Do we underestimate and downplay how Great Sacramento weather really is? (San Diego: landscaping, architecture)

[Chimérique]

SACRAMENTO JUNE 2017

LOW TEMP

50-59F - 19 Days

60-69F - 6 Days

70-73F - 5 Days

HIGH TEMP

60-69F - 1 Day

70-79F - 4 Days

80-89F - 14 Days

90-99F (Heat Index) - 6 Days

100+(Heat Index) - 5 Days

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

SACRAMENTO JUNE 2017

LOW TEMP

50-59F - 19 Days

60-69F - 6 Days

70-73F - 5 Days

HIGH TEMP

60-69F - 1 Day

70-79F - 4 Days

80-89F - 14 Days

90-99F (Heat Index) - 6 Days

100+(Heat Index) - 5 Days

Sounds perfect! By the way, now that my new home base in San Diego is fully in Monsoon mode with heat and humidity along with more clouds, I was looking at dewpoints in different parts of the state. My area has been hovering around triple digits for the last several days with dew points in the low 60s, which is pretty brutal. By comparison, I was looking at Contra Costa County and Sacramento yesterday with temperatures around 105 degrees all the way from Orinda to Concord to the Central Valley, and with humidity between 8 and 11% for the most part, dew points were only in the mid-30s. By comparison, San Francisco and the coast were rather cool yesterday, mostly in the 60 to 65 degree range with high humidity. But the unusual spot was in between those two areas, mostly in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills, where temperatures seemed to be between 80 and 90 degrees at all the reporting stations, but with the dew points in the low sixties, comprable to Coastal Southern California for its combination of warm to hot temperatures with humidity. Having lived on the Bay Side of the East Bay for some time, I remember anytime it got above 80 degrees, it felt pretty darn humid even if it wasn't nearly as hot as farther inland. I kind of forgot about that but was surprised to see it again. I suppose that warmer Bayside locations will approximate the Southern California Coastal climate during warmer spells, compared to the coast which is usually too cool to get uncomfortably humid.

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Sounds perfect! By the way, now that my new home base in San Diego is fully in Monsoon mode with heat and humidity along with more clouds, I was looking at dewpoints in different parts of the state. My area has been hovering around triple digits for the last several days with dew points in the low 60s, which is pretty brutal. By comparison, I was looking at Contra Costa County and Sacramento yesterday with temperatures around 105 degrees all the way from Orinda to Concord to the Central Valley, and with humidity between 8 and 11% for the most part, dew points were only in the mid-30s. By comparison, San Francisco and the coast were rather cool yesterday, mostly in the 60 to 65 degree range with high humidity. But the unusual spot was in between those two areas, mostly in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills, where temperatures seemed to be between 80 and 90 degrees at all the reporting stations, but with the dew points in the low sixties, comprable to Coastal Southern California for its combination of warm to hot temperatures with humidity. Having lived on the Bay Side of the East Bay for some time, I remember anytime it got above 80 degrees, it felt pretty darn humid even if it wasn't nearly as hot as farther inland. I kind of forgot about that but was surprised to see it again. I suppose that warmer Bayside locations will approximate the Southern California Coastal climate during warmer spells, compared to the coast which is usually too cool to get uncomfortably humid.

Interesting. Here is another interesting fact, the snow melt has been so abundant, and so incredibly cold that it creates a natural air conditioner. Especially in the Sierras, even down on the American in Sacramento.

As you hike up from around 6,000ft to 8,000ft anywhere around Lake Tahoe(which is 1 hr to 2hr drive from the Sacramento Metro).

When just a slight wind blows off the many waterfalls and creeks along the hiking trails the temp is instantly cooled at least 15-20 degrees as you sit, stand, or hike along the water. When the wind shifts and it does not interact with the snow runoff its clearly warmer.

On a less dramatic scale, this same affect occurs off the American in Sacramento when on or near the water. BTW, one of the things I love about Sacramento is being close to the Sierras; its a great day trip, you can do an 8 hour hike in the high country and return the same day to Sac, often the Sierra's are much more lovely than a cloudy crowded California ocean beach, and swimming in Tahoe is very refreshing, no crowds, no waves. :-).

There are shallow beaches that are plenty warm enough to swim. Of course, we do not have go all the way to Tahoe, we have Folsom Lake, the American, the Yuba, and Donner Lake going east.

10:30 a.m. - Sierra Day Hike Begins

Sacramento 83F (slightly above sea level)

Lake Level, Tahoe City 73F (6,200 feet)

Mid-range Sierra's 62F (8,000 feet)

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

Interesting. Here is another interesting fact, the snow melt has been so abundant, and so incredibly cold that it creates a natural air conditioner. Especially in the Sierras, even down on the American in Sacramento.

As you hike up from around 6,000ft to 8,000ft anywhere around Lake Tahoe(which is 1 hr to 2hr drive from the Sacramento Metro).

When just a slight wind blows off the many waterfalls and creeks along the hiking trails the temp is instantly cooled at least 15-20 degrees as you sit, stand, or hike along the water. When the wind shifts and it does not interact with the snow runoff its clearly warmer.

On a less dramatic scale, this same affect occurs off the American in Sacramento when on or near the water. BTW, one of the things I love about Sacramento is being close to the Sierras; its a great day trip, you can do an 8 hour hike in the high country and return the same day to Sac, often the Sierra's are much more lovely than a cloudy crowded California ocean beach, and swimming in Tahoe is very refreshing, no crowds, no waves. :-).

There are shallow beaches that are plenty warm enough to swim. Of course, we do not have go all the way to Tahoe, we have Folsom Lake, the American, the Yuba, and Donner Lake going east.

10:30 a.m. - Sierra Day Hike Begins

Sacramento 83F (slightly above sea level)

Lake Level, Tahoe City 73F (6,200 feet)

Sierra's 62F (8,000 feet)

Yes! Having access to the high country is a huge benefit during heatwaves (or when you want snow in winter). To a limited extent, some of the cities in the desert SW have that too: Mt Charleston near Las Vegas (13,000 ft), Mt San Jacinto near Palm Springs (10,800 ft), and Prescott near Phoenix (5,400 ft - not as high, but it seems to be 20-25 degrees cooler than in Phoenix). Here in San Diego, when my part of town gets hot (and it's often hovering around 90 in summer, rarely 100), then the coast is the quickest place to cool off, but I also enjoy going to Mt Laguna (up to 6,200 ft elevation) for a nice 15-20 degree difference. Still, nothing compares to the vastness off the Sierras, and Sacramento leads the pack in access to mountain recreation. (Maybe Redding would be even better, given that it's hotter and has mountains on three sides, but then you'd have to live in Redding...)

BTW, very humid in SD at the moment. We just had some raindrops, and now the sun is out again. Very sticky.

[Flovis]

Omg

Fresno 95 degrees
Sac 94 degrees

@1pm

SLC 98 degrees at 2pm

Fresno is supposed to hit 108 today. Sac 101
Praying it misses the mark

Edit: speaking of mountains
Huntington lake 1.5 hrs from Fresno
Low 80s and upper 70s all week.

[Flovis]

Per google

95 for Fresno @ 2pm
97 for sac @ 2pm

Phew. Looks like no 108 today

[tstieber]

7:40 AM:

Seattle 57f, overcast
Portland 58f, partly cloudy
Medford 61f, sunny
San Diego 64f, foggy
San Francisco 65f, sunny
Los Angeles 71f, sunny
Sacramento 77f, sunny
Tucson 77f, sunny
Phoenix 87f, mostly cloudy
Palm Springs 88f, partly cloudy
Las Vegas 91f, sunny

[Chimérique]

Originally Posted by tstieber

7:40 AM:

Seattle 57f, overcast
Portland 58f, partly cloudy
Medford 61f, sunny
San Diego 64f, foggy
San Francisco 65f, sunny
Los Angeles 71f, sunny
Sacramento 77f, sunny
Tucson 77f, sunny
Phoenix 87f, mostly cloudy
Palm Springs 88f, partly cloudy
Las Vegas 91f, sunny

Not a typical Sacramento summer morning. I am glad Sacramento is not this warm most of the time this early.

Low/Morning Temps - Sacramento - July 1 - 15, 2017:

Mid to upper 50's to low 60"s = 13 days

Mid 60's = 2 days (66F)

The Last 15 days have been great.

If the low temp doesn't drop below 65F I miss it because I love having several hours where it really feels cool, and if it drops into the mid to upper 50's like it typical does I like it even more.

I don't understand why some folks like it to stay in the 70's all night long and in the morning.

The thing about Sacramento is we often have mornings very similar to Seattle/Portland, but unlike them, we can have some where it stays as warm as LA/SD during the morning hours.

So far this summer both high and low temps have been warmer than last year. Nothing too dramatic but we still have the rest of the summer which could also mean a return to a cooler summer, you never know.

[sacdukeman]

I grew up here and have lived here since returning from school in the 80's.

Weather pros = Delta breeze/cool summer eves when daytime temps are normal (90ish). Nice April and May, with some heat wave exceptions. Fall colors can be really good due to warm days and cool nights; no ice/sleet/freezing rain; far less fog than when I was young

Weather cons - many winter rains are accompanied by damaging winds (this year was awful); north wind in spring and summer is horribly dry/dusty; very hot days carry desert-low humidity where plants/grass struggle mightily; no summer rains make everything dead and brown that isn't irrigated; air quality in summer can be really bad if no delta breeze; fall can often be just a few weeks between end of hot days and first big storm; no snow at all (I think a few inches now and then is neat).

I lived for three years in Durham, North Carolina and 4 in SoCal. SoCal weather is monotonous - no real seasons. N. Carolina had similar spring and falls (though prettier); slightly colder winters, more humid/wetter summers (though the humidity was generally fine); far less wind; and 2 snows a year (just right). I don't miss the ice though - luckily it didn't occur often.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by sacdukeman

I grew up here and have lived here since returning from school in the 80's.

I lived for three years in Durham, North Carolina and 4 in SoCal. SoCal weather is monotonous - no real seasons. N. Carolina had similar spring and falls (though prettier); slightly colder winters, more humid/wetter summers (though the humidity was generally fine); far less wind; and 2 snows a year (just right). I don't miss the ice though - luckily it didn't occur often.

I have some family about an hour west of there. Summers are humid as heck, and damp! Frequent thunderstorms. Winters have been more snowy in recent years with some nice accumulations for sledding here and there. What I can't deal with is the cold snaps where it gets into the 5-10f range, and/or when it doesn't get above freezing all day. Not often, but I always hear about it when it does!