Seattle’s legendary weather is part myth, part truth, and many shades of grey… literally. Heavy cloud cover and frequent rain make the Emerald City come alive with green foliage but the truth is places such as Boston and New York average more annual rainfall than Seattle. The reason for this fact versus fiction dichotomy is that Seattle summers are extraordinarily dry, and while it does frequently rain outside of thsoe three months, downpours are extremely rare. However, there is one exception: The Pineapple Express.

It wasn’t until moving back to Seattle in 2007 that I had ever heard this wacky term. And even after hearing it I had my doubts. But after this weekend I no longer have doubt, especially after witnessing 3 days of mid-50 degree temperatures and driving rain… in the middle of December!

Wikipedia describes a Pineapple Express as “a meteorological phenomenon which is characterized by a strong and persistent flow of atmospheric moisture and associated heavy rainfall from the water adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands and extending to any location along the Pacific coast of North America.” In other words, when a Pineapple Express picks up steam if it hits Seattle you’ll have warmer temperatures, heavy rain, major snow melt in the mountains, extreme flooding, and a driving tropical rain that will have the socks and sandals crowd cowering in their Birkenstocks.