Do we underestimate and downplay how Great Sacramento weather really is? (San Diego: most expensive, amount)

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

I used to think that...and I always like rain anywhere in California...because we almost always need it more than not needing it. However this year I've been fine with the extra sunshine, very little rain, late into October as Sacramento has enough of a temp change to feel like you are definitely in another season. Unlike, SD or LA where the difference in lows and highs from summer to fall is hardly noticeable.

Sacramento has been 10-20 degrees cooler (mid 70's to low 80's) this October compared to summer (low to mid 90's) for highs temps, and Sacramento has been 10 degrees cooler this October compared to summer morning temps (upper 40's to low 50's) compared with last summer's (upper 50's to low 60's). If you combine that with the shorter days, you get that bump that the weather has shifted into another season, and you need a sweater in the morning. Also, I've had so many outdoor trips this October that I didn't want rain to be a part of it.

As far as sunshine, don't sit your stand directly in the sun, and its easy to do that on the Streets of Sacramento, as shade is always just a few steps away with all those TREES! (and buildings).

Note: the last week or so Sacramento's has been running almost 10 degree above normal for high temps, yet I still feel that change of seasons.....I guess because of all the falling leaves, color change, and the all those trees casting shadows in the early afternoon on Sac's Grid.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love fall, and it's probably my favorite season in California. I think even though I get a little bored by the Sunshine by this time of year, knowing that it's the tail end of it makes it easy to enjoy it, knowing that it will change soon enough. And having a long, late fall means that winter is shorter, which is also nice. I have no interest in a long, cold winter. California winters are just right.

You are right about Coastal Southern California seeing not that much change yet, but the farther Inland or into the mountains you go, you definitely feel that same subtle change of seasons. In my neck of the woods, we've been getting pretty much the same weather as Sacramento, slow 80s during the day, no fifties at night too. And we had quite a few days in the 90s this past summer. So it feels very different than it did a couple months ago. And the air is drier now. None of that monsoonal humidity. I also love that the Inland communities here have at least some amount of deciduous trees compared to the coast, so we do get some of that leaf drop and winter vibe. Feels like a bit of a NorCal / SoCal mashup. A new tradition or starting every saw is to go into Ramona, which is only about 15 minutes from us, to go persimmon picking in the fall. It's really beautiful to see The Orchards change color. Last week, we went to Julian and enjoyed the Fall colors up in the mountains along with a required slice of fresh apple pie! I wish you more cities in California have the tree canopy of downtown Sacramento. It really is unique, but I'm glad we have a lot of different microclimates and elevations so that you can truly find all four seasons not too far from any Metro area in the state.

[Katera]

Great thread.

Thank you to the original poster for getting it rolling.

My wife and I are thinking VERY hard about moving to Sac area from DFW. We grew up in SoCal but have lived in Texas for 30 years and have missed California every moment of every day. Long story why we stayed, but suffice to say it was for consistency once we had kidos'.

Anyway, we can not afford to buy a house in SoCal so have been looking at alternatives. We are flying out to Sac in a few months to spend 4 days scouring the area. We looked into Clovis outside of Fresno but just felt we would be too far from major amenities and direct flight airports.

On the weather, I will say this having lived in Texas for 30 years. It's ****. Period. We run our AC's 11 months out of the year here. It doesn't matter the temp outside. Why? Humidity! We literally get a few weeks in total a year that you don't need to run the ac. It's awful. So for those Californians who think the "heat" in Sac is bad, I dare you to spend one summer in Texas. There will be a dust cloud seen for miles when you burn rubber back to California weather.

Weather matters. It really is that important.

[cornsnicker3]

Originally Posted by Katera

Great thread.

Thank you to the original poster for getting it rolling.

My wife and I are thinking VERY hard about moving to Sac area from DFW. We grew up in SoCal but have lived in Texas for 30 years and have missed California every moment of every day. Long story why we stayed, but suffice to say it was for consistency once we had kidos'.

Anyway, we can not afford to buy a house in SoCal so have been looking at alternatives. We are flying out to Sac in a few months to spend 4 days scouring the area. We looked into Clovis outside of Fresno but just felt we would be too far from major amenities and direct flight airports.

On the weather, I will say this having lived in Texas for 30 years. It's ****. Period. We run our AC's 11 months out of the year here. It doesn't matter the temp outside. Why? Humidity! We literally get a few weeks in total a year that you don't need to run the ac. It's awful. So for those Californians who think the "heat" in Sac is bad, I dare you to spend one summer in Texas. There will be a dust cloud seen for miles when you burn rubber back to California weather.

Weather matters. It really is that important.

Perhaps a northern colder metro is in order more so than Sacramento. I would never recommend someone that likes cold/cooler weather to move to Sacramento. It is milder, but it is still hot in summer. 11 months of AC is very extreme for Dallas, and I reckon maybe 6 months of AC in Sacramento.

[Chimérique]

More like 3 months at the max, really only 2 months are needed for A/C in Sacramento.

and because of our cool nights often you don't need A/C at night.

[cornsnicker3]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

More like 3 months at the max, really only 2 months are needed for A/C in Sacramento.

and because of our cool nights often you don't need A/C at night.

For normal people, yes. For people that need 11 months of AC in Dallas will need more AC than normal.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by cornsnicker3

For normal people, yes. For people that need 11 months of AC in Dallas will need more AC than normal.

Good point. It's all relative. If you need air conditioning 11 months of the year in Austin, which month is it? The 8 day forecast on Google is cooler in Austin at the moment (60s and 70s) than it is for Sacramento (upper 70s/low 80s), and I'm sure nobody is using AC in Sacramento right now. It's the third fall weather in Austin is still hot for you, then I would say, move up to Mendocino on the North Coast and enjoy the cool breezes year round.

Now my parents who live in Walnut Creek pretty much never run the AC, even though they get between 50 and 60 days in summer above 90 degrees. Unless it's 105, they'll just tolerate it. For me, sitting in an 82 degree house is not pleasant though. In fact, when we lived in a condo in Emeryville, right on the bay where it stays cool most of the time, we had to run the AC everyday for months because facing west with walls of windows basically cooked the the place like a greenhouse. Now we live in in inland San Diego, which can get hot but not often as hot as Sacramento, and we only run the air conditioning maybe 2 to 4 weeks a year. A lot of it depends on the orientation of your home, whether or not you get shade in the afternoon, and your tolerance.

I will say this. In places like Walnut Creek or Sacramento, everybody has air conditioning, and there's a reason for it. That doesn't mean the climate isn't spectacular. Dry heat is generally a pleasant experience.

[Chimérique]

November 1 - Historical Averages: Highs/Lows

Phoenix - 82/58
Austin - 77/56

San Diego 71/57
Sacramento 70/49 - It's at night and in the morning, lower sun, that Sac feels colder than SD. A lot more Fall Colors in Sac in the surrounding region compared to SD.

Nashville, TN - 66/44

Portland - 57/44 - Sac won't get this and the rain until Dec/Jan. SD really never gets this along with lots of rain.

Duluth, MN - 45/30 - Sac never really gets this cold ON AVERAGE, It can happen in late Dec-Feb however.

[Chimérique]

November 1 - Historical Averages: Highs/Lows - Just California

Palm Springs - 85/57
El Centro - 85/55 - Mexican Border
Pasadena - 79/55
Temecula - 79/48
Calabasas - 79/46
Orange - 78/55
Riverside - 78/50
Los Angeles - 76/56
Irvine - 76/49
Fresno - 72/48
San Diego - 71/57
Santa Barbara - 71/53
San Luis Obispo - 71/50
Sacramento - 70/49
Walnut Creek - 70/43
Huntington Beach - 69/57
San Jose - 69/49
San Francisco - 67/42
Monterey - 66/49
Yosemite - 63/37
Yreka - 61/32 - Oregon Border
Eureka - 60/46
Mt. Shasta City - 58/33
South Lake Tahoe - 56/25

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

November 1 - Historical Averages: Highs/Lows

San Diego 71/57
Sacramento 70/49 - It's at night and in the morning, lower sun, that Sac feels colder than SD. A lot more Fall Colors in Sac in the surrounding region compared to SD.

Bingo. Farther inland, and bit farther north, the nighttime will be colder in late fall in Sac. A little surprised by the average low of 43 in Walnut Creek. We wouldn't normally see temps like that until December, it hasn't been anywhere near that cold this early in years past, and I don't remember the nights in winter being colder in WC than Sac. As it is, it almost never gets frosty mornings in winter anymore.

Lately, the inversion has been keeping warm air above the valley floors at night, so my normally chillier inland SD neighborhood, which would be colder than by the water, has actually been much warmer. Lots of 60s at sunrise lately, bone dry humidity here at 900 feet. Seeing the same in the Berkeley hills, wine country, Mt Diablo but not so much in the Sierra Foothills. May change with the red flag warnings bringing in offshore winds to the Central Valley though.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

More like 3 months at the max, really only 2 months are needed for A/C in Sacramento.

and because of our cool nights often you don't need A/C at night.

Only 2 months of A/C in Sacramento?????? Maybe you set your A/C at 100 degrees before it turns on?

If anyone wants the truth about the weather in Sacramento, check out wunderground.

Click on "calendar" and look at any month for any year for highs and lows.

I live in San Jose and it's cooler here. And we're still getting 80 degree weather and we're now into November. Sacramento is hotter than San Jose.

So, before you pack up and move to Sacramento believing you won't need air conditioning for more than 2 months of the year - just check the weather data for yourself. I moved away from Sacramento because it was too hot.

Here is the link to the monthly weather data for Sacramento. Just check out the high temps for every month and decide for yourself if you might need air conditioning more than 2 months of the year.

https://www.wunderground.com/calenda...calwx_calendar