TheBobGoat,
I live in Seattle. I've had satellite for over five years and have only VERY rarely had rain drop outs. Even though we get rain nine months of the year, it's mostly drizzle. You probably get more total inches per year in MS, and probably get the downpours that we don't. My neighborhood in Seattle is behind a hill, and we only get about 30 inches of rain a year. When you stretch that out over nine months, it's not very much at any given instant.
The antennas are not ultra-sensitive to positioning, either. I live on a boat, and can still pick up the signal when the boat moves around five or ten degrees left or right. It more sensitive, however, to the up and down aiming. Typically when I get rain fade, it means it's time to tighten up the lines holding the boat.