Southern Oregon -- I think! (Medford, Sherwood: home, university, living)

[nateswift]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

remember, this is mid-September, and the daytime highs are 105 degrees. Do the other "buts" negate that?

Still Summer and one "but" is paramount for me: But it ain't Redding!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by nateswift

Still Summer and one "but" is paramount for me: But it ain't Redding!

No, it ain't as hot as Redding. True :-)

But, the OP asked about Medford and I said it's in the 100 degrees for a good part of the year and was told I was nuts. 105 in mid-September can't be called anything but hot. And isn't mid-September fall?

[Hawk J]

Here on the mountain it felt like it was about 85, today...

For 29 years here, we haven't used A/C. We use large standing fans...

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

No, it ain't as hot as Redding. True :-)

But, the OP asked about Medford and I said it's in the 100 degrees for a good part of the year and was told I was nuts. 105 in mid-September can't be called anything but hot. And isn't mid-September fall?

10-12 days above 100° per summer on average is not "a good part of the year." We get that you didn't like Redding - Medford is NOT Redding, we are generally 10 degrees cooler or more. The average high temp this last week has been 85°.

Looking at the last 20 years of data, it has hit more than 100° in September (as measured at the airport) about 16 times - that would out of 600 possible days.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

10-12 days above 100° per summer on average is not "a good part of the year." We get that you didn't like Redding - Medford is NOT Redding, we are generally 10 degrees cooler or more. The average high temp this last week has been 85°.

Looking at the last 20 years of data, it has hit more than 100° in September (as measured at the airport) about 16 times - that would out of 600 possible days.

It's going to be over 100 degrees twice this week, the 2nd week of September, including a high of 105 degrees.

Does the rest matter?

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

It's going to be over 100 degrees twice this week, the 2nd week of September, including a high of 105 degrees.

Does the rest matter?

Yes, it matters quite a bit, the difference between an unusual weather event and average temps. The average high for Sept is 84° which is what matters because it tells you what you can normally expect - high temps somewhere around 84°, hotter toward the beginning of the month, cooler toward the end of the month. Whereas saying it hit 100° on 11 of 600 days - or 1.8% of the time - is much less significant.

[Sherwoody]

The September equinox (or Southward equinox) is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Due to differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox can occur at any time from the 21st to the 24th day of September.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_equinox

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Yes, it matters quite a bit, the difference between an unusual weather event and average temps. The average high for Sept is 84° which is what matters because it tells you what you can normally expect - high temps somewhere around 84°, hotter toward the beginning of the month, cooler toward the end of the month. Whereas saying it hit 100° on 11 of 600 days - or 1.8% of the time - is much less significant.

And yet, it will be 105 degrees in Medford this week.

If you want to live somewhere where this can't happen, ever, Medford is not your town.

For instance, the record all-time high for Crescent City is something like 93 degrees. All-time high. Record.

So, if 105 degrees happens at all, in Medford, ever, as late as September, and you're not okay with that - keep looking for another place to live.

105 degrees, even "only" for 12 days of the year, is 12 days too many for me. Hence, I would not live there. If someone else is okay with the fact that it can and will get that hot, then Medford will be a viable option for them.

And this business of "averages" is baloney. When people are suffering in 105 degrees, do you think they care if the "average" for that year was "only" 80 degrees, etc.? 105 degrees doesn't feel like 70 or 80. You will never hear a forecast where they say, "It's 105 degrees today but it only feels like 80."

I don't get why people can't admit the facts for where they live. The only thing I can think of, is they are real estate agents who are hoping to sell properties to people who won't notice that it's 105 degrees in September, or will believe it when someone tells them, "Oh, but this is unusual and the average temps are 80 degrees." As if that will make 105 feel any cooler.

So, why not just say, yeah, it's dang hot here, until it snows, but there's a lot to love anyway?

[PNW-type-gal]

Because it isn't "dang hot" here for me. Sure, it hits 100+ a few times in the summer and no one ever denied that. It isn't the majority of our summer, not even close, which is what you seem to try to imply. Again, our weather isn't Redding's.

I am not all that fond of 100+ days, but I will put up with a few of them to get the majority of our nicer summer days in the 70s, 80s and low 90s.

Averages are important - Crescent City, for example, averages 66" of rain a year and a July high of 65°. That it might have been foggy last week or that a high temp one day last month was only 58° does not mean that it will be that way all month, but the average temps give you an idea that if you like being warm and dry in the summer, Crescent City might not be the place to go. Medford's average July high is 92° and the average rain per year is 17", so that tells you that summer is generally warm and dry.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

The weather in Grants Pass (city proper, not the surrounding hills) is very similar to Medford. The thing that I didn't like about Grants Pass is the larger issue with Josephine County and the lack of funding for public services, like police. The city of Grants Pass has its own police dept, but the county is currently relying on the Oregon State Police (which the rest of the state is paying for).

That's an affordable hurdle to overcome.

About $400 takes care of the small hardware needed to compensate for that.

Grants Pass is my favorite town in southern Oregon, but my wife would prefer Medford, Phoenix, Gold Hill or Jacksonville. We may be moving back to Jackson county in the next few years.