They don't get a lot of thunderstorms in Seattle, though, Dean.

I love rain, too. I think it's from growing up on the high Wyoming desert. But, I don't love endless days of drizzle. I want the big, gray cloud castles you can see from fifty miles away and you know you'd better get inside before it hits. Big storms with lots of special effects, not weeny drip drip drip. And the smell of the sage and pine afterwards- that's what heaven smells like, I am sure.

I had a friend who grew up in California and Oregon and moved to Minneapolis in her thirties. The first big thunderstorm, she was on the phone to me in a panic. The Bay Area sophisticate, afraid of your garden-variety midwestern storm. I got a good laugh out of that one.

I LOVE thunderstorms. Spring in Texas is great for big, booming thunderstorms that rattle the pictures on the walls. It's also great for tornadoes, which aren't so cool, but I'll take it anyway!

I find thunder the most soothing sound. All the rumbling and the deep bass... I never sleep quite so good as during a thunderstorm. My friends say I'm weird, but then again I'm also the one that likes to fall asleep to Metallica so it's not entirely unexpected.

Dean,
You would love our midwestern supercells and the storms they produce. I have witnessed hail the size of grapefruits here in Kansas before. (May of 1985 - the last day I had a convertable with a top on it)

In the late 70's, the Kansas City area had 14 seperate tornadoes sited - all spawned from one of our supercells. I saw two of them from my rooftop before hitting the basement.

Late spring and early summer are pretty exciting around here.

Had a nice thunderstorm this morning. Lots of wind, rain, lightning and thunder. No hail, though.

My ideal house would be on a hill with a tower so we could sit and watch the weather all around us.

i loved the monsoons that rolled through Phoenix in late summer when i lived there, even though the days were 100+ with 95-100% humidity. I grew up in Los Angeles, where weather is top-of-the-hour news if it isn't 70 and sunny.

So, i'm on Oregon's southern coast now, and the nine months of rain (October to June) is lame. I love a rainy day as much as the next person, as long as i know a sunny one is around the corner. Knowing it's six months away is hard. It's not the go outside walk around in shorts rain. it's just drippy drizzly wet with an occasional rainstorm. It's mud everywhere you that can't escape and cold and windy.

But the summers are fairly nice.

Dean -

I was raised in Ft Myers, FL - "lightning capital of the world." Lotta sunshine in the morning and early afternoon though ...

I left California for the East Coast (DC), and one thing that keeps me here is the weather.

California weather is frikkin' BORING! I'd be lucky to see lightning once a year.

Totally with you. When that wind kicks up 'cause you KNOW there's something out there.... headed your way....

Love it.

Totally! I only use an umbrella if I'm wearing a suit or have to meet people at a restaurant or something. Thunderstorms are one of the things I miss most about home.

Dean:

I wrote this in response to your comment on my site as well:

If you love storms and crazy weather and a good rain, Seattle is NOT the place to live.

First off, it doesn't rain every day in Seattle. It rains in the winter months but it really doesn't get THAT much rain. You get a lot of cloudy days and you get a LOT of annoying drizzle...misty type stuff...but good rain? Hardly.

Thunder storms are an extreme rarity in Seattle. I think in my entire time there, (over a decade), I saw a total of three thunderstorms. Not an exaggeration.

It may be hot in Houston but I have seen way more rain and WAY more wicked cool storms in the short 8 months I've been here than almost my entire time in Seattle.

Yes, it's wet a lot in Seattle....but it's not because of anything spectacular that Mother Nature put out....more like Seattle got the downwind of her lawn sprinkler.

I'm seen a couple lightning storms since I moved up here to the Seattle area. Not much lightning here, lots of rain in the fall, winter, and spring. I'm one of those other type of people who loves bright sun and blue sky, as it was in the Bay Area most of the time. That was a Mediterranean climate, complete with palm trees. Some people can't stand the heat of a hot, sweaty, sweltering, summer day. I'm one of those who love it. I also love a good dramatic storm once in a while. Lightning and thunder, Thor fighting the Giants. What I hate is a grey overcast sky, neither storm nor sun. It's a beautiful day today, though.

Steven, that's what I like about where I live. It's sunny 95% of the time (even when it's cold). The other 5% of the time, it's serious weather.

I must mention also that G. K. Chesterton was one of those who loved the rain and London fog anf hated sunny weather. My friend Robin Georg Olsen, an Anglophile, also loves storms and rain. That _cozy_ feeling of being inside with tea and books and a warm fire while the rain and the wind are pounding outside.

I love storms too--lightening storms like we used to have in Texas (as Kacie said). Plus, add the thunder, some hot tea and a warm blanket to snuggle under and I'm all set.

The constant dark clouds and rain---no.

Hubby and son, however are what I call the 'cave people.' They would just as soon live in the dark cave recesses of the world than not. I am forever opening blinds to let the sun in and they are shading their eyes.

I wonder if it's because they were born in winter and I was born in summer?

Yeah, the Great Glowing Evil in the sky hurts my eyes. Hurray clouds!

Hey, we had a funnel cloud sighting a few weeks ago in the Seattle area! Don't say we never have storms. We typically get at least one good one a year, in the spring.

The Seattle winter rain I like because it's not snow. And because it sets up the summer to seem nicer by comparison. I wouldn't want to live somewhere it's sunny every day, but we get a good solid three months here, which is plenty. And our skies are rarely perfectly clear; there's usually some interesting cloud action going on, making for striking sunsets. (Sunrises, too, but who can get up that early?) Being in a convergence zone makes the weather interesting at times.

Ah, yes, love Seattle.

Oh yes how I love a rainstorm. I always brings about such wonderful memories to me.

When I was growing up in Texas and a thunderstorm would come a calling with her fury. My Dad would tell my brother, my lil' sister and me such wonderful stories as we sat by candle light after the storm knocked out our electricity. What a terrific story teller he was. His voice would go so deep, and he would pull us together huddled real close and man could he scare us, especially when all of a sudden he'd blow out the candle and we would see the lightning come through a window and then hear sounds of the crashing thunder! He would zap one of us with his fingers and let me tell ya, we would scream and jump over one another.

My Mother was a hoot! When Dad would be working late and we'd have a storm Mom would make us all go sit in the car because it was the safest place to be. We would sit in that car for hours it seemed and so many times we would all fall a sleep in our brand new four door Ford Galaxy until Dad came home and brought us all in the house. My Dad would tell her we would be fine in the house as long as we did touch metal. My Mom would listen to my Dad as he gave her good instructions on what to do if lightning hit and she would agree. Then, next thunderstorm, out to the car again. Dad would just shake his head each time he came home finding us in the car.

When my kids were growing up I ended up doing the same thing as my Dad and would tell lot's of great stories in the candle light when our electricity went out. I do hope they will do the same with my grandchildren, teaching them that lightning storms can be so much fun indoors and not to be scared.

Oh, and My Mom would put out big pots and pans when ever it would rain so we could rinse our hair with pure rainwater. Oh does it ever make your hair soft.

Me too! All my friends think I'm super-weird for it though! On my last birthday it was cool, foggy, and humid out, and I was elated! In my mind, I couldn't have asked for better weather!

I will never understand you people who like bright sunshiny days. Never.
You betcha!

Allow me to put my two cents in. Hey I love rain too. Ha Ha. Look at my name for Pete's sake. I was born and raised in Florida so can tell you about some rain. The small stinging rain, the kind of rain that comes in sideways, hell sometimes the rain even seemed to come up from underneath. Just kidding, I love it when I get to throw in some Forrest Gump quotes. But seriously have any of you ever seen it raining on the other side of the street but dry as a bone where you're standing? Then you havent lived. It's great when you can actually see the rain progressively moving closer to you across the street and you try to outrun it. It very rarely worked. I've seen it rain across the street and never rain a drop on my side. Also in Florida in the summer you can set you watch everyday by the rain. Every day at 3pm in Tampa it would rain for about 20 minutes and then quit. And I wont even mention the Florida lightning. We have a hockey team named the lightning for Pete's sake. But myself I wouldnt mind if it rained every day of the summer. I hate the hot humid heat. I went to boot camp in Orlando in July and it was hell. You'd think my being from Florida I would have planned that out a little better. We used to have ambulances standing by for when someone would pass out from heat exhaustion. Notice I said when. Sorry so long, I just get excited. Ha Ha

I'm a native of Seattle and to me, even the drizzle is nice. We had a bright sunny day today but now the grey clouds have rolled in and the rain is about to begin: this makes me content. Reading your blog is a treat, thanks for what you post each day.

You guys are all freaks!

I love super hot & sunny, blue sky days. I'd spend everyday outside and in the pool.

Moved to "Seattle" from Boston 12 years ago.
STILL go
"wow....I get to live HERE everyday"
(in spite of the looneys!:)
and it's mostly for the climate...
dreamy.
And Rosemary...
YUCK!:)

Rain is nice unless it is the bone-chillingly cold variety we have in northern California, without thunderstorms. Plus it really gets aggravating when you have to work in it, or even in a house that's only partially closed-in. By the end of the day you're cold and wet, no matter how much raingear you wear. That takes the excitement out of it really quick! The fog, on the other hand, is always welcome, especially in the summer.

I'll second INDC Bill's plug for Fort Myers. Especially during the summer. Cape Coral (next to Fort Myers) is good too. Especially if you like funnel clouds... (not that FM doesn't have those too, Cape Coral just has more). Plenty of pea-soup fog in both places, too.