Date:  Wed, 10 Jan 1996 11:03:08 -0800

From:  Peter McGraw <pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CALVIN.LINFIELD.EDU>

Subject: Re: Oregon mist



I've never heard the term, and a quick survey of my office drew only

blank looks except from one colleague who hasn't lived in Oregon very

long and thought he might have heard it but didn't know for sure or in

what context. I assume it's known only outside Oregon. To an Oregonian

it would be redundant: If you're in Oregon and it's raining, it's just

"rain." Another person in the office mentioned the bottled water labeled

"Oregon Rain" that is sold here in Made in Oregon shops.



"Oregon sunshine" (or "liquid sunshine"), on the other hand, is fairly

common as a jocular term for the state's legendary precipitation.



(Why "ironically"? Mist or drizzle and prolonged, but not heavy, rain, are

the two most common forms of precipitation in Oregon. The sudden, heavy but

relatively brief downpours of the East and Midwest are uncommon.)



Peter McGraw

Linfield College

McMinnville, OR



On Wed, 10 Jan 1996, Joan Hall wrote:



> With just a day or so remaining in which to clear up questions in the

> DARE entries I-O, I'm wondering if anyone knows the term "Oregon rain." It

> can mean a light mist, or, ironically, a prolonged rain; we also have one

> citation in which it means an "Idaho rain" (a dust storm). Is anyone

> familiar with any of these senses? If so, when and where? Thanks in

> advance.

>

> Joan Hall, DARE

>