The U&L Tourism Bureau would like us all to know...

[Van]

Wifey is huge on vampires. Pretty much any movie, tv show or book on vampires, she's there. She might as well be a fourteen year old girl.

She's got another surgery scheduled in a couple weeks, after which she won't be able to do jack shit outside of the house for awhile. Yesterday was one of her passably "good days," so we decided to go do the whole popcorn/candy/botulism double feature deal at the local cineplex.

Swear to god, nothing makes you have to say to yourself, "At least I'm not AP!" more than paying $4.95 for a fucking Mr Pipp at the movies.

Anyway, back to the vampires.

We managed to time it right so that we could give her two vampire flicks, Twilight and Underworld III: Where The Fuck Is My Kate Beckinsale, ie, The Only Good Reason To See An Underworld Flick.

The thing that prompted this thread was a small bit in Twilight, where they declare the small town of Forks, Washington, to be the rainiest city in America.

Of course this immediately made me think of Dins. Would he be pissed that anything in Washington usurped his precious green and gold camelot for supremecy of the U&L? Surely there must be somewhere in Oregon that could knock off Washington's top dog, right?

So, I looked it up. "Rainiest cities in America" was my initial search heading.

Lo and behold, it turns out ol' Dins might be on to something when he says the U&L's rainy rep is all a bunch of bullshit.

Turns out that scheduling OOC home game scrimmages isn't the only thing dominated by The Meatgrinder. No, SECBSH, take pride in the fact that you're also The Meatgrinder of bad weather...

It's your world...

http://www.livescience.com/environment/ ... ities.html

Study Reveals Top 10 Wettest U.S. Cities

By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer


Do you think Seattle is the rainiest city in the United States? Well, think again.

Mobile, Alabama, actually topped a new list of soggiest cities in the 48 contiguous states, with more than 5 feet of rainfall annually, according to a study conducted by San Francisco-based WeatherBill, Inc.

The Southeast dominated the most rainy list, while the Pacific Northwest never enters the list until Olympia, Washington pops up at number 24.

The 10 rainiest cities in the U.S. by amount of annual rainfall include:

#1-Mobile, Alabama--67 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days

#2-Pensacola, Florida--65 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days

#3-New Orleans, Louisiana--64 inches average annual rainfall; 59 average annual rainy days

#4-West Palm Beach, Florida--63 inches average annual rainfall; 58 average annual rainy days

#5-Lafayette, Louisiana--62 inches average annual rainfall; 55 average annual rainy days

#6-Baton Rouge, Louisiana--62 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days (Jsc must be pissed about this one. LSU, only #6??)

#7-Miami, Florida--62 inches average annual rainfall; 57 average annual rainy days

#8-Port Arthur, Texas--61 inches average annual rainfall; 51 average annual rainy days

#9-Tallahassee, Florida--61 inches average annual rainfall; 56 average annual rainy days

#10-Lake Charles, Louisiana--58 inches average annual rainfall; 50 average annual rainy days

The study ranked 195 cities in the contiguous 48 states by the amount of rainfall they received annually over a 30-year period, although Olympia actually had the most rainy days on average across the three decades (63) of all the cities in the study. Mobile came in second on the latter scale, with 59 average annual rainy days. (Several cities in Alaska and Hawaii actually receive more than 100 inches of rain a year, but were not included in the study.)

Southeastern cities are so prevalent on the list because the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico fuel storms that frequently soak the region, particularly between June and November.

The study also found that in the past 30 years, the East and Southeast seemed to be getting wetter, while the West got drier. Florida, Louisiana and Alabama were the wettest states, while California, Montana, Nevada and Arizona were the driest (Las Vegas took the top spot for driest city).

Average rainfall was highest in the United States between July and September and lowest between January and March.

HOWEVER....

http://web2.airmail.net/danb1/usrecords.htm

10 wettest cities
Avg annual precipitation in inches

1. Hilo, Hawaii 128.00
2. Quillayute, Washington 104.50
3. Astoria, Oregon 69.60
4. Blue Canyon, California 67.87
5. Mobile, Alabama 64.64
6. Tallahassee, Florida 64.59
7. Pensacola, Florida 61.16
8. New Orleans, Louisiana 59.74
9. W Palm Beach, Florida 59.72
10. Miami, Florida 59.55

This list shows two U&L cities as being two and three on the list, making them one and two in the Lower 48. Number one there, and by a huge margin, is Quillayute, Washington, which includes the Fork, Washington area. Number two there, Astoria, Oregon, is on the northwest Oregon coast, just a shanked punt away from Portland.

So, maybe there is some truth to Fork's claim? Wonder how they're measuring these things though when Olympia, Washington is only number 24 on the first list while Forks, Washington is number one in the Lower 48 on this second list.

Here's the kicker list though...

10 cloudiest cities
Avg number of cloudy days per year

1. Astoria, Oregon 240
2. Quillayute, Washington 240
3. Olympia, Washington 229
4. Seattle, Washington 227
5. Portland, Oregon 223
6. Kalispell, Montana 213
7. Binghamton, New York 212
8. Beckley, West Virginia 211
9. Elkins, West Virginia 211
10. Eugene, Oregon 209

Aha!

So, okay, while it's true that Portland and most of the U&L are not in fact the rainiest places around, in most instances that's only in terms of sheer volume of rain. In terms of the sheer number of depressing, gloomy days, the kind of days that create uniforms like Oregon's and people like Dins and Kurt Cobain, the U&L is every bit deserving of its stellar reputation.

[Van]

Btw, I just looked at a map of Forks, Washington. It's very near a couple of sister towns which basically border each other.

They're called Beaver and Sapphos. I'm not even kidding.

[H4ever]

I wonder if the number of suicides per capita in those gloomy day cities is inflated?

[Ken]

I'll defend the U&L on this one. Yes, mid-winter up there, in the midst of day after day of rain and clouds, I'd wanna shave my head, climb a radio tower and start gunning people down. But for as miserable as Oct-April are, May-Sept are just as, if not more spectacular.

So, it's the late fall thru mid-spring that gives Portland its cloudy days ranking. The rest of the year is a veritable paradise.

[Van]

Ken, at least where I'm concerned there's no need to defend the U&L. No complaints from me there. I think it's a beautiful area.

I don't even hate the high desert areas of the U&L, like Dins does. They have their own charms, above and beyond the meth labs.

From the Cascades west though, yeah...paradise.

Gotta wonder about the huge disparity between those various annual rainfall reports. In one report Forks isn't even in the Top 25 and in the other it's number one? Well, Quillayute is anyway, and that's the same thing.

Maybe it's a city size thing? Considering the populations of all the cities listed in that first survey I linked maybe those small towns like Forks or Astoria, Oregon, are considered too small to really count in that other survey...

[Dinsdale]

Forks is a shit hole. Chick who wrote those books had never been there, just picked it randomly on a map. If she had, she sure the hell wouldn't have made it the location of her stories.


And Forks and Astoria rain WAY more than Olympia. As does everywhere else on the coast, as compared to the inland cities. And I suppose Astoria could be considered a "shanked punt" away, but it's on the other side of a mountain range which "knocks down" most of the rain beore it gets here -- hence some coastal locations getting about double the rain Portland does.

But from usually around Thanksgiving, to somewhere around Valentine's Day or so, it's one soggy assed motherfucker around here. Ain't no denying that. Although, it might have rained a few drops in a few hours over the last 2+ weeks... which isn't terribly normal around here, but there's few constants in winter, except the one that says it isn't ever breaking 60 degrees in January. Things can start warming up quickly in the middle of February, or it can sandbag until mid-April, although the temps strting to climb quickly usually gets going the last week of March (oddly enough, when the sun is up more than it's down... how bout that). Usually by the middle to end of February, the firehose gets turned off and there's rarely more than some drizzle and light showers (which can come on a frequent basis). By the time mid-to-late June rolls around, clouds become a rarity, and the annual drought begins. But if people want to keep their impression that it's some constant downpour here that keeps the gullies clean, then I won't stop them -- we're all full up. Stay away.

[Van]

Seriously, Dins, you're our dawg. Luv ya, man.

[socal]

Bode U & L on fog. Cape Disappointment, WA. Must be why they recruited Diego from Yosemite

[Moving Sale]

Wifey is huge on vampires.

So what you are saying is there are lots of ways to describe the natural world and that one person's definition of wettest (or largest or living) may not be the same as another person's.

Now go fuck yourself you stupid fuckhole.

[smackaholic]

The rainfall totals for the L&R don't mean it's perpetually rainy like parts of the U&L where the perpetual gloom has risen coffee brewing to a religion.

Those fukkers, especially florida actually manage their rainfall schedule pretty well. It is hot and sunny all day long, then at precisely 4:49 EST (or is it daylight saving?), the heavens open and drop about 3 1/2 feet of rain. By 5:30, the all clear alarm is sounded, and you can get in another 9 holes. 18, if you have a cart and nobody's ahead of you.

This schedule means bright sunny days all summer long without droughts. Ofcourse the humidity is oppresive, but, can't have everything.

[Van]

Wifey is huge on vampires.

So what you are saying is there are lots of ways to describe the natural world and that one person's definition of wettest (or largest or living) may not be the same as another person's.

Now go fuck yourself you stupid fuckhole.

Look! A real, live zombie!

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Here's the kicker list though...

10 cloudiest cities
Avg number of cloudy days per year

1. Astoria, Oregon 240
2. Quillayute, Washington 240
3. Olympia, Washington 229
4. Seattle, Washington 227
5. Portland, Oregon 223
6. Kalispell, Montana 213
7. Binghamton, New York 212
8. Beckley, West Virginia 211
9. Elkins, West Virginia 211
10. Eugene, Oregon 209

Aha!

And by "kicker" you mean right squarely in the nads right? Thanks so much Van, great to see you posting.

[Van]

TWIS, that one does sort of stick out like a sore thumb, doesn't it?

You've got nuthin' but U&L cities there plus two sister fuckin' burghs.

Then, out of nowhere, ONE nor'easter city jumps out at you, from the state of New York, of all places.

I take it that's your home town, sullen sammich boy?

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Yes, it's where I live. Oddly, we have used this as a selling point for the area.
Greater Binghamton - Birthplace of IBM, Link Simulators home of Binghamton University and as cloudy as the U&L.

[Dinsdale]

And in keeping theme with Van's cries of disparity in seemingly similar weather stats, I notice there's no criteria for "cloudy days."

I believe there were some clouds this morning, but now clear as a bell (got the first precip in a while saturday... it freaking dusted some snow... more snow days this winter than we often have in 5+ years).

Does that count as a "cloudy day"?

I seem to remember hearing way back when that there's about 100 days a year here on average with any sort of measurable precipitation. Quite a few days beyond that with what goes in the record book as a "trace," which generally indicates less than 1/100th an inch of rain.

Speaking of... on average, between Jan. 1 and Jan 25, we expect 4.11 inches of rain/precip (althouth we never "expect" snow). January is the 3rd wettest month, on average, but it's about the same as Nov and Dec, all around 6 inches or so. To date, we've had 4.42 inches on the month... the catch being, that about 3" of that was on New Year's Day, and just about all the rest in the couple days after that. Us Old Timers (all 50 of us) realize that a dry Jan/Feb often corrolates to a soggy spring... but we'll see. Certainly not a carved-in-stone rule. Our seasonal temps are pretty much carved-in-stone, how much precip in a season definitely isn't, except July and August, which are always completely dry, save for a gullywasher every few years that keeps the precip averages on the books from reading "zero."


But taking a look at the national forecast... HMMMM... would I rather see a couple of clouds, and heaven forbid have a couple of raindrops (which some of you seem to have a very strange idea that raindrops hurt or something) hit my head, or do I want to shovel snow for hours a day when it's -50 outside... let me think on that one. Of course, there's places where you don't have to put up with the ass-chipping temps or the rain in winter... the catch being that it's the "desert," and nothing grows there for a shit, which just doesn't work for me. I'll suffer through what usually amounts to about 2.5 months of ultra-gloomy weather in exchange for 18 hours of sunny warm daylight in summer, without even a vague threat of rain, and enjoy the wonderful weather that spring and fall offer.


And I'll thank you very much to not even consider coming and enjoying it with me... we're all full up, and importing transplants as our #1 cash crop has proven to be a nonsustainable economic plan (and it's been this area's only economic plan for about the last 20 years... and now, we're all full up).


BTW-this is about the coldest, gloomiest forecast we've had in probably close to 4 weeks:





And this is by far the worst time of year, when we often experience the "Blanket of Gloom" (which are straight off the ocean, extremely dense clouds that sometimes don't clear for a month straight or more... THAT'S where the "gloomy" rep comes from, and it does happen frequently this time of year... but not every year). And yes, the Blanket of Gloom is tough even on us Natives.

Sidenote: I haven't been out, but some of my buds have been golfing the last couple of weeks or so. Gotta time it well, since there's not too many hours of daylight, but the weather has been beautiful by winter golf standards. No quicksand, grass has even been growing at a very slow pace (which sucks when it comes time to mow the grass in spring).


But seriously -- we really do appreciate people across the country hanging on to their less-than-accurate ideas about our weather... only transplants I've met that don't claim a substantial improvement over where they came from are those from california -- and a good chunk of them prefer some variation in the weather, rather than the steady-as-she-goes weather of california. Sure, we may only have 2 season (Cool and Wet Season, Warm and Dry Season), but that's one more than much of california has.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

BTW-this is about the warmest, brightest forecast we've had in probably close to 4 weeks:

Tomorrow
Jan 27Cloudy Wednesday
Jan 28Snow Showers Thursday
Jan 29Flurries Friday
Jan 30Flurries Saturday
Jan 31Flurries


Dins, you gonna check out the Dead on this tour?

Got tickets yesterday.

[Dinsdale]

Dins, you gonna check out the Dead on this tour?

Not sure. No U&L dates yet. I went last time, and there were a few disappointments:

- While I'd never been to the Not In The Columbia Gorge Amphitheater (that's the real name of the place), I'm about tired of big acts (and smaller festival acts) thinking that this is a good U&L destination. It's not. The officials who deal with the camping situation are idiots (although it's in the freaking rolling desert -- you can pull over and camp about anywhere you want, but it's nice to be at the venue). The place is the better part of 6 hours from me, and not a whole hell of a lot closer to Seattle (or Boise, for that matter). Basically, where they like to hold those summer shows is about a million miles from where any human being that isn't married to a cousin lives... sup Trampis. Often, by the time summer concert season rolls around, that part of Washington is competing with the surface of the sun for daytime high temps. All in all, the Not In The Gorge Amphitheater (it's a good 150-175 miles from The Gorge, but I guess they couldn't resist the marketing potential) offers a pretty cool setting, with a spectacular backdrop (it's right on the river), and everything else about it fucking sucks... and I'm guessing this is where they'll schedule a show if they schedule one at all.


-The band sure wasn't anything to write to grandma about. Sounded pretty deece, but like you, I was brought up on the magical sounds of Jerry, not a cover-band.


So, I have some reservations about it. If it's fairly convenient and affordable, I'll go. Otherwise, I'll probably skip it and wait for Ratdog. Although, if they play at Autzen, then all bets are off -- I've got so much sentimentality in the bank in Eugene, there's no way I could resist it, just for old times' sake.

[The Whistle Is Screaming]

Dins, you gonna check out the Dead on this tour?

Not sure. No U&L dates yet. I went last time, and there were a few disappointments:

I'm a big fan of Warren Haynes, so I expect mostly good things from the show. I'll let you know how it is.