An idea for weather

[Field Marshal Blücher]

My experience living in northern California since 1990 is that I have seen the weather growing more erratic from year to year. It used to be that one could pretty much count on rain most of the day most every day throughout winter, such that creeks and rivers would flood almost every year. Nowadays, "winter" might be characterized by sunny, cloudless, 70+-degree weeks rather than simply days, with virtually no rain until early spring.

Do you live in actual northern California or what everyone calls "Northern California?" I lived in the South Bay for three years, and compared to DC, it was a heck of a lot more predictable. But I could see actual northern California being less predictable.

Also, I'm talking about predictability within individual days. In California, my experience is that if it looks like rain in the morning, it will either be raining or continue to look like rain for the whole day. In DC, you can go into work with the sun shining brightly and not a cloud in the sky, and emerge for your lunch break into a pouring thunderstorm.

[Dietrich]

Do you live in actual northern California or what everyone calls "Northern California?" I lived in the South Bay for three years, and compared to DC, it was a heck of a lot more predictable. But I could see actual northern California being less predictable.

Also, I'm talking about predictability within individual days. In California, my experience is that if it looks like rain in the morning, it will either be raining or continue to look like rain for the whole day. In DC, you can go into work with the sun shining brightly and not a cloud in the sky, and emerge for your lunch break into a pouring thunderstorm.

I live within an hour's drive north of San Francisco, in a town with a population of about 40,000.

For the past few weeks, the weather here has been variable from morning to evening. The morning starts out overcast and chilly, but by late afternoon the sun has burned away much of the clouds and is shining blindingly; it makes one feel like bringing both an umbrella and sunglasses on any given day. But even more common than such days are ones which seem rather spring-like -- the cloudless sunny-ness makes it pleasant to stand in the sun, but the actual ambient temperature makes it that as soon as you step into the shade, your teeth start chattering.

Like I said, though, since I've been living here (I grew up in Fullerton, CA, but when I was eight my family moved to northern California) I've seen the weather go from fairly dependable to almost bipolar.

[C'Rogers]

I'm amused by the discussion of the predicatability of the weather in CA. Drive a few hours out here to Las Vegas and we'll show you what real predictable weather is.