Wind Storm Washington

High winds and heavy rains battered cars earlier this month on the Southern Washington coast just across the Columbia River near the Astoria-Megler Bridge.

(Bill Wagner/The Associated Press)

Everywhere you go, Portlanders are complaining about the rain -- and for good reason.

Since the start of the rainy season on Oct. 1, 2016, through Wednesday, Portland has had 147 days with measurable rain, according to Matthew Cullen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. That's well past the record of 142 days of rain set in the 1998-99 rainy season.

But it could be a lot worse. You could be in Astoria, where Wednesday's rainy conditions pushed the coastal city to a record 167 days of measurable rain since Oct. 1. That passes the record of 166 days, set in both 1894 and 1921.

That's a lot of days with rain. But how much actual rain are we talking about? According to Cullen, Astoria's total rainfall from Oct. 1 through the end of the day Tuesday stands at 84.52 inches, which is the ninth highest amount on record (the most rain was 92.17 inches recorded during the 1915-16 rainy season). By comparison, Portland has had 46.65 inches since Oct. 1 -- so Astoria has had nearly twice as much rain in the same period.

"It has been wet, wet, wet," said Sharleen Zuern, a volunteer with the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce. "The last couple of winters have been mild, but it's been pretty dreary this year. People are pretty depressed. The locals are used to it -- kind of -- but it's been an extreme year, and people are pretty sick of it."

Zuern said that all those wet days had cut into winter tourism, and that the number of visitors is down by as much as 40 percent. But hope is on the horizon. This weekend, hotels in the Astoria area are booked solid for the annual Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival.

"It's starting to pick up, and next week we start our cruise ship season, so we're praying for sunshine," Zuern said.

This year, 29 commercial cruise ships are scheduled to dock in Astoria on their way up to Alaska for the summer season. Each docking ship might bring as many as 4,000 passengers, who spend money at restaurants, museums and tourist attractions. If it's rainy and miserable, those cruise passengers might stay on board the ship.

While people who live in the Astoria-Warrenton area are feeling waterlogged with this year's heavy rains, they haven't burrowed in for the duration, Zuern said.

"You just see a lot of rubber boots," she said. "Still, it feels like it's never going to end."

Astoria and Portland aren't alone when it comes to this long rainy season. According to Cullen, both Eugene and Salem have broken records this year for the most days with measurable rain. Eugene has had 144 days of rain, passing the old record of 138 days in the 1920-21 season. Salem has had 147 days of rain, eclipsing the 143-day record set in 1998-99.

-- Grant Butler

503-221-8566; @grantbutler