Most of what people hear when Portland weather is mentioned, is rain. Yes, it does rain in Portland, but it rains less in Portland than Atlanta, Seattle, or Houston. Portland's average annual rainfall is about 37", which is about the same as many east coast cities.

Over half of the rain falls in the four coldest months: November, December, January and February. These months also will see some snow most years, although it tends to fall at slightly higher elevations than downtown Portland, and rarely more than an inch or two falls at one time. The occasional bad snowstorm can leave the city practically paralized for a day or two!

March, April and May also receive a fair amount of rain, as does October. June usually gets a bit of rain, but July, August and September are nearly always completely dry. There is a saying that summer starts July 5th in western Oregon!

Often the rain in Portland will fall as a drizzle, which may go on all day long, or for several days. Fog is not uncommon, and the grey days combined with the short hours of light can sometimes seem endless. But there are also many days in winter that are bright and sunny at least part of the day.

Summer temperatures are overall fairly mild, with many days in the mid to upper 80's range, with low humidity compared to much of the central and eastern USA.  There are generally at least two or three heat waves where the temperatures will soar to the upper 90's or into the low 100's, but fortunately these are usually of short duration.

Many native Oregonians pride themselves on never carrying an umbrella, but if you walk around downtown Portland in the rain you'll see many business people using them. Everybody visiting any part of western Oregon should always bring a water resistant or repellent jacket with a hood, no matter what time of year :-)