The Sequim weather report is cold.  It’s 34 degrees F, and the sun is out.  Most of the snow we had over a week ago has melted.  Here’s the interesting news.  The Sequim weather (snow and low temps) has not put a damper on buyers who continue to shop and buy homes in Sequim.

Sequim Weather Not a Damper on Home Sales

We had a few days of snow, which was a surprise, but I was also surprised and delighted to submit an offer on a Sequim home during the snow storm.  I also have a transaction closing today, and yesterday I showed houses all day to a couple from out of town.  Saturday we’ll look at more houses.  Some of my clients have expanded their home search for a water view home beyond Sequim to Port Ludlow.  I sold one home in Port Ludlow, and will be showing two more this Saturday.

Sequim Weather – Still Showing Homes

Retirees are clearly still planning to move to Sequim in significant numbers, and even though we are in the middle of the winter season, retirees have not stopped their careful process of searching for their perfect retirement home.  I know many of us often say, “there’s no such thing as the perfect home,” and that may be true, but it sounds better than “ideal retirement home.” 

It’s true that it is rare that anyone will find the perfect home, although it has happened.  It’s more often the case that a home has nearly all of the features a couple want, and what the home doesn’t have can be added or compensated for in some way.

Yesterday the homes I showed did not include the perfect retirement home for my clients.  Three of the homes were fun to look at, but did not pass my client’s test.  One home had an absolutely stunning panoramic water view, but it was an older manufactured home, which turned my clients off.  A couple of the homes had what I call “unconventional” floor plans, partly the result of remodeling that occurred in one home built in 1954. 

I find it fascinating that homes with unconventional floor plans are priced the same as new homes with great modern floor plans.  Of course, when I put it that way, it is obvious that a home with an unconventional floor plan should be priced less, and substantially less in some cases, but apparently that it not so obvious to the owners and/or their agents.  If you’ve been out looking at lots of homes, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about here.

Sequim Weather – Don’t Let It Stop You

If you’re planning to retire in Sequim, don’t let this cold (and recently snowy) Sequim weather stop you from coming to look at homes.  In my opinion, looking at homes before the crowd arrives in the spring is a good idea.  The one home you might fall in love with will undoubtedly be loved by other retirees who think like you do.

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Sequim weather is snow!  It is a surprise, and the last three days have dumped a lot of snow on Sequim.  Our Sequim weather is normally much dryer, although this time of year rain is not unusual.

Sequim Weather and Snow

Sequim Weather Cold

I took this photo on Dryke Road in Sequim.  Ehad!  Snow everywhere, and plenty of snow ball fights and even sledding in Robin Hill Park.  The temperature has been freezing at night, and a few degrees below freezing.  We have had winters in Sequim with no snow at all, and we’ve had winters with snow that lasted two days to two weeks.  Next calls for 40′s and rain, so all this snow may be melted by then.  We shall see.  This winter the Sequim weather surprised a few of us.

Update:  Two days later and the snow is melting rapidly.  It’s much warmer and some rain is helping to melt the snow.  Oh well, Sequim weather is somewhat unpredictable.

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This Sequim sunset opens the new year with a gorgeous display as seen from this high bluff trail off Lotzgeselle Road.  I took this photo with an iPhone.  I’m constantly amazed at the technologies we have at our fingertips these days.  Of course, it is my job as a Sequim Realtor to look at real estate, so as I enjoyed a moment of serene beauty, I also was doing my job.  It’s a great job!  You can view a larger image by clicking on the photo below.

Sequim Sunset Ushers in the New Year

Sequim Sunset – Regular or Supersized

This is always a great place to enjoy a Sequim sunset, because of the high and unobstructed vantage point.  This location is in a park off Lotzgeselle Road near the northernmost end of Kitchen-Dick Road.  [Yes, that's the name of the road, a source of humor for many.  We have some interesting road names here.]  We’re looking to the west with the north to the right.  On a clear day we would see Victoria, B.C. to the north across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  On the horizon are the Olympic Mountains. 

Sequim Sunset in the Blue Hole

Sequim is about six miles to the southeast of this location.  This park is also the entrance to the spit, home of the Sequim-Dungeness Lighthouse.  And just a couple of miles away along the coast is the true center of the Sequim Blue Hole or the Sequim Rain Shadow as it is known.

As I walked this trail along the bluff, I passed several couples closing their day with a sunset walk.  Several were walking with their dogs, and two were on bicycles.  Everyone was very friendly.  People actually greet each other with a warm smile and a kind word or two when they pass.  No wonder we love living here so much!  A beautiful Sequim sunset is just frosting on the cake, or perhaps I should say God’s glory displayed on the Olympics.

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The Sequim Blue Hole, or the Sequim Rain Shadow as some call it, is real and here is the proof.  This map shows that Sequim gets an average of 16 inches of rain annually, and in an uneven set of concentric circles extending out from Sequim, the rainfall increases dramatically into the Olympic Mountains to the south until the rainfall reaches 200 inches annually.

The Sequim Blue Hole

The Sequim Blue Hole is a Rain Shadow

The great rain forests are only 40 miles as the crow flies south of Sequim in the Olympics.  To officially be called a rain forest, the area must receive at least 100 inches of rain annually, and at the peak this area receives 200 inches per year.  The Sequim blue hole is explained by scientist Andrew Boyd this way, “During the winter months, strong, moist west winds blow in from the Pacific. The mountains deflect those winds upward from sea level to over seven thousand feet. They’re cooled on the seventy-mile trip across the mountains; almost all the water they contain condenses out in the form of snow or rain. That’s what causes the Olympic rain forests. Then the air, now wrung out and relatively dry — makes its steep descent. Only after it passes over Sequim, does it begin taking on more water as it heads off toward Seattle.”  Now you know how the Sequim blue hole is created.

No wonder Sequim is such an incredibly pleasant climate, and no wonder so many retirees have been quietly moving to Sequim for many years.  There really is a Sequim blue hole!

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Sequim Washington Magazine is a new and exciting publication specifically designed, written and published for retirees from out of state.  Many people know all about Sequim and have been planning to retire for many years in Sequim.  But many others who are near retirement don’t know about the Blue Hole or the Rain Shadow, or they don’t know about the amazing Sequim lifestyle, or the recreation, the fishing, the golfing, the kayaking, or the incredible retiree population here.  Many still do not know what it is like to live on the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula just two hours plus from Seattle or SeaTac.  There are so many reasons Sequim is an incredible place to live, and the climate and the fact that we get one-third the rainfall of Seattle are good reasons, but there are many more.  Sequim Washington Magazine is one way the publisher wants to spread the good news about Sequim.

Sequim Washington Magazine

Sequim Washington Magazine

This is not a typical magazine.  Not at all.  Sequim Washington Magazine is a single publication that will evolve and grow.  Articles and relevant contact, photos, videos, and local stories will be added, but rarely deleted.  It will not be a typical magazine that changes completely with every issue.  This magazine is intended to be the best source of information, photos, and vidoes on Sequim, and that means we will grow, almost like a living and breathing publication.

Sequim Washington Magazine

Notice that throughout the magazine there will be links to local sites and information, and if you click on the link, which may be embedded in a photo or within an article, you will be taken to that site.  Sequim Washington Magazine can be opened up into a full screen magazine.

Who writes this magazine and who takes the photos, videos, and who publishes it?  Why of course, it is yours truly–Chuck Marunde.  This is another way I try to share the good news about Sequim with all the potential retirees around the country who are looking at Sequim and want to learn more.  Having lived in Sequim for 18 years now and having raised my own family here, I can personally testify to what an incredible and wonderful place Sequim is.  I often walk outside and say what I said again today, “Another day in paradise!”  I hope you enjoy Sequim Washington Magazine and your suggestions for articles will be welcome.

If you like the magazine, may I suggest and encourage you to email a link to friends or family who might enjoy it?  And anyone who lives in Sequim or is planning to move to Sequim is welcome to submit their own article or testimony.  I’m certain others would love to hear and learn more from recent converts or long-time residents.

Sequim Washington Magazine – brought to you by Chuck Marunde.

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The Sequim Blue Hole really does exist.  Some call it the Sequim Rain Shadow.  Whatever you call the unique Sequim weather patterns that give us  one-third (1/3) the rain fall of Seattle, we love it.  On a day when it is raining in Seattle like cats and dogs, quite often you drive through an invisible wall into the Sequim blue hole and suddenly it stops raining.  I have personally observed this many times over the past 18 years.

Sequim Blue Hole is Real

Sequim Blue Hole aka the Sequim Rain Shadow

The Sequim blue hole is within the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and receives less than 15 inches of rain per year—about the same as Los Angeles.  The Sequim blue hole has become quite famous around the country and has been written about in numerous retirement and travel magazines for 20 years.  We do periodically see some fog and cool breezes from the Juan de Fuca Strait, and that is one of the reasons we have such fresh clean air on the Olympic Peninsula.

Sequim Blue Hole Inviting

Sequim is inviting, and this time of year is just absolutely beautiful.  I took this photo above early this morning.  The sun is shining and the deer are out eating breakfast in front of my house.  The Sequim weather is mild year around, but the Sequim blue hole really does exist.

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