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Temperate is simply the zone between the tropics and polar regions. The Bay area is Mediterranean which is a temperate climate - It has wet winter/dry summer precip pattern that are necessary for Med climates, and importantly, lacks summer frontal systems from the polar low pressure zone, which means it definitely isn't an oceanic climate. The last feature is important because it separates oceanic climates from other Temperate climates.
Subtropical climates (which the Bay Area isn't) are also Temperate climates.
Ok, but under that definiton much of the Pacific Northwest would be Mediterranean rather than oceanic. Possibly reasonable, but you're placing climates with more hours of rain than much of northern Europe as not oceanic.
Ok, but under that definiton much of the Pacific Northwest would be Mediterranean rather than oceanic. Possibly reasonable, but you're placing climates with more hours of rain than much of northern Europe as not oceanic.
The PNW is a Mediterranean climate, just a cooler one, but then it's also important to consider it's latitude.
Hours of rain isn't important, as long as the distribution matches Med requirements.
I'd consider it dry summer subtropical aka Mediterranean. For those of you who call it Oceanic the bay area has got far too little rain. And keep in mind that the area has a very diverse climate. Saying the summers aren't hot enough is too general of a statement.
The Bay Area is essentially frostless, has warm to hot summers, and can support the growth of citrus and many different kinds of palms and tropical flora. San Jose is similar to Tampa in terms of how immune from sub-freezing weather it is.
I would describe it as a wet and dry subtropical climate. Close to being full-blown tropical like Miami, but the winters aren't quite warm enough and you do get a vague semblance of seasons.
Hmmm. Do you guys have high humidity there? I know that's something I noticed the most when visiting Miami.
The Bay Area has a subtropical dry summer climate similar to parts of coastal Chile or Portugal. It has cool summers near the beaches because of fog, but this is irrelevant. The effect is very local and disappears as you move inland. Further, the fog is actually typical of "mediterranean" climates located directly on the ocean (as opposed to inland seas or lakes like the Mediterranean Sea which heats up significantly in the summer). The cold ocean currents are what causes the fog and the cool temperatures - it doesn't make it any less of a subtropical dry summer climate.
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