Does Redding have a unique climate (Fresno, Sacramento: college, floor, moving)

[Geography101]

Being at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley does Redding have a varied climate as far as storms that come through to the valley. If any of the long term residents of Redding read this I would like your opinion.

[kettlepot]

No, not really.

Redding's climate is pretty much like Red Bluff's climate, like Chico's climate, and like Corning's climate. I suppose Redding gets a little bit more rain/snow than these other cities, particularly the northwest side of the city which is in the foothills, but it's just as hot in the summer as the rest of the Central Valley.

[tstieber]

Yeah, I think the only difference is that Redding can occasionally get an inch of snow once or twice a winter, but they still grow palm trees there, so it's not typically very extreme like that. Just super hot in the summer.

[californio sur]

Redding is actually a little different that some of the other Central Valley towns due to it's elevation. Redding sits sort of on the rim of the Sacramento Valley. Mountains surround the Central valley on all sides. Redding, like Bakersfield to the south are in the highest up-slopes where the valley begins to reach the mountains. Because of its geographical position, Redding sometimes is high enough above the valley floor to escape winter tule fog and is sunnier and warmer during these foggy periods then Chico, Yuba City, Sacramento, Modesto, etc. But because Redding is one of the northernmost cities in California it is more likely to get a bit more rain during winter than the lower and more southerly cities. The other aspect of Redding's climate that is a bit different than the rest of the valley is that it can get extremely hot. The entire Central Valley has a hot summer [90's] but the upper ends of the valley [including Bakersfield to the south] are slightly higher in elevation. Hot air rises off the valley floor and makes the upper reaches enough hotter. That is why Redding can easily exceed 100F and temps at night can be quite warm compared to the lower elevation regions.

Redding is hotter than all other cities in the Sacramento valley. Redding usually has less fog during winter. Redding can experience light snow but this is rare.

[RickinRedding]

Californio sur is right on the money....Redding has had snow but it is not that common ( I have seen it on the ground 4 times in 27 years in the city limits). It does get hot but there is Shasta Lake,Whiskeytown Lake and the Sacramento River just to name a few ways to stay cool....

It's a dry heat here so the norm are days that are hot in the summer but not unbearable with the low humidity...nothing like Texas or the South!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by californio sur

Redding is actually a little different that some of the other Central Valley towns due to it's elevation. Redding sits sort of on the rim of the Sacramento Valley. Mountains surround the Central valley on all sides. Redding, like Bakersfield to the south are in the highest up-slopes where the valley begins to reach the mountains. Because of its geographical position, Redding sometimes is high enough above the valley floor to escape winter tule fog and is sunnier and warmer during these foggy periods then Chico, Yuba City, Sacramento, Modesto, etc. But because Redding is one of the northernmost cities in California it is more likely to get a bit more rain during winter than the lower and more southerly cities. The other aspect of Redding's climate that is a bit different than the rest of the valley is that it can get extremely hot. The entire Central Valley has a hot summer [90's] but the upper ends of the valley [including Bakersfield to the south] are slightly higher in elevation. Hot air rises off the valley floor and makes the upper reaches enough hotter. That is why Redding can easily exceed 100F and temps at night can be quite warm compared to the lower elevation regions.

Redding is hotter than all other cities in the Sacramento valley. Redding usually has less fog during winter. Redding can experience light snow but this is rare.

I agreed with everything you said except one thing....

One major reason why Redding is warmer is because it's on the south side of a huge mountain (Mt. Shasta). In the Northern Hemisphere, being on the south side of a mountain warms up your climate because the sun bounces off those mountains and warms you up. It is hotter than places like Sacramento in summer because Sacramento does get some influence from the Pacific Ocean, since the cool ocean air does move through gaps in the mountains in the Bay Area, whereas there are no such gaps between Redding and the coast. Also, the sun shines for longer periods of time in Redding, which means, summers can be broiling hot. Add in the effect of it being on the south side of a tall mountain, and you get summers that are almost as hot as Bakersfield, hundreds of miles to the south. Overall, the average annual temperature of Redding is only 1.6 degrees F cooler than Bakersfield, much less than would be expected given their similar elevations and big difference in latitude

Redding average temps:

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?caredd+nca


Bakersfield average temps:

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?cabake+sca

[KC6ZLV]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I agreed with everything you said except one thing....

One major reason why Redding is warmer is because it's on the south side of a huge mountain (Mt. Shasta). In the Northern Hemisphere, being on the south side of a mountain warms up your climate because the sun bounces off those mountains and warms you up. It is hotter than places like Sacramento in summer because Sacramento does get some influence from the Pacific Ocean, since the cool ocean air does move through gaps in the mountains in the Bay Area, whereas there are no such gaps between Redding and the coast. Also, the sun shines for longer periods of time in Redding, which means, summers can be broiling hot. Add in the effect of it being on the south side of a tall mountain, and you get summers that are almost as hot as Bakersfield, hundreds of miles to the south. Overall, the average annual temperature of Redding is only 1.6 degrees F cooler than Bakersfield, much less than would be expected given their similar elevations and big difference in latitude

Redding's temperatures don't have much to do with proximity to the south side of a mountain range. Any heating along a south slope draws the warmer air upslope and wouldn't have much of an effect on a town below it except for a breeze.

The north part of the Sacramento Valley gets that hot due to adiabatic warming, which is the process of air warming as the wind pushes it down a mountain range. Redding is subject to this from three directions. It is also a good distance from the marine influence, which keeps the temperatures in Southern Sacramento Valley much cooler.

Snow in Redding is often due to the southwesterly winds in front of cold front pushing the cold air in the Sacramento Valley north where it gets trapped by the mountains.

Redding experiences less fog due to down slope winds which are drier and warmer than the boundry layer sitting in the Sacramento Valley.

Although Redding hotter than Sacramento, those hot temperatures in Redding fluctuate a great deal, and it isn't as consistently hot in Redding as it is in Fresno or Bakersfield.

[californio sur]

I think both mysticaltyger & KC6ZLV are correct. South-facing regions do get more warming. Along the coastline places like Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara & Malibu generally experience less fog and more hours of sunshine than other coastal regions due to their south-facing orientation. I would think the same could and would occur in Redding. South-facing slopes are more often drier and warmer than north-facing slopes. Snow stays longer due to the lack of direct sunlight during winter months on the north side of mountains. North slopes almost always have more trees than south slopes.

Down-slope wind definitely warms the air. One of the main reasons Southern California can easily climb into the 80's and even low 90's during winter is due to 'santa ana' winds that squeeze thru mountain passes warming by friction while descending. Often the warmest areas can be the immediate coastal cities that are in the path of these winds because they are the last areas before the air moves out over the ocean.

Redding is warmer than any other major town in the Sacramento valley during summer but isn't much warmer than the rest of the valley during winter, esp night temps.

[KC6ZLV]

Santa Cruz receives less fog due to the prevailing winds coming from a NNW direction. The wind either blows along the coast and around the corner, or comes back down the Santa Cruz Mts, and is warmer and drier than air coming in directly over water.

The south slopes being warmer is a very small microclimate which has little affect on any location other than the slope. There are plenty of locations in California that are along southern slopes that don't have the characteristics of Redding's climate. Other factors also need to be taken into consideration. Redding's elevation is several hundred feet higher than locations south of it, which means it is may be above a shallow nocturnal inversion at night, or cooler air moving north into the upper Sacramento Valley.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

Redding's temperatures don't have much to do with proximity to the south side of a mountain range. Any heating along a south slope draws the warmer air upslope and wouldn't have much of an effect on a town below it except for a breeze.

The north part of the Sacramento Valley gets that hot due to adiabatic warming, which is the process of air warming as the wind pushes it down a mountain range. Redding is subject to this from three directions. It is also a good distance from the marine influence, which keeps the temperatures in Southern Sacramento Valley much cooler.

Snow in Redding is often due to the southwesterly winds in front of cold front pushing the cold air in the Sacramento Valley north where it gets trapped by the mountains.

Redding experiences less fog due to down slope winds which are drier and warmer than the boundry layer sitting in the Sacramento Valley.

Although Redding hotter than Sacramento, those hot temperatures in Redding fluctuate a great deal, and it isn't as consistently hot in Redding as it is in Fresno or Bakersfield.

Thanks for the clarification. I forgot to mention adiabatic warming. However, being on the south side of a mountain in the Northern Hemisphere still has an effect....at least that's what I learned in my geography class in college. I don't think it's an either/or.