The average annual rainfall in Portlant, OR, is 36".
The average annual rainfall in Seattle, WA, is 34".
They both have Mediterranean climates with 80% of the rain in 6 months centered in winter. Farmers know that if they want to raise a summer crop they need to irrigate.

Conversely, the average annual rainfall here in Reading, PA, is 41".
The rain is spread out over the entire year. The wettest months are in the summer after hurricanes come ashore in the South. It is fairly common for us to get over 2" of rain from these storms. The farmers yell drought if it doesn't rain at least 2" every month. Here in PA, only nurserymen have irrigation. The others take their chances with the weather.

The difference isn't the amount of rain, it is the number of days of rain. Portland and Seattle have many more days with rain, but less annual rainfall.

I raise rhododendrons and the varieties we grow here in PA are quite different from those we grew in Oregon. Here they need to withstand hot wet summers and cold dry winters. Conversely in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, rhododendrons have a warm dry summer and a cool wet winter.

For those that haven't been to the Pacific Northwest, it has three very different climates.
1) the coastal region has rain forests with over 200" of rain,
2) the valley between the Coast Range and the Cascade Mountains is the temperate Mediterranian climate and
3) East of the Cascades in arid.

Sorry to hear about the damage in other parts of the state. It's been a busy year for heavy rains.

I think we should all take a field trip out to the west coast to experience the weather first hand! Sounds like the only thing gained in the move from Seattle to PA is the chance to experience PA's summertime heat and humidity. Hmmmm.