Thursday, March 29, 2012

San Diego Climate and "June Gloom"

San Diego is considered to be a semi-arid steppe climate. Since San Diego has this type of climate you can predict that it will not get very much rainfall and has mild and sunny weather throughout the year. On average the temperature will range from around 57 degrees Fahrenheit, in the winter, to about 72 degreed Fahrenheit, in its summer months.
The picture above shows the average sunshine, rainfall, and temperatures for every month of the year. 
Image from: http://www.worldexecutive.com/locations/north_america/usa/california/san_diego/weather.html

Although San Diego does not have a large amount of rainfall, water is still present in the atmosphere. On average, San Diego has a relative humidity of 68.8% throughout the year. In addition to its humidity, the city also goes through a period from May to June where San Diego has a large amount of Advection Fog. This fog forms from westerly winds and a cold current colliding near the Pacific Coastline. Temperatures during this time are relatively low, however, if Santa Ana winds occur, easterly winds bringing hot dry air, the temperature can rise above average.

This image demonstrates marine layer covering the coast of California. 
Image from: http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/continued-cool-california_2010-08-10

Stratus clouds can be at fault for this "June Gloom". Their horizontal layering can identify these clouds. Stratus clouds usually do not usually create rain, but they can bring a large amount of drizzle, fog, and mist. Stratus clouds form when weak, uplifting currents lift a thin layer of air high enough up in the atmosphere to a point where condensation can occur. In addition, they can be formed when a layer of air is cooled from below to its dew point and water vapor condenses into liquid droplets. "June Gloom" does not have much affect on the population of San Diego, however, it has the ability to ruin an intended beach day for locals and for vacationers. Therefore, San Diego has a relatively nice climate but can experience large amounts of fog and stratus clouds from May-June.
The photo above shows the formation of "June Gloom".
Image from:http://ironmitch3.blogspot.com/2008/07/june-gloom-satelite-cam-go-east-young.html

Sources:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/referrals/weather/atmosphere/stratus-clouds.html
http://www.san-diego.us/san-diego-climate.html
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wstratus.htm

4 comments:

  1. Hey Jaclyn,

    Having been out in San Diego for boot camp, I remember very vividly all the fog that you mentioned although my timing there was Nov-Feb. Also, it rained a lot while I was out there which having spoken to several people that lived out there was very out of character for San Diego and I attribute it to my luck of being in boot camp so why wouldnt it rain right? LOL. But overall, I love the information you provided in this blog. You paint a solid picture of the climate and weather so that if I ever get back out to SD, I can know what to expect so thank you!

    ~Shawn~

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  2. Over all, a very nice blog Jaclyn; the blog has good detail on climate, water and soil, and fault lines. I think landslides should be included within the Water and Soil section because coastal California has major issues with landslides, along with flooding that you included. Also in the San Diego Fault Lines section, The Ring of Fire was never mentioned. Although the Rose Canyon Fault could be San Diego’s largest threat as far as San Diego faults go, I think it is important to stress that San Diego is built on top of many seismically active faults and is located on the Ring of Fire the most seismically active area in the world.

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  3. Jaclyn,

    I know you are from California, so it is nice to read a blog from someone who actually lives at their location. I felt that you had very helpful pictures in your post and they really helped strengthen your information. I really liked the explanaition of the "June Gloom", catchy, and I had never heard of that before. That was very cool. You have a very well written blog and it makes me want to go back out to California. I am very jealous that you get to spend summer there.

    Mike Miller

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  4. I just went to San Diego over the summer and I was expecting it to be nice and hot but it wasnt it was cold and rainy the whole time we were there. Your blog would have been nice to read a year ago so I would know not to go there during May. I still liked it in San Diego though. Your visuals were really helpful in understanding why it is June Gloom and not so nive during pretty much the summer time.
    Brianna Garcia

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