Transplant from the Southwest - Weather Question (Huntsville, Valley: house, earthquakes)

[pathrunner]

Hi all, first post after moving to Alabama to help a friend. I was shocked at how cold, cloudy (gloomy) and rainy it was all winter. It dragged on and I felt like I was back in Oregon, which I fled after a family member passed away. I went to Arizona and unloaded my truck in 106 degree heat, after wearing corduroy, layers and 2 pairs of socks all during August.

Was last winter typical or colder/gloomier than usual? Don't get me wrong, I'm basically happy here but shocked about the weather. People from other areas don't understand this is the bottom of the Tennessee Valley which gets all the major weather patterns. Duh.

I was also absolutely terrified during the recent tornados since I live near an area that killed people and flattened several homes. I will take earthquakes any decade (they are extremely infrequent).

Mostly I am asking about the "Oregon" gloom.

[writerwife]

I don't think it was typical myself. It does get colder here in the winter at times than a lot of people elsewhere think but it's usually in short bursts. It definitely dragged on longer than I can recall it having lasted in many many yrs. But, spring here is pretty unpredictable. Feast or famine with the rain.
There are winters where we've had a foot of snow and there are winters when it was 70 at Christmas.
However, since we generally don't get a lot of snow here and more rain for precipitation in the winter because of warmer temps, it can seem gray for a while. But I wouldn't call this past winter typical. It's the first time in a long, long time I had to wait so late to put out some of my ornamental plants that had been brought in for the winter.

[pathrunner]

Thanks, that's reassuring. I would hate for the winters to always be like this past winter going forward. I wish it would stop raining for awhile though. We have some burn to do and it keeps getting wet. (We live outside city limits.)

I'm concerned that it's going to keep being gloomy throughout Spring. My parents had me in Oregon, but I was raised in California from 13 months old so I'm used to blue skies and sun. Gloom is very difficult for someone who likes sunny days. I almost went crazy in Oregon. In fact, I had a panic attack on Summer Solstice 2010 after 50 days of no blue sky. Before that I was very skeptical of SAD. It's very real. I left soon after that since a family member passed away and I was no longer needed in Oregon. Went to AZ!

I will say it is very beautiful here on sunny days

[harry chickpea]

The southeast has significant rain; not as much as the rainforest part of Oregon, but a lot. Last winter was about normal, IMHO. The summer is a humid heat as well. Arizona is effectively a dry oven.

You have to get south of Ocala FL to escape much of the Gulf moisture and out of frost damage of plants in winter.

North Alabama IS warmer in winter than parts of Ohio and northern tier states. In Vermont, frozen ground can reach pipes buried six feet deep. Here, frost depth is rarely six inches.

If you have SAD like I do, sun matters. The southwest is unusual in the amount of sunny days. I can't think of ANY area of the country that gets a comparable amount.

[pathrunner]

I don't mind rain or cold nearly as much as I mind gloom. For me it's crazymaking but I deal with it. What else can one do? When I lived in Oregon I really didn't mind the rain or cold. In Arizona, I didn't mind the heat. And people forget it's paradise 6-7 months a year, depending on the year. I miss Arizona way more than I miss California, except for the beaches.

[harry chickpea]

LED shop fixture lights are cheap, and cheap to run. Light up the areas at home you use most. I have a couple hidden on top of cabinets in my kitchen that are bright enough that plants grow in there all winter.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

LED shop fixture lights are cheap, and cheap to run. Light up the areas at home you use most. I have a couple hidden on top of cabinets in my kitchen that are bright enough that plants grow in there all winter.

Yes, that does help. The house is south facing and that helps a lot too.

[djmaxwell]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

Hi all, first post after moving to Alabama to help a friend. I was shocked at how cold, cloudy (gloomy) and rainy it was all winter. It dragged on and I felt like I was back in Oregon, which I fled after a family member passed away. I went to Arizona and unloaded my truck in 106 degree heat, after wearing corduroy, layers and 2 pairs of socks all during August.

Was last winter typical or colder/gloomier than usual? Don't get me wrong, I'm basically happy here but shocked about the weather. People from other areas don't understand this is the bottom of the Tennessee Valley which gets all the major weather patterns. Duh.

I was also absolutely terrified during the recent tornados since I live near an area that killed people and flattened several homes. I will take earthquakes any decade (they are extremely infrequent).

Mostly I am asking about the "Oregon" gloom.

Huntsville gets more rain annually than Seattle.

[pathrunner]

I've been to Seattle. Would NEVER live there. And like I said, I don't mind rain as much as gloom. Seattle has both to the max. North Alabama seems to have more than a fair amount. Oh well.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by djmaxwell

Huntsville gets more rain annually than Seattle.

Except Seattle rain is a constant light drizzle. Huntsville has elephants pass overhead and pee buckets full.