Danville/San Ramon: How's the wind?

[Dave Coe]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_wind

[SFBayBoomer]

Years ago we attended what I thought was called the "Art and Wine" festival in San Ramon.

It was very windy and there was a kite contest. It turns out that the festival was actually called the "Art and WIND" festival. No kidding, and it was windy!

[SFBayBoomer]

Two years ago we were looking at new homes at Norris Canyon Estates and I struck up a conversation with an owner of one of the homes up there. He really liked living there but he warned that it is extremely windy in that location (hillside) of San Ramon.

A few years before that we visited some new Dublin homes that were at the peak of the hill. Those were windiest of all.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by New2Beantown

Up near the Blackhawk/Diablo side of Danville there is very little wind (that we have noticed.) I wonder if it is at all to do with living right at the base of Mt. Diablo.

We leave our huge picnic umbrella up pretty much all the time, and have only had it blow over once (during a storm.) I wouldn't say the wind is ever "whipping up" in our neck of the woods.

My parents lived in that area for awhile and it was always windy. They were constantly replacing fences that feel down because of the wind. On real windy days in fall the streets would be littered with broken branches.

[Dave Coe]

I think the winds come through the Altamont Pass. Maybe the mountains block them from Danville. The winds in SF are usually from the Ocean and SF rarely gets drier winds.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by Dave Coe

I think the winds come through the Altamont Pass. Maybe the mountains block them from Danville. The winds in SF are usually from the Ocean and SF rarely gets drier winds.

The downtown part of Danville is typically pretty calm, since you have the mountains blocking it from the west. Dublin and parts of San Ramon have hills between them and Hayward, but not as much as Danville.

As you get east in Danville, out towards Blackhawk Plaza, it does tend to get windier. Still, it is less windy and warmer in general than Dublin.

[Still Seeking]

Although this post is older, I'm putting my two cents worth in here. It's August of 2017. I live in Walnut Creek, Calif now. This is a East Bay Area city in Calif. The winds here are BAD. I also lived in Dublin, Calif for awhile as well. If you look at the trees in Dublin, CA. you will find many of them permanently bent from the wind. San Ramon is also very, very windy. Windy conditions make it difficult to live especially when the high winds come in during our super hot, triple digit temps that occur in the East Bay. It is impossible to put up shade umbrellas or canopies when you live with this horrible wind. You can't open the windows or doors either. The wind and the heat in these areas mean you are stuck inside for many months of the late Spring, all summer, and part of Fall. I thought Walnut Creek was far enough away from the coast to get away from this wind, but NO! The cold ocean and bay waters off of the Northern Coast of Calif make these high winds. THEREFORE, my question is this: How far do you have to go inland from Calif to get away from these high winds?

[jeopardyd]

The tri-valley area cools down really fast in the evening, the daily low temp is usually lower than that of the peninsula, I thought some evening wind would be very welcome in the summer.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Still Seeking

Although this post is older, I'm putting my two cents worth in here. It's August of 2017. I live in Walnut Creek, Calif now. This is a East Bay Area city in Calif. The winds here are BAD. I also lived in Dublin, Calif for awhile as well. If you look at the trees in Dublin, CA. you will find many of them permanently bent from the wind. San Ramon is also very, very windy. Windy conditions make it difficult to live especially when the high winds come in during our super hot, triple digit temps that occur in the East Bay. It is impossible to put up shade umbrellas or canopies when you live with this horrible wind. You can't open the windows or doors either. The wind and the heat in these areas mean you are stuck inside for many months of the late Spring, all summer, and part of Fall. I thought Walnut Creek was far enough away from the coast to get away from this wind, but NO! The cold ocean and bay waters off of the Northern Coast of Calif make these high winds. THEREFORE, my question is this: How far do you have to go inland from Calif to get away from these high winds?

It isn't so much a question of being inland as it is being in proximity to canyons vs hills. You must live around downtown Walnut Creek. I'm a native of the city and grew up in the Northgate area in the northeast part of town, on the other side of Shell Ridge. We had very little wind but always noticed it was very windy downtown. But it's not as windy as Dublin (where, as you said, the trees are permanently bent). In Walnut Creek, the trees grow straight. Anyway, the wind comes through the canyon of Highway 24 and funnels into downtown Walnut Creek. The same phenomenon happens around Dublin, San Ramon, and parts of Pleasanton because of the canyons along 580. If you've got hills blocking your wind, then it could be pretty calm, as is the northern and central section of Lafayette, eastern Walnut Creek, Clayon, Danville, Alamo, and Blackhawk. Even part of Pittsburg and Antioch can be VERY windy if the wind funnels through the Carquinez Strait, even if it's very very hot there. So it's more of a topographical microclimate issue than one of being inland enough. You wanna get really far inland? Look at Palm Springs. They have the same windmills north of there as at the Altamont Pass. Northern Palm Springs is extremely windy and about as far 'inland' (desert) as you can get. But go south of there to Palm Desert, and the mountains block the wind. I find even San Jose, although closer to the coast, isn't very windy compared to other bayside climates. Again, the blocking by the Santa Cruz Mountains. So you need to look for the right microclimate based on topography.

[Still Seeking]

Originally Posted by tstieber

It isn't so much a question of being inland as it is being in proximity to canyons vs hills. You must live around downtown Walnut Creek. I'm a native of the city and grew up in the Northgate area in the northeast part of town, on the other side of Shell Ridge. We had very little wind but always noticed it was very windy downtown. But it's not as windy as Dublin (where, as you said, the trees are permanently bent). In Walnut Creek, the trees grow straight. Anyway, the wind comes through the canyon of Highway 24 and funnels into downtown Walnut Creek. The same phenomenon happens around Dublin, San Ramon, and parts of Pleasanton because of the canyons along 580. If you've got hills blocking your wind, then it could be pretty calm, as is the northern and central section of Lafayette, eastern Walnut Creek, Clayon, Danville, Alamo, and Blackhawk. Even part of Pittsburg and Antioch can be VERY windy if the wind funnels through the Carquinez Strait, even if it's very very hot there. So it's more of a topographical microclimate issue than one of being inland enough. You wanna get really far inland? Look at Palm Springs. They have the same windmills north of there as at the Altamont Pass. Northern Palm Springs is extremely windy and about as far 'inland' (desert) as you can get. But go south of there to Palm Desert, and the mountains block the wind. I find even San Jose, although closer to the coast, isn't very windy compared to other bayside climates. Again, the blocking by the Santa Cruz Mountains. So you need to look for the right microclimate based on topography.

Thanks so much for this post. I've tried to research this problem but you have answered it much better. So thank you. Actually, I'm up in Walnut Creek's Rossmoor Community on a higher point of this retirement village. The views are incredible up here but views can cause severe wind. I see that now. That's why so many around here just enclose their decks and patios. The weather makes it unpleasant to be outside. So I need to look for a place where some mountains or high hills buffer the wind. I enjoyed the thoroughness of your post as this problem of wind is causing much expense. I'm even looking for another part of Rossmoor that might not be as windy. Not easy.