[InclinedPlane]

It's closer to like November to March/April. It was in the 80s for a few days in April here this year.

Also, the only places around the country where it isn't dreary, damp, and grey from late fall through spring is California or the South. Compared to the Northeast or the midwest, Seattle's winters are incredibly mild.

[davidw]

A lot of the "intermountain West" gets cold but sunny winters. It doesn't rain that much here in Bend - we get a lot of sun, actually. Cold and dry beats just above freezing and drizzly gray rain any day, in my book.

[brightsize]

Totally agree. Here in Spokane we get four seasons including sunny, hot, dry summers and cold sun-on-snow winters. It's striking how much it's like my native New England, right down to the Maple trees, but minus the humidity and mosquitoes. I lived in Seattle for years and the winter temps in the 30s and 40sF combined with damp and gray just wore me down. In my opinion winter ran from October-June. One of the more comical things I discovered upon moving to Seattle was the concept of a "sun break" -- a usually brief interlude where the sun found a weak spot in the clouds, shined through, and everybody ran outside to see it.

[brewdad]

Rather than sun breaks, I've always referred to them as "sucker holes." A whole bunch of suckers are going to get caught out in the next downpour that's surely only a few minutes away.

[mikestew]

Having grown up in Indiana, I approve this message. I'll take cloudy and drizzle over -25F and snow. I think Seattle winters are great. All the snow I can handle just 45 minutes down the road, and when I'm sick of snow I just get in my car and drive back home.

I do miss Charlotte, NC, though (though recently passed laws make me pine less for NC than I used to). My first winter there, I remember asking a coworker, "does the sun EVER stop shining here?"