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Point Neveah is a mid latitude location on the West Coast of a continent in the Northern Hemisphere but has very little seasonal variation in temperature due to the cold ocean creating a thick summer fog bank, which is constant in keeping the temperatures cool. Most summer days stay socked in although the sun may break though for a couple of hours in the peak of the afternoon before the fog certainly rolls back in well before sunset. Real rain systems do not happen at all in summer but there is enough steady fog drip to result in about at third of an inch of rain accumulation each summer month.
Most of the precipitation comes in winter in the form of rain systems with the typical pattern being 2 days of cloudy skies and on-and-off again light to moderate rain followed by 2 days of bright sunshine before the next rain comes.
Spring and Fall are both the sunniest time of the year with fall being pretty dry (spring still gets some rain systems). Fog still occurs in the night and morning hours during these shoulder seasons but most afternoons are sunny and bright. Fall (and Spring to a lesser extent) is also the only time of the year where you may get a warm spell of clear skies and a day or two of 70 F+ weather (21 C).
However, the most part temperatures stay in the 50s F (10-15C) year round during the day with the summer feeling the coolest due to the fog and October and November feeling the warmest due to the sun and bouts of warmer temperatures. Sunny winter days between rain systems also feel warmer than the cloudy, foggy, and chilly (but actually quite dry) summers.
Point Neveah has also never recorded a frost or a snow flurry nor has it ever record a high above 80 F (26 C) at any time of the year or a high above 60 F (16C) in July (which is usually the warmest month for climates at its latitude). It has also NEVER heard a single thunderclap before.
1) What kind of grade would you give Point Neveah?
2) What type of climate would you classify it as? Cool summer Mediterranean, Maritime, or Oceanic? (I wanted to create another poll but I couldn't).
Last edited by AdriannaSmiling; 12-30-2013 at 11:19 AM..
I would call it oceanic.. as summers are cooler than Spring and Autumn and no months are warm.
Personally I would rate this climate an E. I wouldn't mind the lack of variation if it was warmer, but it is too cool for me. A much warmer and sunnier summer with the rest of the year unchanged would make it a lot better for me.
I'm curious to see if the cold-haters (such as daneb78 and Kaleetan) would rate it higher than Washington D.C. or Flagstaff, AZ due to the lack of frost/snow?
looks like a wetter version of Point Reyes. I don't think fog accumulation counts as rainfall. Otherwise, San Francisco would have a July rainfall average greater than 0.02 inches.
looks like a wetter version of Point Reyes. I don't think fog accumulation counts as rainfall. Otherwise, San Francisco would have a July rainfall average greater than 0.02 inches.
Point Neveah is loosely based on Point Reyes itself (warmer falls than summers and record highs are higher in January than the record highs in July!) but the problem with rating the Northern California coastal climates (for me anyways) is knowing that I can go just a few miles inland for sunshine and warmth and an hour drive inland for downright blazing hot weather.
Making a fictional climate takes away the option as you have to imagine you are stuck in maritime PUKE for 3 straight months with no chance of escaping or experiencing any real warmth while the rest of the country is enjoying pool parties, BBQs, and other summer activities. Also the real Point Reyes probably gets more sunshine in summer as well as some days of mid to upper 60s in the sun during off shore flow events as well. Imagine literally not seeing the sun for weeks in SUMMER despite having long daylight hours.
As for the fog drip, the reason SF only gets 0.02 inches in July is most of the fog drip amounts to a trace if anything in terms of rain accumulation. Once in a while, it will amount to 0.01 if it's really thick with steady mist (I think that's where the 0.02 in SF comes from as most of inland gets an average of 0.0 in July- rain systems can reach the Bay Area in June but not July so the only precip could come from fog drip). In Point Neveah, the fog drip is MUCH, MUCH thicker and denser and often results in 0.01 to 0.02 per day of actual rainfall accumulation in the rain gauge.
It's far, far gloomier than San Francisco (which gets a decent amount of sun in the mid day in summer despite the morning and evening fog and also does get warm and even hot in off shore flow events that can send temperatures in the 80s or even 90s (more common in fall than in summer but still possible in summer).
Typical July day in downtown San Francisco:
67/55- fog in the AM, sun from 10AM to 5PM and fog and wind picking up in the evening. No mist or drip. Cooler at the immediate coast with a high of 62 and shorter sunshine duration (sun came out at noon and fog rolled in at 4PM).
On the same day, San Jose (less than an hour away) gets no marine layer and straight sunshine all day with a high of 84 and a low of 58. Gilroy, Livermore, and Vallejo (all even further inland but still an easy day trip from SF) were in the low to mid 90s. Want good jogging/biking weather? Stay in SF. Want a BBQ/picnic and pool day? Go to San Jose. Want your pool day even hotter? Go even further inland.
Typical July day in Point Neveah:
55/50- fog all day, constant drip/mist and wind. Haven't seen a ray of sunshine in more than 5 days when it last peeked out for about an hour after lunch. No warmer microclimates nearby so no option of escape the gloom.
Last edited by AdriannaSmiling; 12-30-2013 at 03:24 PM..
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