"Jose" wrote in message
m...
I'm considering flying from the Bay Area to Seattle WA next September (I'm
not based out there) and was wondering what kind of flight conditions I
could expect. I'd be in a piston single (probably an aging Cutlass). I
am IFR capable, but flying in ice would be something I'd avoid.

In September, you have pretty good odds (maybe 50/50) of having perfectly
nice clear weather the whole way (other than coastal and valley fog in the
occasional spot). That time of year, freezing levels will most likely still
be well above MEAs, though of course you can never predict for sure.

We flew Seattle (Everett, actually) to Oakland and back last year the last
week of September and won the "perfectly nice clear weather" lottery. Made
an instrument departure from Oakland on the way back to get through a very
thin fog layer (not even 200' thick), and then an easy instrument approach
into Eugene, OR because their fog hadn't quite cleared (though it had lifted
significantly, providing ceilings higher than 1000', if I recall).
Otherwise, the weather for that trip was CAVU.

So, basically...icing is not likely to be a problem and beyond that, in
September you could potentially experience a wide variety of conditions, but
most likely nothing terribly challenging.

Of course, now that I write that, I recall another September weekend several
years ago trying to get back to the Seattle area from Newport, OR in which
we had very high winds (30-40 knots) and isolated thunderstorms. Waiting a
day allowed us to get back home, but the flight back still wasn't all that
pleasant.

But that was definitely a highly atypical bit of weather. Most of the time,
it's quite benign.

Pete