San Diego weather is much cloudier than you would think (Mesa: living, garden)
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It doesn't rain much correct? I think I saw somewhere online that the rainfall for 06 was something like 9 inches only.
Correct. Rarely will you have more than 2 or 3 days in a row of rainy weather. And when it does "rain" it's more like a heavy drizzle, moderate rain is the heaviest you can expect. And if it does rain hard, it only last a few minutes. I think most people here like the rain b/c we almost always need it and it doesn't happen often so it's a nice change. The most rain I've seen fall in one year here was around 23-25 inches, which was the 3rd wettest year on record. Some years it's as little as 3-5 inches.
There there is another thing about when they "forecast" rain b/c 90% of the time they are wrong in some way. They will predict a "heavy, pounding storm" that may cause flooding and mudslides approaching but end up maybe getting a 1/4" and no problems. They always have the excuse too on why their forecast was, they usually blame it on "the computer models" and other BS like that. Then when they say there might be a chance of some showers, many times it will pour buckets. Once you get here you'll see how they hype up every "storm" that never delivers.
My all time favorite completely wrong forecast was earlier this year. The weather people said there was maybe a 10-20% chance of rain and if it were to occur it would be very light and most likely just drizzle but were otherwise predicting partly cloudy to sunny skies. Then the next day it was cold, windy, and raining all day. The snow level dropped to the lowest level in years and cars got stranded up on I-8 in the mountains. No one forecasted anything close to this.
It's like they have no problem getting a forecast of sunny and 72 right, but when we actually have any real "weather" they can't get it right at all. We have absolutely the worst weather forecasters in the nation BUT thankfully we actually don't have any real weather 85% of the time.
Sorry about the rant but thinking about the weather just made reminded me about how stupid our weather forecasters are.
The problem is that people aren't defining consistency. It's both (very consistent in seasonal terms, but not very in terms of inter or intra-day consistency). The seasonal temps are pretty close to one another, so there's no freezing winter and scorching summer, but the day to day (or within one day) variations are more than some of the more "variable" weather elsewhere.
In San Diego, it's very possible to get up, put on jeans and a sweater, then change at around 11-12 into shorts and a T-shirt, and then have to change AGAIN in the evening back to pants if you're going out. Even in many places where the winter lows and summer highs vary greatly, a given day won't have so much variation in it.
The weather also trends for a few days elsewhere. Here it can be cloudy one day and 20 degrees hotter the next. if a storm hits other parts of the country, it might sit for a few days. Here, if it rains one day, it'll clear out by sometime the next day almost guaranteed.
Then, of course, after 2 weeks of sun and one day of cloudiness, many people act as if it's horribly depressing.
Correct. Rarely will you have more than 2 or 3 days in a row of rainy weather. And when it does "rain" it's more like a heavy drizzle, moderate rain is the heaviest you can expect. And if it does rain hard, it only last a few minutes. I think most people here like the rain b/c we almost always need it and it doesn't happen often so it's a nice change. The most rain I've seen fall in one year here was around 23-25 inches, which was the 3rd wettest year on record. Some years it's as little as 3-5 inches.
There there is another thing about when they "forecast" rain b/c 90% of the time they are wrong in some way. They will predict a "heavy, pounding storm" that may cause flooding and mudslides approaching but end up maybe getting a 1/4" and no problems. They always have the excuse too on why their forecast was, they usually blame it on "the computer models" and other BS like that. Then when they say there might be a chance of some showers, many times it will pour buckets. Once you get here you'll see how they hype up every "storm" that never delivers.
My all time favorite completely wrong forecast was earlier this year. The weather people said there was maybe a 10-20% chance of rain and if it were to occur it would be very light and most likely just drizzle but were otherwise predicting partly cloudy to sunny skies. Then the next day it was cold, windy, and raining all day. The snow level dropped to the lowest level in years and cars got stranded up on I-8 in the mountains. No one forecasted anything close to this.
It's like they have no problem getting a forecast of sunny and 72 right, but when we actually have any real "weather" they can't get it right at all. We have absolutely the worst weather forecasters in the nation BUT thankfully we actually don't have any real weather 85% of the time.
Sorry about the rant but thinking about the weather just made reminded me about how stupid our weather forecasters are.
Your post cracked me up because you threw out stuff I thought nobody knew or cared about except me. Is it fair to call you a weather geek like me? I say we live in the worst place when it comes to weather worth watching.
And don't forget that the year downtown received 23 inches of rain, many of the suburbs got over 30 inches of rain during the same period. What's more impressive is that it all fell during our 5-6 month rainy season.
Your post cracked me up because you threw out stuff I thought nobody knew or cared about except me. Is it fair to call you a weather geek like me? I say we live in the worst place when it comes to weather worth watching.
And don't forget that the year downtown received 23 inches of rain, many of the suburbs got over 30 inches of rain during the same period. What's more impressive is that it all fell during our 5-6 month rainy season.
Yep, you pretty much got be pegged, although I prefer the term "weather buff", but essentially I'm a weather geek, haha. My friends always made fun of me for watching the Weather Channel as much as I do. I love interesting and exciting weather and this is definitely the worst place for it.
And that wet year, 2005 I think, I actually enjoyed it even though everyone was complaining about the rain. Where I grew up that would be a normal year for rainfall.
Speaking of mudslides, do they occur in the SD area? I remember they were in Malibu a few years back.
mainly only in areas that have recently been burned my wildfires. I do not recall any really large slides, but mostly smaller mudslides. During really wet years if you live on the edge of a canyon or hillside there could be slippage. I remember during the really wet 2004-2005 season driving on the freeways seeing the backyards of some homes start to slip down the slope.
[quote=sav858;3591357
And that wet year, 2005 I think, I actually enjoyed it even though everyone was complaining about the rain. Where I grew up that would be a normal year for rainfall.[/quote]
My relatives from Seattle can't believe how the construction just halts in San Diego when we have a little drizzle. They keep working in Seattle, even if it rains.
Yep, you pretty much got be pegged, although I prefer the term "weather buff", but essentially I'm a weather geek, haha. My friends always made fun of me for watching the Weather Channel as much as I do.
Another weather geek here! Not as much as I used to be because the weather simply isn't very interesting in California most of the time.
I remember my Dad saying to me, "Mark, it just isn't normal to watch The Weather Channel for an entire hour." lol... I saw nothing wrong with it at all.
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I say we live in the worst place when it comes to weather worth watching.
