Winter in SF...why so warm!? (San Francisco, Riverside: accounting, summer, between)

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Really? I would say winter differs more than summer. What do you think makes the summers so different?

The Bay Area hardly ever hits 100. Even in San Jose, we'll get a few days in the 90s, maybe hit 100 and then it'll sit in the mid 80's. And it's rare to even see highs in the 80's at the coast.

[mayorhaggar]

Heard some thunder earlier tonight...storm of the century!

[jade408]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

The Bay Area hardly ever hits 100. Even in San Jose, we'll get a few days in the 90s, maybe hit 100 and then it'll sit in the mid 80's. And it's rare to even see highs in the 80's at the coast.

For most of the coast here, a heat wave would be 70 during the summer. In Oakland and Berkeley, summer is typically 68-72 with a handful of warmer days and on the heatwave days it'll be mid to upper 80s. SF hardly gets any summer sun, and Oakland and Berkeley (and most bay side cities) start the day with fog in the summer.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by jade408

For most of the coast here, a heat wave would be 70 during the summer. In Oakland and Berkeley, summer is typically 68-72 with a handful of warmer days and on the heatwave days it'll be mid to upper 80s. SF hardly gets any summer sun, and Oakland and Berkeley (and most bay side cities) start the day with fog in the summer.

Absolutely perfect! I miss those summers.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by jade408

Winter in the Bay and Socal are actually really comparable. The biggest difference is in the amount of rain. Summer is where the weather really varies.

It isn't really cold here at all. This is mildly warmer than usual, but not significantly so. But wetter.

Where in SoCal did you live because I don't think they are that similar, especially when comparing it to summer. It's at least 10 degrees colder or more and a lot more rain. NorCal doesn't get periodic warm spells that push temps into the 70's and 80's like SoCal does all winter too. Last weekend while it was sunny and 80-85 degrees in SoCal it was cold, foggy and 50's here in the inland East Bay. You rarely if at all see these cold, foggy days in the 50's down there nor will you go a whole week or more of straight rain/showers without any sun. That tule fog from the central valley can get pushed into the bay. Maybe its better closer to the water but it sucks inland imo. Just look at the past month in SF vs SD, SD is pretty much anywhere from 10-20 degrees warmer on the majority of days, nightime temps are much more similar though:

SF:Monthly Weather Forecast for San Francisco, CA - weather.com
SD:Monthly Weather Forecast for San Diego, CA (92101) - weather.com

Summer temps here except for the immediate coast are a lot closer to summer temps in Southern CA than winter temps. If you look at summer averages of places along the bay like Redwood City, Hayward, etc.. and compare them to coastal Southern they are very similar during summer.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

The Bay Area hardly ever hits 100. Even in San Jose, we'll get a few days in the 90s, maybe hit 100 and then it'll sit in the mid 80's. And it's rare to even see highs in the 80's at the coast.

I guess it depends on the area, but the area of SoCal I know best is San Diego, and it rarely gets as hot anywhere in SD in the summer as it does in, say, Livermore, Pittsburg, or even Concord. Those cities definitely see their share of 100 degree days.

My rule of thumb is always that SoCal is 10 degrees warmer than NorCal, year round, based on your proximity to the ocean. So inland NorCal will be hotter than SoCal coast in the summer for example, but SoCal coast is warmer than NorCal coast, etc.

Also, I see very very few days above 80 degrees along the SoCal coast too, regardless of the time of year. Somewhat more often than NorCal (except maybe Santa Cruz, which seems to get even into the 90s at times but is a microclimate), but rarely. But NorCal coast doesn't even get above 70 consistently (except those pockets)

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by tstieber

I guess it depends on the area, but the area of SoCal I know best is San Diego, and it rarely gets as hot anywhere in SD in the summer as it does in, say, Livermore, Pittsburg, or even Concord. Those cities definitely see their share of 100 degree days.

Are you sure about that? El Cajon, Escondido, Poway?

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Are you sure about that? El Cajon, Escondido, Poway?

Parts of Escondido can be very hot, especially out towards Wild Animal Park. That area definitely exceeds 100F multiple times each summer. Out in Alpine, farther inland from El Cajon, I see it get above 100F quite a bit too. El Cajon or Poway don't seem to get quite that hot more than a few days a year, although they will break 90F on many occasions. I think one reason is that SD has fewer temperature fluctuations than the Bay Area in the summer. El Cajon and Walnut Creek might have the same average summer temp, but in WC it will vascillate between 80 and 100, while in El Cajon it will hover around 89 or 90 more consistently.

I would say that the Inland Empire (Riverside, etc) gets very hot, but that's as far from the ocean as the San Joaquin Valley (Stockton, Tracy), which I think get even hotter.

Overall, I think my 10 degree rule of thumb is pretty accurate, not accounting for localized differences based on topography.

[nickmat]

Ohh,Dear friends i agree with all of you all said but never mind we're going to have a brusque weather changement ever soon!!!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

When I lived in the Sunset I used to be out in back, in my shorts, BBQing, between storms, in Jan and Feb. Often times, especially with an offshore wind, it would be warmer there than in Oakland or SJ. Of course, in summer, I paid the price!