Settled in 1851 by pioneers on the shore of Elliott Bay and named for the Duwamish and Suquamish leader Chief Seattle, the city grew on logging and Klondike Gold Rush trade before Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon turned it into a leading US tech hub. It sits on a narrow isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, ringed by the Olympic and Cascade mountains, with Mount Rainier looming on clear days. Seattle's rainy reputation is mostly myth: its annual rainfall is lower than New York's, Miami's or Houston's — it just drizzles on more days than any of them. The 1962 World's Fair left behind the Space Needle, still the city's defining landmark.
Nights sit around 13°C and afternoons around 22°C, though some days reach 27°C.
Seattle has real seasons: summer afternoons sit around 25°C, winter ones around 9°C.
Some summer days reach 32°C, and some winter nights drop below freezing.
Most of the rain falls in winter, least in summer. In November it rains about 16 days in 30; in July, 1.
Wind is rarely an issue; most months sit between calm and a light breeze. Air quality is worth watching: August averages an AQI of 56, while July clears to 44.
Days stretch to about 15.8 hours of light in June and shrink to 8.2 in December — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
No month in Seattle matches what you're after, so come for the place rather than the weather. Expect fast internet (386 Mbps) and a high cost of living (about €3300 a month).
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