Does the Bay Area have a mediteranean or Pac NW Climte? (Los Angeles: live, gardening)

[Dave Coe]

Does the Bay Area have a mediteranean or Pac NW Climte?

[Gentoo]

Bay Area is Mediterranean, not Oceanic/Marine. The summers are mild to warm and dry and the winters are mild and wet. The Marine Climate tends to be wetter most of the time and cooler in the winter although still not cold.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by Dave Coe

Does the Bay Area have a mediteranean or Pac NW Climte?

Mediterranean climate. I've lived in the Bay Area and Oregon. There is no comparison. I don't mind the weather in Oregon, but the Bay Area gets more sun in the winter. Oregon can be depressing for a lot of people.

[DMenscha]

The bay area has a lot of climate zones. Check out this link.

Plant Finder - Sunset.com

[CAVA1990]

The Bay Area is way cooler (and foggier) than the Mediterranean but not as wet as the Pacific NW. Perhaps more English Channel?

[bellalunatic]

According to the many gardening books I have that are published for the Bay Area, yes there are many microclimates but the overall general climate is Mediterranean.

[Gentoo]

Climate zones for gardening tend to be much more detailed when speaking of climate than the general overall climate. The thing about the Mediterranean climate is that it's not identified by temperatures as much as other climate zones are. It's a particular weather pattern that identifies a med. zone. Wet winters and pronounced dry summers are the typical features. San Francisco, as cool as it can be in summer, displays a typical Mediterranean pattern with no precipitation from mid-spring to early fall. This is a pattern shared by Los Angeles and San Diego as well as most of the central valley.

[tstieber]

Yes, this question has been posed many times. It's not even a matter of opinion. Every tourist guide, Wikipedia entry, and gardening book will confirm that the Bay Area clearly has a Mediterranean climate. Virtually no rain from April to October and most of the annual rainfall from November to March, with the peak of dryness (i.e. literally no rain for months on end) from June-August and the peak of wetness (i.e. the heaviest rain) from Dec-Feb. Nothing "English Channel" about it either, as the English Channel is at least as wet as the PNW, if not more so, and is on the same latitude as Seattle. Keep in mind that the Bay Area is on the same latitude as the southern Mediterranean region (southern Spain, Greece, Sicily). San Diego is also considered "mediterranean," as mentioned, but IMO begins to exhibit the beginnings of a desert climate in the fact that the area has less dependable winter rains and more frequent droughts (although not this year! I haven't seen it this green in years!). SD is also on the latitude of northern Africa, so that makes sense.

All in all, I understand that people wonder about SF's climate because it's summers are cool and foggy, but that is irrelevant to its rainfall patterns. Also, just head out of the city into other parts of the Bay Area, and you'll find the months and months of sunshine on end, typical of Mediterranean patterns.

Interestingly, I read that mediterranean climates in the southern hemisphere are less summer-dry than in the northern hemisphere, so that in Australia, for example, it does rain just a little bit in the summer. Just an interesting side note.

[Gentoo]

an Diego is also considered "mediterranean," as mentioned, but IMO begins to exhibit the beginnings of a desert climate in the fact that the area has less dependable winter rains and more frequent droughts

I was also gonna say that but figured I'd keep it short but you're right. SD's climate starts to change to desert, even more so than LA which isn't that far away. Rainfall here is certainly more erratic.

Interestingly, I read that mediterranean climates in the southern hemisphere are less summer-dry than in the northern hemisphere, so that in Australia, for example, it does rain just a little bit in the summer. Just an interesting side note.

I've heard that too.

Another interesting thing I heard is that Seattle is sometimes classified as Mediterranean because of it's dry summers. Not sure I agree with that but it's interesting nonetheless.

[andyadhi01]

San Francisco weather is definitely not Mediterranean. How could you call it Mediterranean when there is barely any sun for large most of the year? It is cloudy and rainy for the entire winter with rarely any sunny day and then its very foggy for the summer and it can get thick fog anytime of the year. The temperature rarely goes above 65F. Bright and warm sun shine is very rare in SF.

But the overall non-coastal parts of bay area have great weather particularly in the south bay area.