Convinced that we may have brought Seattle’s rainy weather along with us to Sydney, where the other day it was raining so hard that crossing Elizabeth Street downtown was reminiscent of last summer’s adventure fording the rivers in Iceland (particularly as the rainwater crested the top of my shoes and I wished for my trekking pole to help me balance against the downstream pull), we decided to do a little research into the past 4 months of weather statistics (Statistician Sandy, this blog’s for you). Here’s what our research unearthed:

Glancing through the numbers, one can see that indeed, the heavens have been filling up Sydney’s rain gauge since our arrival, with a whopping 6 inches more rain than back home in Seattle.  The numbers also tell us that when we say it’s pouring, we really mean it and are not just a couple of whiny weather wimps, for those extra 6 inches fell on 14 fewer days.  In fact, further research uncovered two relatively horrifying facts for those who might have come to Sydney expecting an unending string of dry, sunny days:  this past May was the wettest May in Sydney in 7 years, followed by the wettest June in 3 years.  The numbers don’t lie.  It’s been wet.

On a positive note, though, it’s been a slightly warmer wet in Sydney than back home.  In fact, looking at the average temps suggests that spending a late Autumn/early Winter in Sydney is nearly equivalent to spending a late Spring/early Summer in Seattle, with Sydney just slightly edging out Seattle in the warmth department.  For those of us who somehow managed to time our move such that we get the pleasure of experiencing back-to-back winters, we’ll take whatever edge we can get.