<p>I know Alabama is a rainy state…but is this a typical year for rain or is it wetter than usual?</p>
<p>Mid-December to mid-March is the wet season here. We are having a lot of rainy days, but nothing extraordinary.</p>
<p>I do think the amount of daytime rain we’ve had lately isn’t normal. </p>
<p>While this is the rainy season, we usually don’t have “day after day after day” rainy daytimes. That was one thing we liked when we moved from Calif to Alabama. In Calif, we’d have 4-5 days of straight rain, and in Alabama we didn’t seem to have that. In recent weeks, we have. :(</p>
<p>The good news is…lots of rain means beautiful fall leaves.</p>
<p>I’m always asked if it rains a lot in Seattle compared to Tuscaloosa. I knew that it rained more in Tuscaloosa, but was surprised to see how much more. A quick look at Wikipedia says that Tuscaloosa gets 58.26 inches of rain annually. By contrast, Seattle only gets 38.6 inches of rain annually (this is the city’s figure as the official amount of 37.41 inches annually is collected at the airport.)</p>
<p>The difference this year (I think) is that there has been more daytime rain. Alabama has always had a good amount of “overnight rain”, but the all-day raining day-after-day has been different.</p>
<p>The past year or so, I have been watching these Bama threads as my son approached his senior year, and have been puzzled by all of the talk about rain on the UA campus. I went to Bama 30 years ago, grew up two hours away from Tuscaloosa and I honestly have no recollection of rain during the day. I’m sure it rained during the day occasionally, but it wasn’t a constant and it definitely didn’t last very long. We didn’t have shuttles. I had classes in every school on campus (not kidding) and walked everywhere. I didn’t own a rain jacket or rain boots, and I don’t remember anyone else having them either. I had a car on campus, so I probably drove and parked fairly close to my classes on rare rainy days or something. But I seriously cannot remember ever showing up for class drenched, or being miserable running in the rain (and I WOULD have been miserable). After college, I lived in Tuscaloosa and B’ham for several years before moving away. I was a speedwalker and still have my records that show the days I walked and the temperature. I refused to walk if it was 35 degrees or colder, and I missed approximately 13 days a year due to cold. There is no mention of rain, and I would have never walked in the rain so, clearly, it never kept me from walking.</p>
<p>I am thinking the weather has changed in the 20 years I’ve been away. M2CK is correct, IMO. Some of my greatest memories are of sleeping in my grandmother’s tin-roof home and listening to the rain. It rained a lot at night, but honestly almost never in the day. When I read posts about the necessity of rain jackets, rain boots and the daily rain showers, I’m confused. That is NOT the weather I remember in T-town. Daily day time rain? News to me.</p>
<p>* I went to Bama 30 years ago, grew up two hours away from Tuscaloosa and I honestly have no recollection of rain during the day. I’m sure it rained during the day occasionally, but it wasn’t a constant and it definitely didn’t last very long.*</p>
<p>I agree. I think the area is just in a cycle (maybe soon ending???). During the years that we’ve lived here, “long lasting daytime rain” has been rare.</p>
<p>In previous threads, I’ve warned people to keep a small umbrella or waterproof foldable jacket in their backpacks because it can be sunny, you can leave a bldg, and find yourself having to walk to our next class in sudden rain. I’ve also recommended wearing waterproof shoes during this time because when sudden rain comes, it can be a downpour.</p>
<p>Usually we don’t have all day rain day after day. But over the last couple of weeks, it’s been long lasting daytime rain.</p>
<p>When I was a student at UAB almost 20 years ago, we would have this all-day type rain pretty often during the winter. I walked from class to my co-op job and back everyday and remember having extra shoes in my bag to wear because my feet would be soaked. No cute rain boots back then!</p>
<p>M2CK, I feel a bit better now. I’ve been thinking dementia was setting in early. I remember EVERY time it snowed, LOL, but rain? Not during the day, and certainly not with any frequency. Missread, I left Alabama in 1991, so maybe I missed that monsoon cycle 20 years ago? IDK. Still scratching my head trying to figure out what in the heck to have DS pack for UFE/CBH weekend. We live in the desert/frozen tundra. No rain gear here. ;)</p>
<p>weather seems normal to me… lived in the state for 30 years</p>
<p>I’m just going to tell myself that your analysis is the result of the fact that you’ve been there for 30 years and the change has been so gradual that you didn’t even notice. ;)</p>
<p>I think y’all are crazy or nostalgic. All day and multi-day rain events have never been uncommon in all the time Ive lived in Alabama. Winter is the rainy season.</p>
<p>I have a distinctly different recollection than Happykids mom. I too grew up in Tuscaloosa and went to Alabama roughly 30 years ago. I remember lots and lots of daytime rain with a distinct rainy season. Everyone in my sorority owned an oil cloth style raincoat – mine was green with a blue whale print lining – straight from the Preppy Handbook – and matching duck shoes – sometimes multiple pairs. I remember walking across the quad studiously trying to avoid slogging through puddles and trying to predict whether the hood on my raincoat would be enough to avoid getting drenched or whether I also needed an umbrella – which I didn’t carry all the time because this was before backpacks. I remember the first time I ever cut class during my Freshman year – after it had been pouring rain for three days straight and I just didn’t feel like making the trek from Martha Parham to my Econ class in yet another downpour. (Don’t tell my kids I ever cut class!) I didn’t have a car on campus, so I was very conscious of weather. I was surprised when I went to law school in a dryer climate and didn’t need my raincoat and duck shoes nearly as often – though my first year there I got to deal with navigating my way to class after an ice storm.</p>
<p>lol happykidsmom… thankfully followed up by people who agree with me… it rains and rains a lot in the winter here, day and or night, days at a time sometimes, but imo its better than snow (which we occasionally get too)</p>
<p>waving at missread…didnt realize or forgot you were an uab alumni</p>
<p>Hey, parent56! I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned being a proud alum of UAB. Sorry to also say that after further recollection it’s been more like 25 years! Yikes! Those were the days; being a UAB Ambassador wearing that super stylish khaki skirt, yellow button down shirt and emerald green blazer with “big hair.” Oh my, if my DD could only see pictures!</p>
<p>Lol, I guess dementia’s setting in after all. I owned duck shoes in three colors, but I recall them being more of a fashion accessory than a necessity. I had a raincoat similar to Paying’s, but I only remember wearing it at the hunting camp or occasionally at the beach. I was even thinking back to elementary school when I walked home 5-6 blocks every day. Nope. No memories of walking in the rain. LOL. I’m not saying it never rained in the day time. I’m just saying it doesn’t stand out as a defining factor in my childhood and college experience. I must have driven to class a lot. ;)</p>
<p>I was at UA 40 years ago and Tuscaloosa definitely has a monsoon season, and it starts about now (we figured this out in Earth Science 1). Not too many kids had raincoats, but you went NOWHERE without a giant golf umbrella. I remember 1 spring getting totally drenched walking to class across the Quad. Had to wade through 8" puddles. I was NOT a happy student in class that day! It was amazing how much water bell bottoms could soak up. At least it was a warm spring day.</p>