>>2834478Not as wet or large in area but as or more diverse. And the PNW and N California forests are in fact wetter than the eastern US, especially in winter and spring. The reason for the western USA being one of the snowiest places on Earth is due to the Alaska gyre currents and jetstreams in winter, which also creates the largest temperate rainforest on Earth. Unofficially, the Chugach mountains of Alaska have indirectly recorded up to 1,500+ inches (38.1m) of winter snowfall, including 300 inches (7.62m) in one week, western mountains have also unofficially measured wind gusts in excess of 200 mph resulting in fatalities. The Pacific temperate rainforests covers ~120,000 sq miles from 61N to 39N with 60-300 inches of annual precipitation and very low annual evaporation (often below 20 inches). Every western USA state also has multiple living trees older than 2,500 years.
