Is Southern California warm enough? (San Diego, Santa Barbara: live in, yard, average)

[nightbird47]

Remember that much of socal is really desert or semi-desert. In such areas its normal for temperatures to have a large difference between night and day in the spring and fall. I lived in Riverside for over twenty years and you expected it to go from 90 to 40 in the spring. In winter desert areas get cold. If you want steady temps that don't go down to 60 try Hawaii. Don't know about Florida but have only been there once, in September. Solid wet air and enormous bugs... no thanks.

Still trying to figure out how 60 at night is not warm enough.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

The OP is noticing the marine influence of the cool Pacific.

Interestingly, the inland places that are "hot enough" in the summer are much cooler at night in winter than the coast.

There are no humid continental climates here, unlike east of the Rockies.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Another note that might surprise the OP. The furthest northern commercial citrus operations in North America are further north in latitude than San Francisco (Placer County, to be exact).

What does that tell you about the general winter climate of CA vs the general winter climate of GA or even FL? Most of GA and all of FL is further south than San Ysidro!

[Reivax]

Originally Posted by jhawktx

Holy Sh!+

Somewhere on Venus might be the perfect spot for you.

lol, call me twisted, but I love that hot muggy air.

[Ericmrtt]

Some of you guys said the deserts may not be warm enough for me. Well definetly not the high deserts I know that. I do think the low deserts are warm enough for me. Doesn't Palm Springs and Phoenix, AZ areas still have 70s and 80s in Nov and they return in mid to late Feb or March. A little bit of chilly weather is not bad, its just ATL has too much for my taste. From Nov to Feb you can count the days that top 70, which is maybe 10 days if we are lucky and forget about 80s, its more common to snow a little than get 80 degrees in that period. It also drops below freezing maybe 40 or more times a year. Too cold for my taste. Sunny, a high in the 60s, and lows in the 40s is nice enough winter weather for me.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Ericmrtt

Sunny, a high in the 60s, and lows in the 40s is nice enough winter weather for me.

If that's the case then Southern CA should be warm enough for you. Highs are generally 60's to low 70's and lows in the 40's most places in winter. Some inland places drop into the 30's but their averages are generally in the low to mid 40's. The coldest average low for coastal SD is 49 in December and 50 in Janurary.

Coastal SD: Average Weather for San Diego, CA - Temperature and Precipitation

Inland SD: Average Weather for Escondido, CA - Temperature and Precipitation

Most of SoCal falls somewhere in between and around the two above locations weatherwise with the exception of the deserts. The coastal areas seem warm enough for you in winter but I'm not sure if it would be the rest of the year. Summers are mild to warm, not warm to hot. Inland is where you want to be for warm to hot summers. Winter nights are colder inland but daytime highs are usually a little warmer than the coast.

[NewCalifornian]

I really recommend you to live by the sea. That does not mean directly by the sea but in a coastal city. The sea balances the heat with nice, not too strong wind and the sun won't kill you. San Diego is really the finest city, but if you value a beautiful beach, you should better live North of San Diego City. Beaches in Orange County are supposed to be the best. The weather is great along the coast. It won't be too warm or too cold.

edit: Winters are still very good days. No comparison to Germany or even the Northern United States. But watch out for the nights. They can be coul;d for someone wearing a T shirt.

[enlightenme]

I personally love the weather on the southern CA coast, but I think the "May Gray" and "June Gloom" damp cold will surprise you. If it is an overcast day, you will most likely not want to be at the beach without a sweatshirt. Now that I am in NC, I am still shocked by how warm and tropical it feels on rainy looking days. The first time I went to the beach here I was in the house when it started to get gray and stormy. I thought my beach day was ruined and over until I went outside. It was still a perfectly warm day. It wouldn't have been like that in CA. I would imagine you need more of a tropical climate than a CA climate. Inland CA is way hotter in the summer, but in the winter it cools down more than the coast too. I want my CA weather back! This humid stuff isn't for me.

[RobE]

I think he needs to move to a place like Thailand, where it's 90 degrees pretty much all year around.

[gypsystar]

I moved from Miami to Los Angeles and was always freezing at night in any season other than summer. I just really did not like the cold evenings, especially in winter. I prefer warm, balmy nights year-round, so Florida it is!