Trying to understand microclimates

[eric3]

Thanks! CrisCT

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by eric3

Thanks! CrisCT

I forgot to mention Salviati - it is another gated community next to Bel Etage. Very nice.

[krock]

Eric,
just wondering what web site you found that map on. I was interested in your post because I've been having the same problem, regarding finding out which areas fall into the temperature range that I'm looking for.

Thanks.

[eric3]

The map came from here
Carlsbad Real Estate MLS, Encinitas Homes For Sale, Foreclosures and Carlsbad

I may be trying to fine tune the weather thing a bit too much but it is something my wife is sensitive to.
One thing I have started to do to understand how weather is different do some research on a website called Weather Underground. It took me a bit to figure out how to dig into it but they really have a lot of data you can look at and you can see EXACTLY where the weather nodes are.

What you do is look is look at their "wundermap" and zoom in on the areas you are looking at. There are circles showing the locations of the weather nodes. Click on the ones nearest the neighborhoods you are looking at. In my case, I wanted to compare the weather in 4s to Carmel Vally. There was a node right across from 4s and one in Fairbanks Ranch.
Then click on Historical Weather data. What I did was click yearly and scrolled to the bottom. It gives each day's high, low, humidity, wind, etc and you can compare the temps for specific days in specific areas. If you are a bit more tech savvy, you can download the file in csv format and then open and manipulate the data in Excel. Every so often you get what looks like a bad reading but in general you can get a good comparison.

[gosharks]

I don't think the San Diego coast is ever in the 60s in the summer. The coast can get hot in the summer. I would say the average summer temperature on the coast is in the high 70s and can get in the 90s a few weeks out of the year. If you go 10 minutes inland the temperatures start to jump up; usually it is upper 80's inland with plenty of days in the 90s and even 100s. San Diego is a hot place almost year round even at the coast.

[sdurbanite]

I'm not sure what temperature range you are looking for, but let me comment on the map you posted below.

Hey sav858, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong




**Only for Summer**

Zone 1 is Coastal (Cooler high temps/warmer low temps)
Zone 2 is Coastal Plain/Western Valley (Warmer high temps/usually cooler low temps than Zone 1)
Zone 3 is Inland Valley (Warmest high temps/usually cooler low temps than Zone 1)
Zone 4 is Mountain/Desert and has 4 distinct seasons

It works like this, if it's 75 degrees at the coast (Zone 1), you can add 5 - 10 degrees to Zone 2 and 10 - 20 degrees to Zone 3.

Below are today's official highs and lows within SD County from the National Weather Service. It pretty much follow the rule of thumb I described above. Note that, it's been running about 3 to 5 degrees cooler than normal in all zones, except maybe the desert.



SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION SUMMARY :NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
:530 PM PDT FRI JUL 25 2008 :

:***** UPDATED ***** :

:TODAYS HIGH AND OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES AS OF 5 PM TODAY.

COASTAL AREAS....

OCEANSIDE HARBOR 70 / 63
OCEANSIDE AIRPORT 77 / 62
VISTA 80 / 63
CARLSBAD AIRPORT 72 / 64
SOLANA BEACH 75 : 74 / 63
DEL MAR 75 / 63
MIRAMAR 80 / 60
MONTGOMERY FIELD 78 / 64
SEA WORLD SAN DIEGO 71 / 65
SAN DIEGO 74 / 66
CORONADO M / M /
CABRILLO NATL MNMT 74 / 62
CHULA VISTA 73 / 64
IMPERIAL BEACH 73 / 64
BROWN FIELD 80 / 62

INLAND AREAS..

TEMECULA 91 / 63
FALLBROOK 83 / 62
ESCONDIDO M / M /
WILD ANIMAL PARK 88 / 59
RAMONA FIRE M / M /
RAMONA AIRPORT 92 / 58
RANCHO BERNARDO 81 / 62
POWAY 84 / 56
ALPINE 88 / 60
SANTEE 88 / 63
EL CAJON 88 / 63
SPRING VALLEY M / M
LEMON GROVE 80 / 61

...MOUNTAIN AREAS...

PALOMAR MOUNTAIN 88 / 68
JULIAN 92 / 69
MOUNT LAGUNA 85 / 56
CAMPO 98 / 59

...DESERT AREAS...

BORREGO 108 / 77
OCOTILLO WELLS 105 / 82

Hope that answers your questions!

[sav858]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

I'm not sure what temperature range you are looking for, but let me comment on the map you posted below.

Hey sav858, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong

haha, the funny thing when I first saw this thread is I was waiting to see what your answer was, I didn't even realize you already answered a couple of days ago. The farthest east I've lived was off of Governor near the 805 in University City so I don't have too much personal experiance with the area between 2 and 3 which is why I didn't jump on this weather question as I usually would, I'm one of those coastal snobs.

**Only for Summer**

Zone 1 is Coastal (Cooler high temps/warmer low temps)
Zone 2 is Coastal Plain/Western Valley (Warmer high temps/usually cooler low temps than Zone 1)
Zone 3 is Inland Valley (Warmest high temps/usually cooler low temps than Zone 1)
Zone 4 is Mountain/Desert and has 4 distinct seasons

It works like this, if it's 75 degrees at the coast (Zone 1), you can add 5 - 10 degrees to Zone 2 and 10 - 20 degrees to Zone 3.

that's a pretty good assessment and pretty much what I would have said.
For the weather the OP is looking for I would try not to go farther east than the middle of Zone 2, being on that Zone 2/3 boundary seems a little warm from what they are looking for.

[eric3]

Originally Posted by gosharks

I don't think the San Diego coast is ever in the 60s in the summer. The coast can get hot in the summer. I would say the average summer temperature on the coast is in the high 70s and can get in the 90s a few weeks out of the year. If you go 10 minutes inland the temperatures start to jump up; usually it is upper 80's inland with plenty of days in the 90s and even 100s. San Diego is a hot place almost year round even at the coast.

Well, just as an example in 2007 according to the Weather Underground Mission Bay station, May had 24 days that the HIGH never reached 70 degrees, June had 20 days that never reached 70, July had 14 days under 70. Not many folks would say that is hot. I am hoping for a bit hotter. This year has been a bit warmer though.

[NWLambear]

Originally Posted by eric3

I am researching a move to North County San Diego and trying to get a handle on weather. I am looking at areas like 4s Ranch, Santa Luz, The Crosby, Cielo, maybe RSF. I understand the differences in the weather between the coast and say, Ramona are drastic but I am trying to fine tune the in between.
I found the attached map that gives some idea but I am still trying to get specific.
First, the areas I am looking at seem to be pretty much on the line. Is this line indicative of a particular mountain range/ridge that I might be able to see on a terrain map?
Also would you say that as you go east the temperature change would be gradual based on distance or again, it there a drastic change near these lines due to some physical obstacle?

What I am looking for is a happy medium between the 2 extremes of coast and desert. Certainly some cooling sea breezes are nice at times, but I could do without the marine layer of the coast. 70's are perfect, but I would rather have the occasional 80-85+ in the summer rather than 60's often seen right at the coast. So I guess I am looking at somewhere that is 5-10 degrees warmer during the day than the coast in the summer. And without as much of the fog/clouds, june gloom as the coast. But not somewhere that swelters to the point of staying inside in the AC all summer.

Am I looking in the right areas for this weather?

We loved the weather in Alpine, CA. The 5 years we lived there we only used our a/c once. Always breezes...but house was up higher (actually sat among large boulders) then "downtown" Alpine. When I'd drive down to El Cajon or Santee...you could feel the temperature rise. The only reason we moved is because we were retiring (finally!) and our money wouldn't go as far there as in other areas of the country. We finally chose Washington (state)...almost to the Canadian border. Also..the traffic in San Diego was awful! We have children who still live there and when we visit we see the never ending growth!!

[Fallbrook]

Anywhere 20 miles inland from the coast will run about 20 degrees hotter than the coast. The key to microclimates is to seek out one of the river inlets that draw in the coastal fog in the morning but is warm enough to have that fog burn off midday. If you go 20 miles inland, you will lose this effect. We found the San Luis Rey River Valley which pulls in the cool coastal air into Gird Valley on the eastern side of Fallbrook (in the Bonsall school district) offers the best weather. If you're really into microclimates, then seek out a house on the Fallbrook Golf Club, west side. This way you get the afternoon breezes and get to watch the sunsets over the golf course. Pretty close to perfect. Warm enough to swim in the summer, cool enough to be comfortable.