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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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RUMORS AND EXPERTS
The common myth is that we get more rain in Washington State than just about anywhere else in the United States. The truth is that while Seattle averages 38" per year, Friday Harbor gets only about 28". Shreveport, Louisiana, where I lived before moving here, gets an average of 50" of rain each year. In fact, I've been quite concerned this summer because I heard that we got less than a quarter inch of rain here on the island. On Friday the weather forecasters were predicting rain for the weekend. At first, while fog clouds loomed overhead and the temperature was quit chilly, I was hopeful. However the fog lifted in the early afternoon, revealing blue skies and a bright sun. I decided that the prognosticators were wrong again. By late afternoon, however, the wind picked up. Soon, as the sun was beginning to set, clouds appeared. The full moon weaved its way above the horizon through an intensifying cloud cover. By bedtime, the sound of a light rain falling on my metal roof was reassuring. When I woke up this morning, the rain was just ending; the ground was wet; and there were still some clouds in the sky. Perhaps the weather forecasters knew what they were saying after all. Ever curious, however, I went to the Town of Friday Harbor web site and got the facts. The 10-year average rainfall for June through August is 2.68 inches. This year we got only 0.85 inches. That's far less than the average, but more than the 0.66 inches we got in 2003, and much more than the quarter inch that was rumored. So, what have I learned about rainfall in the Pacific Northwest? You can't always believe everything you hear, and sometimes you have to trust the experts. As I think about it, that advice is probably applicable to more than just annual rainfall.
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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