We by no means realized how a lot it rains in Portland till we moved right here on the flip of the season. We’ve visited a minimum of every year, however it at all times occurred to be summer season. The summers in Oregon are wonderful, and the folks right here stay for them.
The “weirdness” of Portland apart, the most important factor I first observed had been folks carrying waterproof gear rain or shine. Even on days with sunny forecasts, folks nonetheless assumed there shall be rain. Understanding it could be vastly completely different from sunny San Diego, we slowly began shifting over our wardrobe. We packed away our beloved flip flops and swapped them out for rainboots.
If you happen to’re planning on visiting or transferring, we put collectively some recommendations on how one can costume in Portland (a sensible information).
Right here’s what we’ll cowl:
THE BASIC RULES
- Be Ready for Rain – As you’ll be able to see, rain is only a reality of life up right here. No matter what season you’re visiting, come ready with a raincoat.
- Skip the Umbrella! – Locals don’t use them and actually, they’re type of a ache. A raincoat is at all times most well-liked, and if it’s only a gentle mist, most locals simply suck it up and take care of it.
- Be Ready to Get Outside – Portland is a superb hub for outside actions. You possibly can discover the excessive desert, drive out to the coast, go hunt waterfalls, or play within the water. If you happen to’re ready for it to cease raining to earlier than you exit, you’ll remember to have cabin fever.
- The Type – Folks put on a whole lot of muted colours right here. If you wish to mix in, assume garments from the 90s or outside informal. You possibly can mainly do all of your buying at REI, Patagonia, or Arcteryx (if you wish to get fancy and faux to be additional outdoorsy 😜). We like our brilliant reds, and it doesn’t matter to us as a result of Asians stick out like a sore thumb anyway.
- At all times Pack Layers – Relying on what you’re doing every day, the climate can change based mostly on the place you might be. It could be good and heat in the course of the day within the metropolis, however whenever you head out to the gorge and do a hike, the temps could drop. Then as you head as much as Pittock Mansion for sundown, it is going to be a lot cooler and windier. It’s at all times good to have layers ready so you’ll be able to alter accordingly.
- Don’t Neglect Your Footwear – As a result of it rains loads, take into consideration your footwear. Waterproof boots are a great protected guess all through the entire 12 months.
WHAT WE WEAR
On a mean day, that is now what we appear like and our typical each day outfit. What you layer underneath doesn’t matter as a lot. These days, I’ve been switching extra of my wardrobe to incorporate extra efficiency items, and whereas it’s not 100% vital, I like my fast dry pants!
Jackets (hers)
Tops / Layers (hers)
Pants (hers)
Waterproof Footwear (hers)
Miscellaneous (hers)
Jackets (his)
Tops / Layers (his)
Pants (his)
Waterproof Footwear (his)
Miscellaneous (his)
SEASONS AND TEMPERATURES
Though there are 4 distinct seasons in Portland, none of them are excessive.
- Summer season begins in July and runs to September. It’s the driest time of 12 months and what folks transfer to Portland for. Temperatures common round 80, with a spike over 100 for a day or two every year. Nights keep round 60 levels.
- Fall is a brief season and normally runs from October to mid-November. Temperatures begin dropping to the excessive 60s and low 70s, with nights within the mid-50s. Because the month progresses, temperatures drop one other 10 levels. The timber begin altering colours however gained’t keep for lengthy.
- Winter normally is available in mid-November and goes till mid-March. Temperatures keep within the 40s and 50s, however it would get beneath freezing a couple of instances all through the season. It rains loads and a typical winter will carry some snow 4-5 instances per season.
- Spring continues to remain moist and wet, however temperatures start to rise 10 levels every month. Between mid-March and June, you’ll slowly see it transition again into summer season.
HOW MUCH DOES IT REALLY RAIN IN PORTLAND?
Portland is thought for its rain. Apparently sufficient, town doesn’t make the highest ten U.S. cities with the best annual rainfall. The place it excels (or blows relying on viewpoint) is the variety of wet days. Portland ranks third on the record of cities with the rainiest days with 164 wet days a 12 months.
NOAA (Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has saved climate knowledge for over 50 years in Portland and listed here are among the attention-grabbing stats:
- Annual Sunshine – The suns shines about 48% of the time. Out of a doable 267,955 minutes, Portland averaged 128,618 minutes of the sunshine between 1951 and 1995.
- Winds – The prevailing winds within the between April and September is NNW at 6.5 -7.6 mph. The winter months carry winds from the ESE.
- Rain – Almost 90 % of the annual rainfall happens from October by means of Could.
Even should you’re visiting in the summertime, we extremely suggest bringing a light-weight raincoat.
DOES IT SNOW IN PORTLAND?
Sure, it does snow in Portland and its surrounding areas. The most important issue is elevation. Town itself doesn’t obtain a lot snowfall every year, however it could possibly be rain within the metropolis and snow up on the hills. We stay on the east facet of town, and sometimes instances our buddy who lives up within the west hills will get snow once we’re solely seeing rain.
Since we moved, we’ve seen fairly a little bit of snow. A few weeks in the past we even had a 24-hr interval of fixed snow leading to one of many largest snowfalls in a very long time. Folks maintain telling us that this was the worst 12 months to maneuver right here and that they’ve by no means seen so many snow days within the low 30s. Blame it on El Niño or no matter you need, however simply come ready!
Do you attempt to keep away from touring to cities throughout their wet season? What are your favourite wet cities?
