Why doesn't California ever get more extreme weather like everywhere else?

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by AliveandWell

Because California is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean which keeps it warm and also at the same time, the water is so cold that's why hurricanes or other tropical storms can't form. Hurricanes require warm water and the Pacific Ocean water is just ice cold.

True and that cold water is also what keeps the humidity down.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Tnt-User

Digital thermometer. Ever take a trip near Death Valley. The average was 118 at the time.

Ok, I was thinking other areas but you're right.

[Clarks]

Actually the old growers up in the Bay Area used to pronounce it "ammond".

They are Almonds on the tree, but you have to knock the L out of them to get them on the ground, so once picked they are Ammonds, true story.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

The short answer: Big ocean, cold current, massive semi permanent "Horse Latitudes" semi tropical high pressure area.

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

I've noticed that CA, despite many of the cities (SF and the northern coast) being on the same latitude as Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern cities has always the most constant weather.

There's never been a shock blizzard in the Bay Area with a meter of snow like there can be in parts of Northern Florida (a state which is on average much warmer than California) or Southern California never experiences intense rains for weeks and weeks at a time.

I mean hell, it's been an entire month since a substantial drop of rain fell in San Diego for example and this is the so-called "rainy season"!

So I'm just curious as to why the weather never gets more freaky here in California. Everywhere else in the world seems to be subjected to extremes here and there, maybe even once in 10 years, but it seems as though nothing out of the world or rare happens in the State. In that sense, I wish our weather was a bit more exciting.

Because California is the promise land.

[sonarrat]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tule fog in the Central Valley.



http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_nW1D0Npeivo/Ry1atFhbFmI/AAAAAAAAAJY/W9PboozTbqg/s400/Fog+pileup.jpg (broken link)

Also, the Santa Cruz mountains got well over 10 inches of rain in a freak storm a few months ago.

[jc76]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

I've noticed that CA, despite many of the cities (SF and the northern coast) being on the same latitude as Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern cities has always the most constant weather.

There's never been a shock blizzard in the Bay Area with a meter of snow like there can be in parts of Northern Florida (a state which is on average much warmer than California) or Southern California never experiences intense rains for weeks and weeks at a time.

I mean hell, it's been an entire month since a substantial drop of rain fell in San Diego for example and this is the so-called "rainy season"!

So I'm just curious as to why the weather never gets more freaky here in California. Everywhere else in the world seems to be subjected to extremes here and there, maybe even once in 10 years, but it seems as though nothing out of the world or rare happens in the State. In that sense, I wish our weather was a bit more exciting.

Hence the high COL. Worth it though. We have not been outdoors in months.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

California DOES get extreme weather, but just not where people live. You are talking about a region that extends from 42N to 32N, 124W (in Del Norte County) to 114 W (Colorado River in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial Counties).

UNITED STATES EXTREME RECORD TEMPERATURES & RANGES


However, the California coast also has the MILDEST temperatures in the United States. Around 60% of California's population lives in this zone

Weather Variety - Least Variety


Welcome to the wonderful world of geography!

These charts are great and really tell the story. California has both the highest mountains and lowest desert. So we do have extremes. But the majority of people live in the mildest part of the state and nation close to the coast.

I moved from a very mild South Bay in SoCal (Torrance, Hermosa, Redondo Beaches) where I grew up to CO. Talk about extremes! One of the favorite saying about CO is if you don't like the weather wait 10 minutes! With no ocean for hundreds of miles and the Rockies Mountains and jet stream there is nothing to moderate the weather. Finally I understood what living in real weather extremes was like. Hail storm that break car windows. Wind so strong if feels like your house windows are about to shatter. Thunder which actually rattles the windows and sounds like bombs going off. If you live in CO you will get a broken windshield. Both of our cars had them when we left. Thunderstorms with lighting that strikes with ferocious regularity every year. Ppl are killed by lighting strikes every summer. It is taken very seriously there. Blizzards and snow which shut down everything. 5 degree sunny days. Black ice during your daily commute and cars that slide right on by you.

Now that I am back on the coast it is like getting off a rollercoaster ride. Although the coast seems perfectly normal to me I can see now more than ever how different it really is from the rest of the nation.

Derek

[Archan]

From what I understand, the waters of the Pacific flow from North to South and the water of the Atlantic flow in the opposite direction. The warmer waters of the East Coast in addition to the more shallow ocean shelf could make a difference.

[Lifeshadower]

Originally Posted by Archan

From what I understand, the waters of the Pacific flow from North to South and the water of the Atlantic flow in the opposite direction. The warmer waters of the East Coast in addition to the more shallow ocean shelf could make a difference.

Yes, you are correct.

(Source: Wikipedia)



Remember, warm ocean water evaporates much easier than colder water, which is why the East Coast of the United States (and every continent) has such high humidity in the Summer, and more impervious to snow in the Winter. Water has a really high specific temperature to warm up, and takes just as much energy to cool down. This is why the West Coasts of every continent has relatively stable weather. However, the Southwestern Coasts of every continent (SW Europe, SW Africa, SW Australia, SW South America, SW North America) are all in the Mediterranean Climate zone, where weather doesn't change much but is in the mid latitudes (30-40 N and S).

During El Nino and La Nina years, the ocean currents change. The easiest way I used to remember it back in college geography is that water flows clockwise in the oceans in the Northern Hemisphere, and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Awesome, eh?

However, the further and further you get away from the Pacific Coast, mountains begin to affect the moderating effects of the currents. This is why the zone is relatively restricted to the California coast.

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

These charts are great and really tell the story. California has both the highest mountains and lowest desert. So we do have extremes. But the majority of people live in the mildest part of the state and nation close to the coast.

I moved from a very mild South Bay in SoCal (Torrance, Hermosa, Redondo Beaches) where I grew up to CO. Talk about extremes! One of the favorite saying about CO is if you don't like the weather wait 10 minutes! With no ocean for hundreds of miles and the Rockies Mountains and jet stream there is nothing to moderate the weather. Finally I understood what living in real weather extremes was like. Hail storm that break car windows. Wind so strong if feels like your house windows are about to shatter. Thunder which actually rattles the windows and sounds like bombs going off. If you live in CO you will get a broken windshield. Both of our cars had them when we left. Thunderstorms with lighting that strikes with ferocious regularity every year. Ppl are killed by lighting strikes every summer. It is taken very seriously there. Blizzards and snow which shut down everything. 5 degree sunny days. Black ice during your daily commute and cars that slide right on by you.

Now that I am back on the coast it is like getting off a rollercoaster ride. Although the coast seems perfectly normal to me I can see now more than ever how different it really is from the rest of the nation.

Derek

I'm glad you liked them! Here's another index for weather which I found interesting (based on weather variety as well).

http://ggweather.com/camelot.htm


I will be the first to admit, variety is good! Just as long as I don't have to clean it off my car!