Viral Bluesky post on vanishing Seattle rain draws flood of climate anecdotes
A post lamenting that Pacific Northwest drought has made rain jokes unfunny set off hundreds of replies describing lost snowpack and shifting seasons nationwide.
What to know
- A single viral Bluesky post about lost humor in Seattle rain jokes drew over 1,100 likes and dozens of replies describing regional climate change observations.
- Commenters across the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, and California described vanishing mountain snowpack, longer fire seasons, and milder winters as lived evidence of change.
- The thread split between those citing personal, anecdotal proof of long-term climate shift, some blaming fossil fuel companies or AI/data-center priorities, and a minority questioning whether conditions are truly worse than decades ago.
The dispute Whether current drought and warming represent an unprecedented break from the past or a milder, gradual continuation of variability seen decades ago. · positions read across 86 posts and comments
Personal, regional observations show climate change has visibly altered seasons and eliminated familiar snow and rain patterns.
-
“Now my baby pears get blistered by a too-hot early spring sin before the tree grows any protective leaves! And my late July birthday is always hot now, and almost always smoky.”
botticellibelle.cryptoanarchy.network · Bluesky ↗
Blame lies with fossil fuel companies or the diversion of attention/investment toward AI rather than the climate crisis.
-
“ExxonMobil smiles and shrugs, along with many others.”
colocroco.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Conditions, while drier, are not dramatically worse than past decades.
-
“We had four, count em, four days this summer that have been very hot... Is it seriously worse than the seventies? No.”
thecowscamehome.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
vandroidhelsing.bsky.social Original poster
How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
-
3
Some commenters link the changes to fossil fuels and AI energy demand
A subset of replies pointed to oil companies and the diversion of attention and investment toward AI and data centers as factors overshadowing climate concerns, including warnings about a major glacier's collapse.
“ExxonMobil smiles and shrugs, along with many others.”
— colocroco.bsky.social -
People in charge of worried about how they can get the maximum return on investment from AI, but aren't concerned about collapsing of the world's MOST IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL glacier. Called the Doomsday glacier for a reason BY YEARS END, likely.
2 more of the top 3 · 61 posts in this stretch
-
MN here, can confirm. I may just scream at the next person that tells me how great it is when it’s 70 in December. NO ITS FUCKING NOT!!
-
Same here in Utah. We used to have "The Greatest Snow on Earth!" It's really sad that people refuse to WTF up, until they realize they don't have water to bathe.
-
-
2
A few commenters push back that conditions aren't much worse than decades ago
Not all replies agreed with the severity described; some argued current conditions, while drier, are not dramatically worse than the 1970s, aside from milder winters.
“Is it seriously worse than the seventies? No. But... I will concede winters are milder.”
— thecowscamehome.bsky.social -
ExxonMobil smiles and shrugs, along with many others.
2 more of the top 3 · 19 posts in this stretch
-
Summer in Michigan has lasted 30 extra days a year for a while now. It's supposed to be fall. The leaves haven't even started turning yet. And when I was a kid I used to have to put my snowsuit on under my costume for Halloween. Global warming is real.
-
It bothers me so much when my family in the Midwest are happy when it’s warm in the winter.
-
-
1
Commenters across US and Canada report vanishing snow and longer summers
Replies from Oregon, Michigan, Utah, California, Colorado, British Columbia and elsewhere described disappearing mountain snowpack, hotter early springs, extended fire seasons, and milder winters as evidence of changing climate.
“Now? Winter, Spring, Fire, Fire.”
— petrachor.bsky.social -
V
I’m gonna be real, thanks to climate change, jokes about Seattle rain just make me sad We’ve been in a drought for a very long time. Mount Rainier is losing its glaciers. The Olympic Mountains don’t have snow. It’s just not funny
2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch
-
I miss the days when July 4 could be rained out. That hasn’t happened in years
-
I feel the same way about PDX. June used to be June-uary, and summer didn't start until after July 4th. Now my baby pears get blistered by a too-hot early spring sin before the tree grows any protective leaves! And my late July birthday is always hot now, and almost always smoky. I miss the rain!
-
-
background
Bluesky user says PNW rain jokes no longer land amid drought — vandroidhelsing.bsky.social posted that jokes about Seattle rain feel wrong given prolonged drought, shrinking glaciers on Mount Rainier, and snowless Olympic Mountains; the post drew over 1,100 likes and dozens of comments.
What people are saying 15 voices from 1 site · best of 86 · verbatim
- Sep 13
-
Mt. Shasta, near where I grew up, always had permanent glaciers that stopped being permanent several years ago. Rivers that were too cold for algae to flourish became covered in algae. Mosquito sightings in FEBRUARY & at 3,400 feet altitude! Shocking & alarming if you know how to read the signs!
-
Same thing in MN. I get so mad when my fellow citizens talk about how great it is when it’s 60 in December and they can still be golfing. No, no it’s not great. We’re supposed to have snow in December.
-
I'm middle aged and twenty years ago I was talking with an old timer who told me back in the 40's, lakes in WA used to freeze, so they had old cars sunk in them from people driving on them. This was not the case in my lifetime... This much change in under a century is a warning.
-
What does a Tubbs, a Nuns, a Kincaid, a Glass, and a Walbridge have in common? They are all wildfires I’ve had to endure since 2017. Five in the last nine years…so far.
-
I'm in the Columbia Gorge & can see Mt Hood & Adams. Neither of them got decent snow last year & won't this year if it stays too warm. They both looked like huge naked rocks until they got snow the other day & hopefully now as it's raining here at river level.
- Sep 12
-
I remember when summer started on July 5th. I remember when the rainy season started Oct 1st. I remember when we got one good lowland snow every year…sometimes right at Christmas. I remember when we got a huge windstorm, like clockwork, every Thanksgiving Day.
-
I'm seventy miles north of Seattle. We had four, count em, four days this summer that have been very hot. Not "extremely" hot. Enough rain that the fields are all still green. Is it dryer than in my youth? Yes. Is it seriously worse than the seventies? No. But... I will concede winters are milder.
-
The climate change being QUICKLY pushed to the back burner when it comes to AI & Data Centers…but while the new about AI has been scary….i don’t know how Climate being permanently changed to where the earth will take us out (and already has started) is not scary as well.
-
Remember “June-uary”? I miss those days.
-
I feel this. When I first moved to San Francisco Bay Area oh, 30+ odd years ago from Low Cal, I loved that I could feel the turn of the seasons. Now? Winter, Spring, Fire, Fire.
-
Same with how we used to joke a lot more about Chicago being freezing
-
We are losing the biggest reservoirs in the country. It’s bad.
-
Same for PDX. Until 2 years ago, I’ve never seen Mt. Hood completely naked: no snow, just rock. It rained here last week, and I can’t tell you how relieved I feel whenever it rains.
-
When I worked with Greenpeace decades ago warning influencer grandparents cops beat the snot out of us back then too. Americans didn't really embrace progressives back then either. Damn long-haired hippie socialist commie radicals! How's that working out?
-
Big rivers inColorado be crossed on foot. The drought is not over.