DrIsotope

The "season" for tracked rainfall runs July through June-- so the last full season recorded was July 2017 - June 2018. We got 8.2" of rain. This season, we're right about 6" halfway through the season (we got one quarter of that total on one day this month,) forecast for another 3". We might hit nine inches!

If it rains somewhere, I guess it has to be not raining somewhere as well. We are that somewhere.

KraneXL

You left out the free sauna, courtesy Mother Nature. ��️ Orlando has some of the most violent thunderstorms of the state during the summer. I assure you won't be riding in those. The weather stations give out advisory warnings not to drive or to do so very carefully.

I've had many driving instance where its totally blacked out and I stop and pray I don't get hit by a semi. The good news is that those thunderstorms are almost always predictable (typically occurring in the afternoon) and as you say, don't usually last for more than 30 minutes.

Most cyclist in that state just learn to ride early in the mornings where those black cloud rainstorm are less likely. In the winter, an occluded front will give you those longer (sometimes for days) light misty drizzles rather than those 30-60 mph spoon size drops that drive into your face like needles. I've been caught out in the open during those events and I assure you, its not pleasant.

Wilmingtech

Seriously. If you are riding in Orlando from April - October you'll be soaked through regardless of the weather. The humidity there is like a fish tank. I remember getting out of the shower, drying off and before I even got out the door the dripping was already starting.....

noisebeam

I always find that rain looks worse when looking at it thru a window (car or home). It doesn't rain often here, but I've never held off a recrational or commute due to rains, heavy or light.

From 11 years ago, 47F

KraneXL

I don't disagree or doubt that claim. But those vids look like the typical west coast rain shower. I have video of several southeastern thunderstorms and I assure you, the difference is night and day. You don't just get the rain, you get the winds too.

I remember walking home one afternoon and seeing a black cloud in front of me coming my way and thinking if I could make it home before the rain caught me.


Fast walking and running I got within two blocks of my house when it opened up. Those extra large rain drops were pelting me in the face like tiny darts. By the time I reached my front door I was soaked all the way through. It took 3 days for my shoes to dry out.

I wish my current internet wasn't so slow so I could upload. Oh, did I neglect to mention the lighting popping around you. You start saying your Hail Marys.

trailmix

On December 1 the annual rainfall total for Lexington was 66.97 inches and is projected to reach 70 by the end of the year. We have had over 195 days of rain this year and I have ridden in most of them.


I lived and commuted in Orlando for a couple of years and riding there is miserable for more reasons than the weather.

BobbyG

I used to tolerate riding in the rain. But since making a rain cape a couple of years a go I relish it. Of course, it barely rains here in Colorado Springs, but we do get snow and ice, which I also enjoy in moderation.

rhm

My part of New Jersey has seen 64 inches of rain in the last year, which is 33% above average. I have ridden in a lot of rain this year, and I'm pretty fee up with it. But it's raining now, and I'll probably be riding in it an hour from now.

A good poncho is definitely a big help. I've been using one from Ikea and it's okay, but I hope to upgrade.

KraneXL

A poncho is great for general rain protection, but if you live in a rainy region, you need to invest in some dedicated cycling rain gear. You don't have to get it all at once, and putting the word out this time of year, is a great opportunity to get that gift you could really use.

I started buying mine piecemeal as I saw the sales (I have the pants and the cap) I then moved to the west coast and haven't taken any of it out of the plastic yet. I still need to get the shoe covers, and a new weather resistant jersey since all my coats/cycling jackets were lost.

trailmix

I actually like riding in the rain. I was near the end of a long ride a couple of years ago when I was caught by an afternoon thunderstorm that was just bucketing down at a rate of an inch or two per hour. I was sitting waiting for the traffic light to change when a family pulled up next to me and you could just see in their eyes that they thought I was miserable so I grabbed a water bottle and sprayed it in my face and over my head like I was really burning up.

KraneXL

Riding a bike in those thunderstorm regions where the entire roadway floods is insanity. If you're not totally familiar with the roads and you hit a bump, grate, pothole or even a piece of debris hidden beneath the water its good night nurse.

One could find oneself flipping face first into wet asphalt, just before you get run over by the tailgating car behind you that can't stop in time due to those conditions. People driving cars have no clue that bikes have limited maneuverability and virtually no stopping power once rim breaks get wet.

What's more, lean into a turn on a newly we surface, hit an oil slick, and the bike comes right out from under you. Even if you feel you're the world's great stunt cyclist, the soccer moms in their SUVs and those driving their work vehicles around you are not.

I know locations where the road become so flooded you get impact waves (when a large vehicles passes) even onto the sidewalk. Not to mention you constantly will get sprayed in the face.

Oh, did I forget to mention the wind driven rain drop needles into the eyes? Yes, I've ridden through all of these conditions many times, and I can assure you the ride is anything but pleasant.

Yes, I know I'm preachy, but I can't help it. This topic struck a nerve.

noisebeam

Yeah, we get violent monsoons with horizontal painful rain and deep water higher than BB on the streets a few times a summer. It is absolute insanity to ride thru, but a blast as well. A couple years ago I was one of the few who made it to work as the water was so deep cars were floating. I actually rode by floating vehicles. It is very hard going in such deep water, lowest gear and pushing hard.

2_i 

One summer in Beijing I was out shopping having parked my bike on the outskirts of blocks with high-rise buildings in Zhongguancun. Suddenly the sky extra darkened and the rain started coming down so hard that in minutes water was above the knees. All the asphalt and concrete did not help in draining the water. I headed for my bike and riding ended up being easier than walking or driving in the rivers that the streets became. Later I learned that people drowned in their cars in the pools formed in the road underpasses.

downtube42

I'm from the Midwest, then lived in the desert SW for a while, and now I'm in the PNW.

In Indiana, we had sprinkles, drizzles, rain, and heavy rain. A bike-specific rain cape worked okay when it wasn't windy, but it was often windy. On rainy days I often just got wet. More frequently though, I got wet from sweat on those hot humid days.

In west Texas, we had hot and dry, hotter and dry, stupidly hot and dry, and the occasional biblical epic life-changing terrain-altering flood-inducing maelstrom. I stowed my rain gear for the duration. I never want to see 115F again.

From fall to spring here in the Portland area, we have: just-stopped-raining, light mist, mist, heavy mist, light sprinkles, sprinkles, heavy sprinkles, light drizzle, drizzle, heavy drizzle, light rain, the occasion actual rain, and very rarely, heavy rain. Lightning anywhere within 100 miles gets people excited. Particularly toward the east, we get Gap Flow wind from the Columbia River Gorge. Proper gear is the key. I'd say I do enjoy riding in the rain, but I like riding in the dry better. Those mornings when I look out and see wet roads, then step out and find it's no longer raining - those are the best.

baldilocks

We get ,
"39 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 39 inches of rain per year." We get an average 64 inches of snow per year. The US average is 26 inches of snow per year." I had one week when it said it was going to rain every day that week. What I've learned is that I can ride most of the time. Often time's it say's it is going to rain during the day when I'm on my way home. Then as I look at it later in the day, the rain time moves towards later in the afternoon/evening. Most the time unless It's pouring in the morning, I ride anyway. I would also probably avoid any high wind or t storm rides. What stops me is when the side of the road has piles of snow making the usable pavement smaller. If I can still navigate the sidewalks and the roads, I'm riding.

rhm

The forecast for today was steady rain from before midnight yesterday until the afternoon today, with some periods of very heavy rain and dangerous winds.

It hasn't been that bad, really, but when the alarm went off at 4:15 this morning it was one of those periods of heavy rain. I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. I don't mind getting to work wet, or getting home wet, but I really dislike sitting on the train wet. It's an hour long ride, and in the morning it's never warm enough. I stayed home today, because of the rain.

Archwhorides 

I don't think of Boston as a rainy place, and it gets 50+ inches per year, plus 110 inches of snowfall. Is it a myth that PNW is a rainy corner of the US, a la Chicago is the "Windy City"?.

Wilmingtech

I grew up in Boston and now live in the PNW. I can say for sure it is not a myth. Boston does occasionally have rainy weather but I can say its a completely different kind of rain.

The other side is the amount of sun. Boston has weather systems that pass through with clearing of skies or at least broken up cloud cover that lets some sunshine through. PNW has systems that just sit there for days at a time, slowly moving with constant rain (and its more of a heavy misting, occasional rain that never lifts)

A good tell of this is that moss covered roofs are a thing here in the PNW. Like if you are not constantly treating it, moss will grow on your roof and anything else that doesnt move. Never had that problem in Boston as you have periods of time for the rain to dry up.

-Sean

Archwhorides 

This a really great explanation/comparison, thanks.

Recently in Beantown we have been getting a lot of weather systems with rain bands that alternate hard rain with mild overcast over the course of a few hours or more. These make gear selection trickier, and I find myself stopping more often to pull a shell on or off in response to the changes.

fietsbob

having a satellite looking down we can see the difference created by the mountains and the gulf stream ..

west side north pacific low cell has rotation.. CCW


our wet weather comes up from that ' pineapple express ' 6:00 up to 12:00


, and rotation of the globe within its atmosphere...
other side gulf brings up warm air arctic brings down cold ...

same low cell rotation, acts pulling 12, 9, 6 :00 downward...

Spinning up the occasional twister..

Kedosto

DeanSams

Sullalto

I'll admit to throwing stuff in the dryer at work.

Ky_Rider

70 plus inches of rain and over 160 days of precipitation have me wishing for a drier 2019. It’s pouring rain as I type this the last day of the year. Our normal year is 40 inches.

DeanSams

dryer at work? What kinda of magical place do you work at