Normally we gets lots of rain from Oct-April - and then some in Sept and May/June... July and August are traditionally dry - as evidenced by the dried out lawns (dormant lawns actually - they'll come back in September) that most of us have this time of year. No AC, as the heat only lasts (traditionally) for short time...
However - as has already been posted - we had little rain this winter, and it was warm - meaning high freeze levels and little/no snow pack. The cities in Western Washington are ok - but the farmers in the Eastern side of the state are feeling the pain right now...
Because of climate change, the area has become the #2 wine producer in the country - behind California. Napa and Sonoma Valleys, however are turning the way of the Central Valley - hot and dry (and that's without the drought - which is a nightmare) - and folks have been buying up the land on the eastern slopes of the Cascades for more than a decade - all for wine production.. It's forecasted that as California drys up and cooks, WA/OR/BC will become the top wine producers for the US - at least until our goose is cooked too (eventually). :0
Oh, and Chambers Bay - what a success! Everyone wanted a more difficult course - so there you go! Cracks me up to hear all those guys whining about how hard it was, etc. I remember sailing past that place when it was a gravel pit...
//sse.
