I drove to Seattle and back yesterday. My god, it was a gorgeous day! I know it's impossible, but it feels like the sunlight is sunnier here than elsewhere. The only other place I've ever experienced sunlight this intense is in Kenya, and there I always assumed it was caused by the altitude. Crackpot theory of the day: it's either a physical effect of the rain, that there is less dust and pollution for the sunlight to filter through, or it's a psychological effect of the rain, that you really notice sunny days after the cloudy ones.