Kate is always bundled up like its December on the show. Big coats, gloves the works. I wonder what time of the year it's supposed to be on this show?
"They have a grill, it's this grill. Now you have it...it's called America."
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San Francisco is actually pretty chilly. Its climate is maritime polar. Mark Twain once wrote "the coldest winter I have ever experienced was a summer in San Francisco." Or something to that effect. I lived south of S.F. in Monterey, and now live near Seattle. It's similar, only there's snow in the winter in Seattle, and Seattle actually gets warm/hot in the summer-and for much longer! In the mornings, and in the evenings San Francisco is around 30 degrees F. Midday and in the early evening it gets to 65 degrees F. It does not get warm in this area of CA until around SEP to OCT. Winters average around 45-50 degrees, and when its rainy season, and cloudy, its also around that same temp. If you do not like those temperature ranges, you will bundle up-because its cold!
shareWith the hills and mountains forming all of those valleys in the Bay Area - plus the deep canyons just offshore that perpetually pump cold air and water through the Golden Gate - weather can be tough. You can be in San Jose, in South Bay (Silicon Valley) and it will be 90 degrees. Drive 20 minutes north to San Mateo (Peninsula) and it's 70 degrees. Drive another 20 minutes into San Francisco, and it could be 55 degrees. Drive on through SF on I-80 for 10 minutes, go across the Bay Bridge, and it could be 75 degrees in Emoryville. Go over to the next valley from there - Dublin or Pleasanton - and it's back to 90 degrees 20 minutes away.
Here's a great example. I wake up in San Jose, and decide to drive down to Salinas for the afternoon. This is about an hour drive or so. It's 85 degrees, and I turn on the AC.
20 minutes later, I'm driving down 101 through Morgan Hill, and it's 69 degrees. AC goes off, windows come down.
A half hour later, I'm closing in on Salinas, and it's 61 degrees. Now the windows are up, and I'm chilly. It's around 60 in Salinas, I hang out for a few hours, and around 4:00 Pm, I drive the 8 miles or so over to Monterey - where it's 54 degrees.
Google Map it, all of this is within 70 miles or so.
The Bay Area can be a nightmare for visitors, since practically any time of year except winter, you need to pack for 2 seasons if you're going to be going around the area like tourists frequently do. You go up to Napa, bring a jacket. You go to Monterey, bring a jacket. At the same time, have shorts if you're going to be in South Bay or out in the valleys to the east. If you're going into the Central Valley, it can be scorching there, well over a 100 degrees.
San Diego is hard too - it's always in the 70s by the ocean, and every mile or two you go inland, the temps rise a few degrees. If you're heading out I-8 going towards Alpine, and it's summer, it will 100 degrees 20 miles from where it was around 70.
kingg2, you are actually making me miss CA, and the drive! Although, why would anyone want to drive from San Jose to Salinas, lol? Unless it was to go to Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel? Salinas is a place to visit for affordable shopping and In and Out burger fixes, otherwise, there's Marina for the coast! ;-) You are so right, coastal Pacific areas are considerably cooler than inland areas. But then, if I lived in the San Jose area, I would probably drive to San Francisco and Marin County alot, or Santa Cruz! Oregon, and WA also have alot of micro-climates, and Canada I am told as well. I can't wait to visit Vancouver or Victoria, and even then there are areas that are mediterranean and others that are maritime polar.
shareI am GLAD you explain this because I am suppose to go to San Diego area to see my aunt in a few week.
**Scorpion of the Pink Sand**
San Diego has the best weather in the continental US. It's always nice, it just can get very hot once you start heading out into the desert. And you can actually go in the ocean there without a wet suit :-)
One of the hidden secrets that the LA tourism board keeps - and movies and TV too - is that in LA county - from Malibu all the way down to Rancho Palos Verdes - you can really only go in the ocean a couple of months a year. July and August, and maybe into September. The oceans flows south along the West Coast, so the water is coming down from Alaska. So it stays frosty, even in the summer. Which is why Monterey and San Francisco can be colder in July than in December. But San Diego is far enough south that the water is a few degrees warmer there, so you can probably go into the ocean June through early October without a wet suit. It won't be as warm as South Florida in November or March, but bearable.