isn't the Gluf stream warming this parto of US as much as western Europe ?
Thanks very informative!
I love living here - the best of both worlds, PNW. Great vid. Thanks
Our pleasure!
As a winemaker in Oregon, I can confirm this take is SPOT ON!
Thanks v much! So you need dry summers for viticulture, right? If you can grow wine there, then that's proof! ;)
Gradually south of Portland, OR, the annual cloud cover and dreary index decreases which makes much of Southern half of Western Oregon more like Mediterranean.
Eugene's still pretty rainy, but maybe a little drier and a little more continental than Portland. Even though it's 110 miles south of Portland, it's slightly higher elevation and further from the coast, so I think it gets a bit chillier here in the winters.
@@mushroomsteve that makes sense. It can get hot. I know for sure south of Portland, weather seems sunnier. I was surprised that Lincoln City is known for sunshine. I do know that Portland northwards is dreary. From a precipitation distribution standpoint, I get it that Portland, Seattle, and other Puget Sound lowland cities such as Aberdeen are "Warm Summer Mediterranean," but the dreariness does not make it feel anything close to "Mediterranean." I am not sure how Eugene is having never lived there.
@@anotherdavidc Medford looks like its hotter and drier. Oregin is a beautiful place, but the income tax is high...
Amazing video, thank you! I am from California but have Irish ancestry and my skin is craving a more humid oceanic climate during the dry springs and summers here. I am going to look into living near the top left of tip of Washington… anyone live near there?
Thanks for sharing!!
Portland here, I actually love the winter and hate the summer. It's mild and rainy much of the year so we're not used to the short/warm summers. By the time we adjust, winter is back. Also all the recent fire seasons makes me never want to see the sun again.
Interesting to hear there are so many differing views on favourite climate and weather. We are all quite unique!