Which bay city has the most sunny days? (Santa Rosa, Sunnyvale: college, live)

[vdy1985]

Originally Posted by batransplant

Coming from So Cal and a SAD sufferer, I can attest that it does not matter where you live in the bay area...the winters are brutal w/ the gloom and it just DRAGS on for months...this year it lasted till JUNE!!!

It is even worse in SoCal this year. SF had higher temps than SD in these past few days. LA is a lot cooler than SJ as well.

Seems like June Gloom is becoming July Gloom. Hell, there was rain in LA a couple days ago.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by batransplant

Coming from So Cal and a SAD sufferer, I can attest that it does not matter where you live in the bay area...the winters are brutal w/ the gloom and it just DRAGS on for months...this year it lasted till JUNE!!!

I understand the SAD thing a little bit. But really, people from other parts of the US would laugh at posts like yours.

[MaikeerinWA]

I sure do laugh at posts like that. I made three trips down to the Bay Area and its mediterranean climate in January and February, for business but also as a break from the unrelenting gray of wintertime Seattle.

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I understand the SAD thing a little bit. But really, people from other parts of the US would laugh at posts like yours.

[wrcousert]

Originally Posted by batransplant

Coming from So Cal and a SAD sufferer, I can attest that it does not matter where you live in the bay area...the winters are brutal w/ the gloom and it just DRAGS on for months...this year it lasted till JUNE!!!

I'm in Temecula. We're still having June gloom.

[cicerone]

The San Jose area has near perfect weather IMHO: sunny, warm, long, dry summers, with highs in the 75-95 area (majority at the lower end of that scale because of the Bay influence) and cool nights in the 50s (because the air is dry, temps drop considerably at night, unlike East Coast humid weather). SJ is at the southern end of the Bay and protected from the cold California ocean via the Santa Cruz Mountains, but it does get a bit of bit of fog cover to keep the air fresh (unlike the Central Valley, further inland away from the ocean).

The winters are mild, with highs in the 50s and some rain turning the hills green. It's basically 1/2 sunny, clear and cool days and 1/2 cloudy days with a chance of rain. And yes, NorCal winters are slightly colder than SoCal (lows can reach freezing in the depth of winter, but never snow) and there's definitely some intense rain too. But the winter also nourishes the coastal redwoods, valley oaks and in general a more inviting landscape than the barren rock mountains of LA...

As for spring and fall, we basically don't have them. There's a transition period where summer/winter conditions are alternating (March and November, usually), but not any distinct weather to either "season"...

[fashionguy]

Yes I really like the weather here. My only complaint is that the hills in the summer don't look pretty. They are too yellow and strange.

Originally Posted by cicerone

The San Jose area has near perfect weather IMHO: sunny, warm, long, dry summers, with highs in the 75-95 area (majority at the lower end of that scale because of the Bay influence) and cool nights in the 50s (because the air is dry, temps drop considerably at night, unlike East Coast humid weather). SJ is at the southern end of the Bay and protected from the cold California ocean via the Santa Cruz Mountains, but it does get a bit of bit of fog cover to keep the air fresh (unlike the Central Valley, further inland away from the ocean).

The winters are mild, with highs in the 50s and some rain turning the hills green. It's basically 1/2 sunny, clear and cool days and 1/2 cloudy days with a chance of rain. And yes, NorCal winters are slightly colder than SoCal (lows can reach freezing in the depth of winter, but never snow) and there's definitely some intense rain too. But the winter also nourishes the coastal redwoods, valley oaks and in general a more inviting landscape than the barren rock mountains of LA...

As for spring and fall, we basically don't have them. There's a transition period where summer/winter conditions are alternating (March and November, usually), but not any distinct weather to either "season"...

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by cicerone

The San Jose area has near perfect weather IMHO: sunny, warm, long, dry summers, with highs in the 75-95 area (majority at the lower end of that scale because of the Bay influence) and cool nights in the 50s (because the air is dry, temps drop considerably at night, unlike East Coast humid weather). SJ is at the southern end of the Bay and protected from the cold California ocean via the Santa Cruz Mountains, but it does get a bit of bit of fog cover to keep the air fresh (unlike the Central Valley, further inland away from the ocean).

The winters are mild, with highs in the 50s and some rain turning the hills green. It's basically 1/2 sunny, clear and cool days and 1/2 cloudy days with a chance of rain. And yes, NorCal winters are slightly colder than SoCal (lows can reach freezing in the depth of winter, but never snow) and there's definitely some intense rain too. But the winter also nourishes the coastal redwoods, valley oaks and in general a more inviting landscape than the barren rock mountains of LA...

As for spring and fall, we basically don't have them. There's a transition period where summer/winter conditions are alternating (March and November, usually), but not any distinct weather to either "season"...

Ah, you may not be aware that San Jose's average annual rainfall is actually slightly less than LA's. Of course, the Santa Cruz mountains get all the winter rain, nourishing the trees, but east of there is actually about the same dryness as the LA basin (15 inches a year isn't much). LA does green up beautifully in the winter too, just like SJ, so it's really not that barren IMO, especially as you get into Malibu Canyon and those areas. Really lush and gorgeous. The SJ hills also turn very dry brown in the summer.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Ah, you may not be aware that San Jose's average annual rainfall is actually slightly less than LA's. Of course, the Santa Cruz mountains get all the winter rain, nourishing the trees, but east of there is actually about the same dryness as the LA basin (15 inches a year isn't much). LA does green up beautifully in the winter too, just like SJ, so it's really not that barren IMO, especially as you get into Malibu Canyon and those areas. Really lush and gorgeous. The SJ hills also turn very dry brown in the summer.

That's true, but SJ gets more days of rain than LA. We get 58 days of rain a year, and in LA, it's more like 35.

So I think the hills here are greener for a longer period of time.

Sometimes, in the dead of winter, I miss the warmer weather of LA. But I also like that it stays greener for longer, so it evens out. Ideally, if you can afford it, a 3 or 4 day winter trip to Palm Springs, or even Santa Barbara can go a long way to cure the winter blues.

[subterranean]

I just thought I'd say--being from Michigan, all this talk is hilarious.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

That's true, but SJ gets more days of rain than LA. We get 58 days of rain a year, and in LA, it's more like 35.

So I think the hills here are greener for a longer period of time.

Sometimes, in the dead of winter, I miss the warmer weather of LA. But I also like that it stays greener for longer, so it evens out. Ideally, if you can afford it, a 3 or 4 day winter trip to Palm Springs, or even Santa Barbara can go a long way to cure the winter blues.

Good point. It also depends on the year. This past winter sucked, but the year before, SJ had 70F+ temps in January for about two weeks. Santa Barbara is only a 4 1/2 hr drive -- perfect for a weekend getaway -- but there are a good number of days every winter when even the Monterey Bay and areas closer in (like SLO) get really warm weather, so that winter getaway may only be 2 hours driving. But yeah, even 58 days of rain per year is a pretty nice statistic compared to 99 % of the country.