Do we underestimate and downplay how Great Sacramento weather really is? (San Diego: salons, unemployment benefits)

[TinyDancer2020]

Is it t-shirt and shorts weather year round?

[tstieber]

What a great day! I love Stinson Beach. Iit's actually our favorite beach in the whole state, because it feels a little bit like a California version of the Hamptons, because it feels a little bit remote but within driving range of the City, and it's pretty expensive and exclusive without being pretentious. But the vibe is totally California, with not only the redwoods in the mountains but lots of palms and exotics in the funky cottage gardens.

It's funny that you've never been there in hot weather, because we've always had great weather when we go. Even when Muir or SF are fogged in, the south-facing orientation shields it from wind and allows the fog to clear when other areas don't. Much like Santa Cruz, but not as dramatic or nearly as hot as Santa Cruz (which reached 107F recently -- unbelievable!). Then again, we've always gone to Stinson on hot days to cool off, and those are the days when it's nice over there. When it's nice everywhere else, then Stinson can be cool and foggy.

So happy that you got to enjoy this wonderful slice of paradise, and with Covid traffic, it's so fast.

Take care.

Originally Posted by Chimérique

A bonafide heatwave has finally hit Sacramento; to be fair, the heatwave has hit almost the entire state of California, not just Sacramento.

August 16, 2020
Here's one way to deal with it:

Get out of town, to the coast like we did today. We hit MUIR BEACH and STINSON BEACH for a full day trip. We left Sacramento at 8 a.m. NO TRAFFIC, easy-peavy. We were in Novato a little over 1 hour, and had breakfast at the Nugget Market. Temps were in the low 80's, Ominous clouds, loud thunder and lighting, kinda cool, humid with a little bit of rain. We still sat outside under cover.

Then we made the drive to Muir Beach, 30 minutes, wonderful scenery. Walked the whole beach, relaxed, lighting strikes over the ocean, small waves calm surf, mostly an off-shore wind, flat ocean which made it very easy to spot a WHALE traverse our view, many sightings pretty darn cool to watch the WHALE breach and flap his tale.

Next exercise was to hit the hiking trails above the ocean and beach, but the thunderstorm clouds gathered, numerous big thunderbolts, followed by very loud cracking thunder, the kind that brings your hands to your ears, scares the living daylights out of you, brief heavy downpours, more thunder and lighting, what a sight. It reminds you whose in charge, Mother Nature. Brief hail, time to cut the hike short and take cover in the car. This storm lasted 1 hour.

Next stop, the Muir Beach Overlook, steep cliffs, wonderful views of the ocean and the city of San Francisco in the distance. The beach and sea lions hundreds of feet below. More thunderbolts, followed by that, one-thousand one, one-thousand two, crash of thunder. Ok, maybe it’s time to take cover in the car again.

Next stop, Stinson Beach, this is one very very long beach. It was high-80's by now, very humid, off-shore conditions, never have I ever been to Stinson Beach when it was over 60 degrees, without fog, so weird, you would have thought you were in SoCal until you see the Redwoods in the distance. The thunder and lighting had dissipated, the town of Stinson Beach hit 88F, like this never happens. It was so hot and humid people were actually swimming "bare skin" in the "cold" pacific. Cool thing, is when on the beach itself it was 10 degrees cooler, with a coolish breeze.

Had a late lunch/early dinner picnic back at the Muir Beach overlook, awesome views, more beach/water time.

Great ride back to Sacramento, little traffic, under 1hr 30 minutes. Mill Valley was 88F, Sacramento was 96F when we pulled in at 8pm.

Note: The north part of Stinson Beach allows dogs; the south part does not. Stinson Beach is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, (no dogs allowed); but it is, also, part of the County of Marin (dog friendly).

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by TinyDancer2020

Is it t-shirt and shorts weather year round?

Oh no, not even close. Mid-winter in Sacramento averages in the mid-50s during the day and the mid- to high-30s at night. That means when people go to and from work, it'll often be below 50f during those hours. California can get warm spells during certain weather patterns, especially during drought years, and that can make the daytime mild, but in Sacramento proper, almost never above 70f past the first week of December or the beginning of February. So I'd say two solid months of 'chilly' weather and on either end of that, a shoulder month of 'cool' weather (Nov and Feb). Even Southern California's interior areas only average in the mid-60s in midwinter, with inland lows in the upper 30s. But in SoCal, warm spells will more often get you into 'warm' territory into the 70s and 80s (I've even seen hot weather in winter there), so that *at times,* you can wear shorts and tees even then -- at least during the daytime hours. In NorCal, the warmest winter pockets, when warm spells occur, will be places like Redding, Santa Rosa, or Santa Cruz, where I've seen it quite warm in January on numerous occasions. But again, it's not the norm. California is a Mediterranean climate, not like South Florida's subtropical climate or Hawaii's tropical climate. So just as the Mediterranean region gets chilly in winter, so does California. It's still mild enough to grow things like palm trees and oranges, though.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by mixxalot

Some of us have jobs and cannot take weeks off. Damn I miss San Diego.

If it makes you feel any better, my SD neighborhood (a bit inland but still SD) has been in the mid-90s for the past week or more, and it's been at 100f twice during that week. Not as hot as you guys, but pretty hot.
The coast has been better (low 80s) but a bit humid. The bigger benefit right now is that we're not having smoke problems and seem to have been spared those issues for the last number of years while the rest of the state suffers.

[tstieber]

So according to the National Weather Service, the hottest 7-day average from recent heatwaves saw Sacramento at 109f, which was higher than the last big heatwave of 2016, where it was 105f. That had Sac hotter as hot as Fresno and hotter than Redding (Redding was hotter in 2016 at 110f 7-day average). Seven days in a row of 109f average highs is pretty brutal and kind of sticks with you for a while. I'm sure a multi-week average will see temps quite hot as well. What started as an average summer turned into quite a brutal one.

[NorCalMan]

Originally Posted by tstieber

So according to the National Weather Service, the hottest 7-day average from recent heatwaves saw Sacramento at 109f, which was higher than the last big heatwave of 2016, where it was 105f. That had Sac hotter as hot as Fresno and hotter than Redding (Redding was hotter in 2016 at 110f 7-day average). Seven days in a row of 109f average highs is pretty brutal and kind of sticks with you for a while. I'm sure a multi-week average will see temps quite hot as well. What started as an average summer turned into quite a brutal one.

If there's one thing that is certain about Sacramento summers to come it's hot, smoky weather that forces us inside for months at a time. And now we don't even have movie theaters, malls, and gyms to keep us busy. It's getting harder to rationalize living here.

[TinyDancer2020]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Oh no, not even close. Mid-winter in Sacramento averages in the mid-50s during the day and the mid- to high-30s at night. That means when people go to and from work, it'll often be below 50f during those hours. California can get warm spells during certain weather patterns, especially during drought years, and that can make the daytime mild, but in Sacramento proper, almost never above 70f past the first week of December or the beginning of February. So I'd say two solid months of 'chilly' weather and on either end of that, a shoulder month of 'cool' weather (Nov and Feb). Even Southern California's interior areas only average in the mid-60s in midwinter, with inland lows in the upper 30s. But in SoCal, warm spells will more often get you into 'warm' territory into the 70s and 80s (I've even seen hot weather in winter there), so that *at times,* you can wear shorts and tees even then -- at least during the daytime hours. In NorCal, the warmest winter pockets, when warm spells occur, will be places like Redding, Santa Rosa, or Santa Cruz, where I've seen it quite warm in January on numerous occasions. But again, it's not the norm. California is a Mediterranean climate, not like South Florida's subtropical climate or Hawaii's tropical climate. So just as the Mediterranean region gets chilly in winter, so does California. It's still mild enough to grow things like palm trees and oranges, though.

So basically March through October is t-shirt and shorts weather?

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by TinyDancer2020

So basically March through October is t-shirt and shorts weather?

Well, not consistently. March and April in California is an unpredictable mix of shorts and tee weather and light jacket weather. Some years, it can be super warm and dry, while others, it can be cool and damp. I'd say ranging from 60s to 90s during the day. And from May through October, the daytime is almost always t-shirt and shorts, and it's almost always dry. Classic Mediterranean climate.

[SusVelo]

Originally Posted by NorCalMan

If there's one thing that is certain about Sacramento summers to come it's hot, smoky weather that forces us inside for months at a time. And now we don't even have movie theaters, malls, and gyms to keep us busy. It's getting harder to rationalize living here.

Where you going to go?

[TinyDancer2020]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Well, not consistently. March and April in California is an unpredictable mix of shorts and tee weather and light jacket weather. Some years, it can be super warm and dry, while others, it can be cool and damp. I'd say ranging from 60s to 90s during the day. And from May through October, the daytime is almost always t-shirt and shorts, and it's almost always dry. Classic Mediterranean climate.

Okay thank you.