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I moved away from the Bay long ago thinking that I wanted more variety in the weather. The almost constantly sunny weather was boring. So I moved to Seattle. Big mistake. It was fine while I was a student, but for long-term living, no thanks.
Seattle does NOT have variety in weather; 9 months of cold overcast drizzle is not only unpleasant but also equally monotonous to 9 months of no rain. A good "varied" climate for me would be a subtropical bordering tropical one with thunderstorms, warm rain, lots of sunshine, occasional cold snaps that don't get too cold. About 40 inches of rain year round while still having lots of sun year round. Places like Houston offer way, way more variety than L.A or Seattle while still being warm most of the year.
Seattle does NOT have variety in weather; 9 months of cold overcast drizzle is not only unpleasant but also equally monotonous to 9 months of no rain. A good "varied" climate for me would be a subtropical bordering tropical one with thunderstorms, warm rain, lots of sunshine, occasional cold snaps that don't get too cold. About 40 inches of rain year round while still having lots of sun year round. Places like Houston offer way, way more variety than L.A or Seattle while still being warm most of the year.
The bolded used to describe Seattle a LONG time ago. There used to be warm summer rains that lasted only briefly during the day, then the sun would come out. Springs were glorious! Occasional showers interspersed with bright sunshine and flowering gardens. Early fall was bright and crisp. It's gotten more consistently rainy/drizzly/misty over the decades.
Texas is WAY too hot! The ideal is coastal CA (though that may be changing), where you can enjoy being outdoors all summer, not having to hide out indoors with the air conditioning for 3 months.
Ugh@Monterey's cold waters. What's the point of the beach if there is no season when you can actually enjoy swimming in the water? I'm so glad I live in Orange County where you can actually swim in the water without a wetsuit in summer and fall (especially this one). We even got some warm rain this past August which is something that you in the Bay Area can only dream of.
Jackets on the beach and cold overcast is all right for Christmas and New Years but it sucks that you have to BUNDLE UP to watch the 4th of July fireworks in all that fog and wind. Bay Area doesn't even get that much rain than the L.A. basin but gets way more overcast weather. Clouds need to dump or get out of the way.
Different strokes for different folks. Regarding water temps I guess it depends how 'fair-weather' a person is. Our kids play in the ocean year round without a problem. This Summer was exceptionally warm and did not require a wetsuit at all. Just take a look at Santa Cruz up the coast for example. Its considered Surf City with thousands of people in ocean year round. But heck, even when I lived in SoCal I remember certain folks moving from TX, FL, HI complaining how cold the water was there. Surfing in 56' water in SoCal was fine for my friends and I in winter months. So this one is very much relative to one's own ability to handle cooler temps (e.g. wimp factor). I've surfed year round from border to border in CA. You just need the right equipment for the conditions. Right now in Monterey it's 61 degrees and perfect for a light wetsuit or none at all for some.
We're actually from SoCal and like the Central Coast much more. We could live anywhere in the state but much prefer it over SoCal. And our family enjoys the ocean year round here. But we got very tired of the concrete jungle of LA/OC. The primary benefits for us include more green, wide open spaces, less impacted (far less traffic: 5, 405, 605, 110, 91, 57 (double Yuck!), people, building, billboards), less pollution (air, land, water) including the ocean and over development, better proximity to the High Sierra and excellent Big Sur coastal mountains, redwoods, the Bay itself which is a marine life sanctuary, slower paced and the list goes on.
In fact Every time we visit friends/family down south we are extremely glad to be leaving LA as we head north. Many of our friends and family who grew up in LA/OC moved out for similar reasons. I'm not sure how long you have lived there. But you'll find many of the residents have the same sentiment about it (love/hate relationship). Glad you're enjoying it. As I said different strokes.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 11-08-2014 at 03:04 PM..
Do you think this is going to be the norm for your area or just a fluke? I'm slow to jump on the whole climate change thing but maybe it's time for me to explore the idea that it's actually getting warmer each year.
While I do think that there is long term climate change going on, I think the last few years of dry and warm temps on the west coast are more likely a product of some of the normal climate cycles - El Nino/La Nina/"El Nada" (as the neutral years have been called recently). Overall in the PNW we tend to have 20-30 years dry and wet cycles and then on top of that are the cold and warm cycles. Since our weather in so heavily influenced by the Pacific ocean (even several hundred miles inland), climate cycles and storm in/over the water have huge effect.
I was in engineering geology school in Portland, OR when the last shift from the relatively dry to the relatively wet cycle happened (we seem to have come out the other side back into the dryer phase now) and we had just about a new landslide a week to go look at. During the previous dry 20 years, the city had grown tremendously and houses and streets had been put in areas the exacerbated the wet weather damage - drainages blocked, toes of old landslides cut through, streams channelized, hillsides stripped of trees and houses "planted" instead with lawns and watered gardens. It was a mess, but a very instructive one.
I was in engineering geology school in Portland, OR when the last shift from the relatively dry to the relatively wet cycle happened (we seem to have come out the other side back into the dryer phase now) and we had just about a new landslide a week to go look at. During the previous dry 20 years, the city had grown tremendously and houses and streets had been put in areas the exacerbated the wet weather damage - drainages blocked, toes of old landslides cut through, streams channelized, hillsides stripped of trees and houses "planted" instead with lawns and watered gardens. It was a mess, but a very instructive one.
1979-1989 was a dry decade in Seattle, with water rationing for 6 out of 10 of the summers. Then just a year or two later, IIRC, the landslides began.
I think city and county authorities should have a geologist on staff, to advise re: building permits in potentially unstable areas. Then tragedies wouldn't happen like that community in WA that was buried by a landslide. It should have been obvious that right below a bluff that had been completely clearcut by the logging industry wasn't a good place to build anything. There needs to be more regulation of the real estate industry and building sites.
While I do think that there is long term climate change going on, I think the last few years of dry and warm temps on the west coast are more likely a product of some of the normal climate cycles - El Nino/La Nina/"El Nada" (as the neutral years have been called recently). Overall in the PNW we tend to have 20-30 years dry and wet cycles and then on top of that are the cold and warm cycles. Since our weather in so heavily influenced by the Pacific ocean (even several hundred miles inland), climate cycles and storm in/over the water have huge effect.
Yes, I've heard that in the news. One week meteorologists say we'll be seeing an El Nino and the next week, we won't. I was hoping this year would be the end of the dry spell we've been experiencing but the way things are looking, I don't think it is. This could be a big blow to our agricultural area here in California.
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I was in engineering geology school in Portland, OR when the last shift from the relatively dry to the relatively wet cycle happened (we seem to have come out the other side back into the dryer phase now) and we had just about a new landslide a week to go look at. During the previous dry 20 years, the city had grown tremendously and houses and streets had been put in areas the exacerbated the wet weather damage - drainages blocked, toes of old landslides cut through, streams channelized, hillsides stripped of trees and houses "planted" instead with lawns and watered gardens. It was a mess, but a very instructive one.
Regarding this . . . how much planning goes into these new developments, aside from where to set roads and sidewalks? Do engineers follow the natural flow of rainwater and see potential problems that might arise by blockage? I ask this because there have been two communities in northern California that experienced severe flooding (when we actually did get rain here) that were attributed to the change in directional flow of runoff. One neighborhood wasn't new but their streets were flooded because a newer development built not too far from them changed the direction the rainwater flowed and it ended up flooding them instead of the new development.
Without the fog, the greater Bay Area would barely be habitable. It would be in the 90's and 100's for 4-5 months every year.
Sorry, but what keeps the Bay Area so cool all year is the cold water temps from the norcal waters, fog has nothing to do with sheiding from the heat. ive been to SF and woken up to a foggy summer day in the 50s, and when the fog clears it stays in the 50s or barely makes it to the 60s. so those cold bay waters keep it so cool. if the waters in the bay area were 80 F then you would have no fog and the temps and humidity would drastically increase.
also the "Bay Area's" hottest climate is inner bay cities like Walnut creek and dont see nothing near 4-5 months of 90s and 100s
Very interesting article. I so agree with the paragraph about heat! This is so true for me. I love to go outside and would normally do so several times a day for short walks. Since we had basically 100+ degrees from mid May to mid October, that's 5 months where I had to get out early or forget it. So, both me and my dog haven't been getting enough exercise and I do feel trapped in my apartment.
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Originally Posted by HereOnMars
One neighborhood wasn't new but their streets were flooded because a newer development built not too far from them changed the direction the rainwater flowed and it ended up flooding them instead of the new development.
Yes, I've heard that in the news. One week meteorologists say we'll be seeing an El Nino and the next week, we won't. I was hoping this year would be the end of the dry spell we've been experiencing but the way things are looking, I don't think it is. This could be a big blow to our agricultural area here in California.
Regarding this . . . how much planning goes into these new developments, aside from where to set roads and sidewalks? Do engineers follow the natural flow of rainwater and see potential problems that might arise by blockage? I ask this because there have been two communities in northern California that experienced severe flooding (when we actually did get rain here) that were attributed to the change in directional flow of runoff. One neighborhood wasn't new but their streets were flooded because a newer development built not too far from them changed the direction the rainwater flowed and it ended up flooding them instead of the new development.
The El Nino predictions are long term, usually 3-7 months out, based on conditions far down in the tropics. If conditions there stay the same or increase, the event might happen - but things there can shift as well, which is what happened. The prediction is still for an El Nino, but a weak one in spring rather than the strong one starting in fall as predicted earlier. It is likely to mean more rain for California, but California is in such a hole from a longer term cumulative lack of rain and snow pack that it is not likely to catch up this year.
As far as geological conditions and planning, a lot of that is relatively recent and depends on the area. In the Portland metro area (and much of the Willamette Valley), old landslides and drainages are better mapped now than they were before and those particular mistakes are not as likely to be made again. Run-off issues (as you described) are supposed to be comprehensively planned and one development is not supposed to impact another, but it clearly still happens.
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I was hoping this year would be the end of the dry spell we've been experiencing but the way things are looking, I don't think it is. This could be a big blow to our agricultural area here in California. 
