Foggiest / Rainest Place in Sonoma County (Santa Rosa, Napa: to live in, statistics, best)

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Scorpion3510

As far as maps go, here is probably the best one I've found as to the Climatic Zones in Sonoma County:


http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu/files/27208.pdf


It still doesn't show fog cover during summer but I guess gives a better idea of the 3 different zones.

I did find a fog map of the area....let me see if I can find it again.

[Ruth4Truth]

Here's something that looks promising, OP. There's a good photo of the fog coming into Petaluma and beyond.
https://www.usgs.gov/news/new-califo...tures-planning

[Scorpion3510]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Here's something that looks promising, OP. There's a good photo of the fog coming into Petaluma and beyond.
https://www.usgs.gov/news/new-califo...tures-planning

The photo was a single snap shot of fog but is helpful. I read the study that was linked into your post. Basically, it appears that the fog travels through the gap in the mountains west of Petaluma, comes into Petaluma, and then moves north and slightly west of Santa Rosa all the way to the Russian River Valley area. It appears to move north to about Forestville and west until just west of the City of Sebastopol. Unfortunately I can't get a close up of the map to show smaller towns but I'm approximating the following:


Most fog (from greatest to least):


-Petaluma
-Rohnert Park/Cotati
-Santa Rosa
-Sebastopol
-Forestville


Most rain (from greatest to least):


-Forestville
-Sebastopol
-Santa Rosa
-Rohnert Park/Cotati
-Petaluma


So the amount of rain appears to be inverse to the amount of fog.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Scorpion3510

The photo was a single snap shot of fog but is helpful. I read the study that was linked into your post. Basically, it appears that the fog travels through the gap in the mountains west of Petaluma, comes into Petaluma, and then moves north and slightly west of Santa Rosa all the way to the Russian River Valley area. It appears to move north to about Forestville and west until just west of the City of Sebastopol. Unfortunately I can't get a close up of the map to show smaller towns but I'm approximating the following:


Most fog (from greatest to least):


-Petaluma
-Rohnert Park/Cotati
-Santa Rosa
-Sebastopol
-Forestville


Most rain (from greatest to least):


-Forestville
-Sebastopol
-Santa Rosa
-Rohnert Park/Cotati
-Petaluma


So the amount of rain appears to be inverse to the amount of fog.

That's interesting. The thing for the OP is that if he wants cooler and gloomier weather overall, then fog should trump rain. For starters, rain is only seasonal, so there are way more foggy days than rainy days. And just because one place gets more rain than another one nearby doesn't mean it rains more often, just harder. Do you need heavy rain and the risk of mudslides and flooding? Isn't a lighter rain just as good for atmosphere?

Petaluma does get the most fog, but it's not foggy in the same way as closer to the cost. It's a night and morning overcast with a lot of annoying wind, then warm and sunny during the day. Closer to the coast would give you possibly all day fog, cooler temps all day, and less wind.

[Scorpion3510]

Originally Posted by tstieber

That's interesting. The thing for the OP is that if he wants cooler and gloomier weather overall, then fog should trump rain. For starters, rain is only seasonal, so there are way more foggy days than rainy days. And just because one place gets more rain than another one nearby doesn't mean it rains more often, just harder. Do you need heavy rain and the risk of mudslides and flooding? Isn't a lighter rain just as good for atmosphere?

Petaluma does get the most fog, but it's not foggy in the same way as closer to the cost. It's a night and morning overcast with a lot of annoying wind, then warm and sunny during the day. Closer to the coast would give you possibly all day fog, cooler temps all day, and less wind.

Agreed that it is far foggier on the coast. However, it's not feasible to live on the coast with the commute I was describing earlier. Otherwise Jenner would lead this list in both rain and fog.


I'm actually surprised Guerneville doesn't receive as much fog as Petaluma. I would have guessed with the prevalence of Redwood trees in the area it would receive more fog than Petaluma.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Scorpion3510

Agreed that it is far foggier on the coast. However, it's not feasible to live on the coast with the commute I was describing earlier. Otherwise Jenner would lead this list in both rain and fog.


I'm actually surprised Guerneville doesn't receive as much fog as Petaluma. I would have guessed with the prevalence of Redwood trees in the area it would receive more fog than Petaluma.

Well, does Petaluma have as many redwood trees? I was told by a park ranger, that what redwoods really depend on, is rain. They need a lot of water, so they struggle in drought years, even if there's plenty of fog. They need both, but there has to be enough rain to sustain them. He said fog isn't enough. The more northern areas get more rain.

[Scorpion3510]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well, does Petaluma have as many redwood trees? I was told by a park ranger, that what redwoods really depend on, is rain. They need a lot of water, so they struggle in drought years, even if there's plenty of fog. They need both, but there has to be enough rain to sustain them. He said fog isn't enough.

lol I don't think Petaluma has many trees at all. There seem to be more in Sebastopol and even in Novato. Sebastopol and Graton tend to have more deciduous trees like the east coast which I have found intriguing.
I always found it odd there are not many trees on the coast itself but I imagine that is due to wind.



Interesting on the Redwoods. I always figured they needed fog to thrive more than rain.



I've noticed in northern California there are certain zones from the coast to inland that generally repeat from Santa Cruz north. From west to east it generally follows the below pattern:



Coast: Foggy, rain, cool, not many trees.
Redwood zone: Similar to coast but less rain and fog. Heavier vegetation due to less wind to include Redwoods and ferns.

Oak/Golden hills: less rain and fog, warmer, scrubby vegetation but some thicker trees in places

Central valley: hot, little trees, drier, flat, Tule fog in winter.

Foothills: Heavier rain in winter, hot and dry in summer, similar to oak/golden hills zone but with more trees to include pine and deciduous.

Alpine/Sierra: Heavier tree cover, snow, cooler due to elevation, somewhat similar to redwood zone.

[PixelatedTherapy]

Most of the cities in Sonoma County aren't that foggy, as they're all fairly far from the bay and ocean. The little coastal towns are your best bet. Sonoma County does get a large amount of rain. A few years back Santa Rosa had nearly as much rain as Seattle, which shocked me.

[PixelatedTherapy]

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/...r-11073857.php

[LaylaM]

I live in Sonoma County. Today I was in Windsor, Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park. They were all equally cloudy and foggy this morning.

Over the weekend, when it was very cloudy and quite foggy down near Santa Rosa, etc., I was out at Jenner and Bodega Bay and both were sunnier and clearer than further inland.

So in general, I think the differences throughout the county will vary only slightly and unpredictably. As a rule, the closer you get to the Bay Area, the more fog you'll see and for a longer part of every day. Petaluma, for instance, may see more fog than Rohnert Park just to the north. By the time you go further south into Marin, the fog thickens.