October weather in SoCal (Santa Ana, Cerritos: buying, living, stores)

[Belmont_Boy]

Although I'm not crazy about the heat we've been experiencing over the past couple of weeks, I'll gladly take high temps in the 90's and low 100's over low temps in the 30's and low 40's.

[ashpelham]

Ahhh....All the more reason why So Cal makes more sense for me. I WILL live in or near the desert in my very near future. Let me just get this one kid out of high school....

[ashpelham]

Originally Posted by Belmont_Boy

Although I'm not crazy about the heat we've been experiencing over the past couple of weeks, I'll gladly take high temps in the 90's and low 100's over low temps in the 30's and low 40's.

Ditto my friend. Actually went out at lunch today here in Central Alabama and tanned a bit poolside. 80 in October? I'll take it, and 80 in January too. Don't give a darn about fall leaves, pumpkin spice deodorant, or cardigans...

[BGS91762]

I've lived in CA for 30 years and compare our winter season to fall in the rest of the country. From December to April we usually have crisp cool evenings and warm days. Some leaves in my neighborhood change colors too. We can even see snow in the mountains. For this MN native that is paradise!!

[cornsnicker3]

Nostalgia is the main thing for me. Although I haven't lived here long (and probably won't stay for long either), I remember how exciting it is to see something new every 3 months. It is just ingrained in my psyche, In coastal southern California, the weather isn't invigorating. It is mostly hot for me, but I concede that most view the temperatures as comfortable. It is like a giant let down every year. We expect to see the fall foliage (yes, it is there technically, but it really sucks) and to see the morning frost. California winter is essentially colder summer.

[rhiannon67]

Originally Posted by saibot

Just spotted on Facebook:

"104 F temps in October make this Midwest boy very grumpy. I'm ready for cider, sweaters, and fall foliage. This is madness."

It made me giggle, because I know this individual has been living in SoCal for at LEAST 20 years and he's still thinking he should be wearing sweaters in October? I'm racking my brain to think of an October that didn't have a similar heat wave... Recalling the Whittier Narrows quake in October 1987. It was so hot we called it "Shake and Bake."

So why IS it that people who have lived here such a long time, even some natives, expect October to be stereotypical "Fall"? Are they the same people who grumble that it's June but it's too cold for swimming and not summer yet?

Then there are stores that buy into the " if it's October, it must be fall" nonsense. Last year on a particularly hot day I went to Trader Joe's for a watermelon-- I'd been getting good ones there all summer. Lo and behold, management had decided that it was now "Fall" so clearly too cold for watermelons, and had replaced them all with pumpkins.

Any true native of Southern California knows there are basically no seasons. It's hot, even hotter, or you get the occasional cloudy/rainy day (god I used to be ecstatic on those days). In the winter months, there have been fleeting moments where nighttime temps have dipped into the high 20s-low 30s. I remember 1988 in particular.

Fall foliage and sweaters in SoCal in October??? Who the hell are they kidding lol. October is known for one thing though and that's fire season.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by cornsnicker3

I remember how exciting it is to see something new every 3 months. It is just ingrained in my psyche.

I'm not questioning you, but the people I know who live in a "four seasons" climate say that each season isn't three months, in fact.

Instead, they say summer is about five months long--May through September.

Fall, AKA October, is beautiful but lasts only four weeks.

Winter is at least five, sometimes even six months long. (I was once in Michigan in April, and there was not a single leaf out and it was still snowing, so I believe it).

If you blink, you miss spring. ("One day you're still using the heat, the next day you turn on the a/c" is the saying. )

I'm sure it depends on where you live! Where do you get a reliable three months for each season?

[BGS91762]

In most of the US the so called 4 seasons is either months of hot or cold weather with a month or so of nice fall weather. Also, for people that think it's hot in So Cal, I can tell you from experience it's nothing compared to the heat, humidity,and bugs of the east and Midwest.

[cornsnicker3]

In Colorado where I am from, it usually pretty true to four seasons. Although it snows time to time in spring, it is generally spring time from March to Late May. Fall is truely from Sept to December. Summer is usually only hot from June to August. The dry climate in Colorado rarely invited humidity. I even grew up in California, but Colorado left such an impression on me. The climate here is too stale for me. I know I am the oddball in that.

[cornsnicker3]

Originally Posted by BGS91762

In most of the US the so called 4 seasons is either months of hot or cold weather with a month or so of nice fall weather. Also, for people that think it's hot in So Cal, I can tell you from experience it's nothing compared to the heat, humidity,and bugs of the east and Midwest.

Most of us who hate the heat here hate that it lasts for so long. I can only speak from experience living in Colorado. We all knew that eventually the temperature would drop. It is just too warm for me. I consider warm anything over 75 so 90% of the year, it is too hot. I probably would be better suited for the PNW.