Our text reads, "Historian Walter Prescott Webb suggested in his book The Great Plains that the great, continuous grassland located astride North America's center were so unlike the home regions of Northwest European settlers that before they could live in the Great Plains, they had to develop new crops, new land-use patterns, and new technologies. The agricultural crops and settlement patterns they carried with them from Europe were inappropriate. European settlers encountered several environmental surprises on the Great Plains. Rainfall in the grasslands was far less than in the forested East, and the Plains' western margins were much drier. Violent storms accompanied by high winds, hail, and tornadoes were common. Blizzards' wintery blasts intensified the season's worst cold and mounded snow into immense drifts. In summer, the soil was parched by hot, dry winds, sometimes carrying dirt away in huge, billowing clouds of dust. Small, intermittent streams were the only source of water able to support the region's sparse trees. Farmers newly arrived from eastern states had to adjust. No longer were plentiful water for crops and animals and ample wood for building, fencing, and heating available. They faced conditions on the Great Plains for which they had little realiable information."
Seattle on the other hand, is different from the Great Plains in terms of climate. There are about six weeks of summer in Seattle and an adequate amount of rainfall for the rest of the year as opposed to the little rainfall in the Great Plains, and the hot dry winds in the summer. Due to the climate in Seattle, they have a very good chance for a successful agriculture. There is enough land and technology to grow crops without much problem in Seattle. Luckily, Seattle doesn't experience extreme weater like the 20-year drought cycle that the Plains once experienced. In terms of climate Seattle is pretty stable.
Text Source: Textbook
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