If you’ve never been to the Pacific Northwest and are considering Lewis and Clark as your college you may be wondering what the weather is like here, what you should bring, and how it is different from the place you live now. After returning home to Indiana for winter break, I’ve become more acutely aware of the weather here in Portland.
I flew into Portland late at night. There was a thick fog covering everything as my uber finally pulled into Lewis and Clark. I had to stand outside while waiting to check in with security. There was no bite to the cold air, and it was altogether pleasant.
The next mourning it was clear blue skies. In Indiana, it had been snowing for three days straight, and I hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. My friend and I took a walk in Tryon, the small urban wilderness next to campus. It was beautiful. I only needed one small coat, there was a nice breeze, but not one that penetrated the skin, just subtly pushing past us as we walked.
The weather here overall tends to be chilly but mild, even in the summer I’d get cold at night. Because portland is less humid than I’m used to, I had to adjust to the drastic temperature changes. Usually, it can be quite hot during the day and will get very cold at night. Now I always keep an extra jacket tied around my waist for when the temperature drops.
You may have seen pictures of LC covered in snow, but don’t let this deceive you. They donnot have cold winters here. Sometimes it will dip below freezing, yes but it is nothing like the long sustained bone-chilling cold in some parts of this country. I was a fool by those pictures too and there were a few things I brought with me that I really didn’t need; long underwear, mittens, wool socks, a thick winter coat. I’m used to at least a few days of soul gripping cold so that’s what I prepared for, but I doubt that’s something I’ll experience here.
That being said there are some things that you should definitely bring if you come to Lewis and Clark. A good raincoat and waterproof shoes are essential. Now, there was really not as much rain as I thought there would be. People really hype the rain here. There have rarely been thunderstorms and the rain is light enough that if you’re just going to get food or rushing to class you’d probably be fine. But I like to not be held back by the rain so a raincoat is still good to have. I also like dry feet. Oftentimes, if it’s been raining, the parking lot outside of Howard turns into a river, and the cobblestone streets are big mud puddles so shoes are important.
I hope this was helpful, if you have any questions you can email me at tdmaclaughlin@lclark.edu