Weather Eye: Northwest bears brunt of soggy weather jokes

I had a chuckle about a cartoon, an old one for sure, that I came upon Sunday. The just of it shows two characters, and one comes up to the other and asks for a good sunblock. His buddy hands him a piece of paper, and he replies, “What is this?” The other says, “Directions to Seattle.” And so it goes, the Northwest always gets the brunt of the wet and cloudy jokes.

You certainly won’t need any sunblock this week, and you don’t have to drive to Seattle either. Unfortunately, the weather outlook for the next week or so contains quite a bit of clouds, fog, drizzle and light rain. This all makes for some gloomy weather, so if you require some sunshine, head elsewhere, or turn on a sunlamp or invest in a light box.

There are no big storms on the horizon, just more of the same. We struggled to get any sunshine Sunday. Despite the forecast of sunshine, the clouds certainly defied us.

Signs of spring are waking, with new bud growth emerging on many area trees and shrubs, and many of the spring flowering bulbs are poking well up through the earth.

Speaking of Seattle jokes and weather, here are a few more chuckles. They could apply here, as well.

• What do you call two straight days of rain in Seattle? A weekend.

• It only rains twice a year in Seattle: August through April, and May through July.

• What does daylight saving time mean in Seattle? An extra hour of rain.

• What’s the definition of a Seattle optimist? A guy with a sun visor on his rain hat.

• What did the Seattle native say to the Pillsbury Doughboy? “Nice tan.”

• And last but not least: A newcomer arrives on a rainy day. He gets up, and the next day, it is raining. It also rains the day after and the day after that. He heads outside and sees a young child, and asks out of despair, “Hey kid, does it ever stop raining around here?” The kid says, “How should I know I’m only 6 years old.”

OK, you get the picture. Lights on!

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at Weather Systems.