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I'm moving to Swannanoa, NC in a couple weeks from southern California and am trying to get a good idea of weather conditions so I know what to pack, especially clothes-wise. I'm used to Los Angeles (don't crucify me!) weather but have also lived in Portland, OR where I donned five or more layers in snowy winter.
Basically, how hot does it get? And how cold does it get? I'm guessing my normal wardrobe of sundress-sandals-sweater in warm weather and jeans-sweater-jacket for cold won't suffice in the mountains. (Is this accurate?)
I visited in spring and found that, to me, it was fairly chilly.
I don't want to over-pack and bring things I won't be able to wear, but also don't want to under-pack and end up having to buy a lot of things once I've moved.
(I've looked at Asheville weather info but know that weather can be different in the mountains than in town.)
If you're going to be moving to and living in Asheville or close by, normally in summer we only get two "heat waves," which means low 90s, and regular temps are low 80s. But the last two summers have been one long heat wave, and muggy too. Right now, it's awful outside. I'm glad I have central air, but I'm telling you, many homes up here don't even have air conditioning, or just window units, that's how coolish it normally is around here. I remember San Diego as being coolish in summer, too, like it used to be here, but right now dress for very hot weather, and hope future summers won't be as bad.
Sandals or flip-flops are not as long-term, but sundresses we got, and in winter they're worn with socks, shoes/short boots and sweaters and other layers of stuff. And like San Diego, my family and I still always keep a sweater or jacket in the backseat of the car in case a restaurant is too cold or if the night gets cold, and that's all year round. A light hat in summer is a good idea. And it rains and thunderstorms with wind in summer for stretches, a raincoat is sometimes needed or just an umbrella, altho in wind they're hard to handle. There's a lot of wind in general in the mountains.
Winter is a whole different story than San Diego. I can remember swimming in a pool on Christmas Day, altho it WAS a cold dip. But up here, we do get snow half-dozen times a year, the temps do drop below 0 degrees, altho they work their way down slow from freezing 32 degrees, into the 20s, then once you get into the 10s, that's when you'll get a couple times where windchill or just plain temps drop below zero and the winds are rough. Your clothing will be similar to Portland, only more so.
You must wear all sorts of clothes in winter, and in your home you should have lots of throws, blankets, bathrobe, slippers, socks. Many people wear lightweight long underwear when they go out, also socks for sure, regular clothes, jeans or heavy pants and a winter top of flannel or heavy material, then you should wear a sweater or sweatshirt on top of that. To go outside, you should have a good coat that goes down to the top part of the leg, a hat that stays on and warms your ears, winter scarf for when face freezes, gloves that have grip material in the hand, and waterproof/resistant boots that go up at least to your calf, you change out your regular shoes with your boots, altho some people just wear boots all day. Layers is the key to comfort in the mountain weather all thru the year, like Portland. If you don't wear long johns, you've got to have knee-high socks, and a long-sleeved top to go under your shirt or blouse. Some women insist on wearing dresses and stockings or high socks, with sweaters, but they have long coats down to the calf and boots, or socks with shoes.
Spring and fall are coolish to pleasant warm, and we get a February thaw for one week, and an October Indian summer for a week or two. Leaves change around October 20, sometimes several days later. November and March it tends to rain a lot, you'll need a raincoat with a hood or umbrella. Spring does not start in mid-March like a lot of North Carolina, rather it starts mid-April, with May pretty safe. I can remember a couple feet of snow one year in mid-April in Asheville, and then the Blizzard of '93 was in March. The weather is quite variable, everybody pays attention to the weather reports on TV.
Hope that covers it. Now, the further north you go, the temps are vastly different. Also, some people will want to offer different advice than myself on how to dress up here or what the temps really are. But I'm just giving you what I recall about all that. We should have summer until mid-September, altho it will tend to get cooler and cooler beginning very soon. Let us know sometime your impressions of our weather, but again keep in mind the last couple summers have been very hot and muggy, and some winters are mild compared to others, with less snow and single digit temps infrequent.
Summers have been consistently in the Higher 80's and HUMID the last 2 years, and the Winters have been in the Lower 30's to Lower 20's the last 2 years With Above Average Snowfall(from what i can remember being only 21)
Thank you all so much - your answers are very helpful! I feel much better-informed. Seems like I can look forward to living in a town with delightful people!
Cooler than SoCal, a real taste of winter for a few days, and 4 seasons...
GL, mD
Motordavid - thanks! And to answer your question, I'm going back to college and living in a dorm, so I'm assuming space for clothing will be limited. ...And I do have closets full, haha. Some donation is definitely in store!
in that case, blue jeans, good shoes, sweaters, sweatshirts, fleece tops. layer on and off.
I just layer up and cover with my college hoodie when I go home in the winter and am fine.
Good luck in college. It is a beautiful campus.
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