A Field Guide To The Oregon Coast's Capricious Weather
It’s More Complicated Than Rain
In September of 2022,
, and myself, got into our U-Haul and moved a whole 38 miles from Philomath, Oregon to Newport, Oregon.That’s on the Oregon Coast.
Just over the Coastal Range.
We might as well have been moving to a different country.
It has been a bit of an… adjustment.
Newport is located in something that scientists call a “microclimate.” Within a five mile swath from the shoreline of the Pacific to about five miles inland, the weather is completely different than the rest of the state.
Cooler and wetter weather prevail, as do way more #vanlife people living their best lives.
Most of our adjustments have been climatical rather than cultural, although there are all the nautical terms you have to learn. You have to say things like “aye, aye,” and “fishing vessels” (NOT BOATS!).
But I digress.
The Oregon Coast gets twice as much rain as the Valley. TWICE!
Here on the coast we get 80 inches of rain annually. At least that’s what Google tells me. Most of that rain comes between November and March. That’s over six feet of water I think! (Math)
And nobody here uses umbrellas.
Umbrellas??
You might be wondering, “Why the hell don’t these weirdos on the coast not use umbrellas if its raining all the time?”
First of all, you don’t have to call us weirdos. We’re people, just like you 🥹
We don’t use umbrellas for three reasons.
Intermittent Showers
Strong Winds
Non-Intermittent Showers
They created the Gorton’s Fisherman slickers for us!
Most of the rain we get comes from October to May and the wind is always winding.
The rain usually comes in bands. Heavy bands. Light bands. It’ll be sunny for five minutes and then pouring for five minutes. All. Day. Long.
An umbrella just isn’t worth it. The wind would just shred it anyway. When we aren’t getting strong winds, we’re getting light to medium winds. Days that have no wind are few and far between.
If you see somebody with an umbrella, it will be because it’s a sunny day and it’s a sun umbrella. Or… it’s a non-Oregon tourist!
Sometimes it starts raining on Monday and stops raining on Friday. Friday of the following week that is. And not some misty, beautiful rain. No. We do have that, but I’m talking about a weeks worth of downpours.
Summer can be jarring to us here. Suddenly it’s June and sunny. Well, sunny on occasion.
And then… the dreaded tourists.
Tourists are practically weather here. “Did you see if there were any tourists in the forecast this weekend?”
If you’ve ever considered moving to the Oregon Coast, hopefully this guide will help you understand what you’re getting yourself into, because I didn’t, and I only lived thirty-eight miles away.
The Weather-Types Of The Oregon Coast:
On Again/Off Again Rain
On Again/Off Again Rain seems to be the most frequent type of precipitation we get here. It’s the kind of rain you can work with. The kind of rain that makes you say, “Umbrella? I don’t need need no stinking umbrella.”
Sometimes we’ll wait five minutes for one band of rain to pass and dash out to our cars. Sometimes we make it to the car, other times we’re not so lucky.
Luck of the draw.
The Russian Roulette of weather.
If you’re traveling to the Oregon Coast anytime other than July or August, you’ll hit some On Again/Off Again Rain.
No doubt about it.
Stinging Sideways Rain
Heavy wind brings something the locals call, “Sideways Rain.” I’d never realized how much of a thing it was until we got here.
Sideways rain is not fun rain. It isn’t go outside and splash in the puddle rain.
Sideways rain is sting your face and soak your sweater in thirty seconds kind of rain. The kind of rain that pelts your face and makes you say, “Gosh darn it to heckfire!”
Often, the wind will be blowing at around forty miles per hour while a deluge is coming down. Hence, sideways rain is created.
There’s not much you can do about sideways rain but take it. Once, the wind blew me to the ground and then skittered me across the wet grass.
Once we were at Boiler Bay State Viewpoint just up the road and sideways a fifty-mile-per hour wind with stinging rain almost blew us off the side of the cliff.
(Here’s a pic of
and many years ago during this storm.)
Howling Rain, AKA: Banshee Rain
Howling rain is… scary.
We live in an apartment building up on the top of a hill overlooking the Pacific about a quarter-mile inland. When we first lived here, we didn’t know what the heck was going on during our first howling rainstorm.
I wish I had a recording of it.
Any nook or cranny in your house will create a horrible screeching sound. The trees nearby creek and howl. Even the local coyote pack howls.
The worst thing about howling rain? You are not going to sleep, at least I’m not going to sleep.
and seem to sleep fine through it.Snow (It HAPPENS!)
Don’t listen to anybody that tells you it doesn’t snow here. It does. Not too much, but during the last two winters I have seen snow storms with accumulation.
And people go CRAZY here when it snows. They abso-fracking-lutely LOVE the snow.
The number one activity after a snowstorm (the schools WILL be closed) is attempting to drive to the big lighthouse and get a picture of the building with snow around it. And then post it on Instagram.
And be warned… Oregonians CANNOT drive in the snow. Somebody will die out on the snowy highway and I don’t want it to be me.
Pro Tip: When it snows, you need to stay home. Just listen to me on this one. I’m from Wisconsin, and I will not drive in the snow here because I don’t want to die because somebody wants to get a selfie with snow on the beach.
Accumulating Hail
Lots of the rain here gets the added bonus of hail. Not giant hail, but lots of hail.
I’ve never seen the hail get much bigger than a Brussel sprout, but the hail does accumulate.
Accumulating hail can be more dangerous to drive in than snow and it falls more erratically.
Also, it hails more frequently at night and we have a tin roof over our car ports creating quite the drumbeat effect.
Once again, sleep? No way.
Thunderstorms
In the Willamette Valley, thunderstorms are a rare occurrence. They barely every happen. I don’t think I remember more than a few thunderstorms when we lived over there.
When we moved to the coast we were surprised by the frequency of thunderstorms. They come out of the void of the Pacific with no warning.
The thunderclaps are some of the loudest I have ever heard in my life.
I’ve seen a couple of really interesting lightning storms over the Pacific, but that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the middle of the night BAM hits you when you don’t realize it thunderstorms.
Last winter a bolt of lightning hit our apartment and FRIED one of our Alexa devices. The rest of the Alexa’s have never forgiven us. What were we supposed to do, unplug them all??
Once again, the thunderstorms are often at night.
Sleep? Not gonna’ happen.
I’m starting to think sleep deprivation from the weather is why I have Sleeping Beauty disorder.
Ice Storms
We’ve had a few pretty bad ice storms on the coast but this past January’s ice storm took the cake. It was OFF THE HOOK.
Sometimes the coast gets what’s called a reverse atmospheric flow, bringing Valley Weather right to us. It brought 25 degrees and freezing rain last January…
… and by freezing rain, I mean it froze to anything it touched.
We were a declared disaster zone.
The power was out for three days.
Trees down everywhere.
Some places just a few miles away had to wait eight days for their power to be restored.
Apparently, so many trees were down in the back country that they had to use helicopters to scout the lines for trees down.
Freezing rain happens often. There are still trees laying down in peoples yard and it’s been over four months!
Fog
Fog is something that is expected on the coast. We do get a lot of fog, but I have to say… it’s pretty wimpy fog. I expected better of the coastal fog. But it is what keeps us cool in the summer so I won’t complain.
and I lived in Duluth, MN, for three years and I can say that Duluth, MN gets worse fog. Heavier, thicker, soupier fog, than the Oregon Coast.It’s not a competition people!
On the Oregon Coast the fog is usually a nice light fog that comes and goes all day long. It’s one of the reasons we get to be sixty-two degrees when the Valley is 100 degrees. <Fahrenheit people!>
Downside of fog? Accidents.
There are SO MANY accidents on Highway 101 it boggles the mind. Often in the fog.
I have chalked the amount of accidents up to two things:
1.) People gawking at the natural beauty of the area while they’re on vacation.
2.) Legal weed.
3.) Foggy
If it’s really foggy, I advise you to stay off 101. It’s just common sense.
If you need to get somewhere, be careful as heck! These stoned hippies trying to see the ocean through the fog are gonna’ get someone killed!
Sea Smoke
Sea smoke is hard to describe. It’s kinda’ like fog, but very, very light fog. It’s usually just over the beaches, maybe 100-200 yards inland. Max.
It really cools the place down on a hot day. Like a nice spritz.
I like sea smoke.
Some Valley People think they should go sunbathing in sea smoke. Since it’s usually around 55 degrees in “The Smoke,” I just don’t get it, but to each their own.
I’m sure I’m not describing this correctly. Please, just don’t confuse it with sea foam.
Actual Smoke From Scary Forest Fires
We have an extremely large pine forest that goes from the coast all the way to the valley. Lots of it is planted logging forest. (The Association of Timbermen or whatever they call themselves label it “A Working Forest.”)
When the Coastal Range or Cascades go up in flames… they really go up. It’s like one giant campfire.
In 2020, during the height of COVID we got hit by an intense “Heat Burst” that was followed by 60 mph winds that brought down powerlines sparking fires.
God was trying to smite us I’ve been told. Or… The Devil. One of those two.
These fires are no joke even though I make too many jokes.
Like most of the country, we are not immune from the smoke from these fires, especially when they are close-by.
Luckily, on the Oregon Coast we typically have a west to east wind (I think its called westerly winds, which make not logical sense to me). That keeps the air clear most of the time.
Most of the time…
Extreme Heat
The one weather pattern on the coast that nobody ever expects is a HEAT WAVE. It always happens a few times a year but most people on the coast don’t have air conditioners. I don’t want to brag, but we do in our apartment…
Last year, on Mother’s Day, we decided to go on a nice little coastal drive down to Yachats, OR. That’s a little tourist village on the south end of Lincoln County.
It was warm when we left, but OMG, by the time we’d made our way down to Yachats it was a 100 degrees.
I almost collapsed and died on the side of the beach after having the sun touch my skin for five minutes.
Blue sky with sun and heat? No thank you! How do you people live like that??
I might be able to handle snow and cold, but anything over 80, I just can’t.
Once again, a heat wave can mean only one thing… The Reverse Flow.
Even though it’s not a regular occurrence, heat waves do happen. Usually between May and August, when the stars have aligned and Mars is in retrograde.
But coasties can’t take it.
Sunny, 70 Degree days!
And to end my inane list of weather on the Oregon Coast…
Sunny days and moderate temperatures do happen.
Very infrequently… but they do happen.
And you never know when they are gonna’ strike.
We get sunny and 70 something like around thirty days a year. This past March we had one,
and then BAM.
If you get one of these rarest of days, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a work day, everybody melts into a happy stupor and goes to the beach.
“Valley People” WILL show up from out of the blue, even on a Tuesday, to enjoy it alongside us.
In Conclusion…
The Oregon Coast is a cruel mistress. She giveth and she taketh away. Mostly, taketh away.
Don’t listen to the weathermen. They are usually wrong. It’s too chaotic to predict anything over here.
When you come to the coast… wear layers. External waterproofing… wool sweater underneath. Under the sweater, a long-sleeve tee-shirt. POSSIBLY under the long-sleeve tee-shirt another tee-shirt. It all depends, people.
And whatever you do, don’t move here if you don’t like moist.
This was a neat article and thank you for sharing. I will be road tripping Oregon later this summer and have a few things I plan on seeing. Have you been to eastern regions across the state? The Wallowa Mountains for example look amazing. I want to check them out. Thanks for any information!
Ohhhh, tsunami! I don’t EVER want to experience that one!