San Diego Weather

[Wodyetia]

Is it me or are we already way cooler than we should be for early November. I’ve been in the low 40s for lows for over a week now. It’s having a hard time hitting 70 during the day. Hope we don’t have a bad winter.

[kinzyjr]

6 minutes ago, Wodyetia said:

Is it me or are we already way cooler than we should be for early November. I’ve been in the low 40s for lows for over a week now. It’s having a hard time hitting 70 during the day. Hope we don’t have a bad winter.

The Californians among us can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the whole west side of the USA has been chilly while the UK has been mild.  Seems I read a post from @UK_Palms or @Foxpalms saying London was actually milder than Los Angeles for a bit.

[UK_Palms]

4 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

The Californians among us can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the whole west side of the USA has been chilly while the UK has been mild.  Seems I read a post from @UK_Palms or @Foxpalms saying London was actually milder than Los Angeles for a bit.

Yeah the western USA has been experiencing below average temperatures, whereas Europe in general has been well above average. Here in the UK the difference has been most notable at night as the sunshine intensity/UV is so low here now. It has been incredibly mild across the board though.

London only had a low of 15C / 59F a few nights back, whereas Los Angeles went down to 7C / 43F that same night. So London was about 8C / 15F warmer. The days were also slightly warmer here too from Wednesday - Friday I believe, but only by 2-3C / 5F. It is an abnormally early cold snap for the western coast of USA.

Things are due to return more to normal this coming week though. Highs/lows for London and LA were pretty similar over the weekend, but LA will be comfortably warmer again by Monday. We've got a ton of rain coming our way once again and much cooler temperatures, especially during the day.

[Foxpalms]

I wouldn't mind if the weather stayed this way all winter then returned back to hot and dry in the summer. If I can escape a freeze or have a 10a winter again that would be nice! I suspect the 10a spots in London probably won't go below freezing this winter since it's supposed to be above average unless we get unlucky and get a cold snap with clear skies coming from Scandinavia/Siberia. @kinzyjr Saturday was 20c the same high as los angles and the low was 13c in the evening last night. 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Foxpalms

[Silas_Sancona]

52 minutes ago, Wodyetia said:

Is it me or are we already way cooler than we should be for early November. I’ve been in the low 40s for lows for over a week now. It’s having a hard time hitting 70 during the day. Hope we don’t have a bad winter.

Yes the start of Nov. has been cooler than normal, both there and here. ( 60s/ lower 70s , w/ nights in the 40s / lower 50s ..or upper 30s in a few spots in the lower deserts... Compared to what would be more typical:  mid / upper 70s / low 80s, nights in the 50s... )  No, it shouldn't stay -as- cool much longer ...w/ the weather pattern moving the focus of the cooler air -now over the west, more toward the east..

Regardless, don't expect 80F on Thanksgiving.. Here either..  Stays dry as well, at least according to current longer term forecasts..  Obviously, "Current" means it could change a bit later..

And no, lol.. a cool start to November does not mean a cold winter lies ahead..  I don't get where people got hooked on this bad tidbit of info, but it needs to be put to sleep, 'cuz it ain't often true, lol.. imo...  If anything, S. Cal. < And the deserts > could get a head start on spring if a hunch i have pans out.  We'll just have to see.. Waste of time / energy  worrying about what might..  happen.

Was thinking about this today honestly.. All my Plumeria seedlings / Desert Roses are still outside ..and i know we've dropped to at least 40F once or twice so far this season.. While some people would be freaking out,  the plants are all staying outside until any threat of lows dropping below 35F occur..

If... by some bad luck  there are is a stretch of frosty mornings in the future over the next 2 or 3 months,  be glad the weather over the last couple weeks has been getting things adjusted to cooler nights - slowly- 

Plants can tolerate cold better when they are coaxed into taking a nap ( ...by several weeks of cooling weather.. ), rather than what can occur in other parts of the country:  80F / 60F for several weeks, followed by  60F days, a day later ..and a few / several nights at / below freezing..  No thanks,  i'll take some cooler mornings well before even the hint of a frost were to occur. ..







 

44 minutes ago, kinzyjr said:

The Californians among us can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the whole west side of the USA has been chilly while the UK has been mild.  Seems I read a post from @UK_Palms or @Foxpalms saying London was actually milder than Los Angeles for a bit.

 

[Foxpalms]

@Silas_Sancona The only place I've read is supposed to below average Nov-Jan is the Pacific Northwest. Whilst here in Europe, southern Europe is supposed to be above average and northern Europe is supposed to be way above average.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Foxpalms said:

@Silas_Sancona The only place I've read is supposed to below average Nov-Jan is the Pacific Northwest. Whilst here in Europe, southern Europe is supposed to be above average and northern Europe is supposed to be way above average.

Being La Nina winter #3, that outcome is... possible,   That said,  in 40+ years / 35+ years of weather watching, i have never met a forecast, -esp a seasonal one-  that didn't flip on a dime compared to what was "suggested" earlier on.. 

When it comes to what "might" occur next month, or in Jan. or Feb, Detectable trends within monthly updates from the NMME 7 model suite ( 10 if you add the " overall"  NMME outlook, and the Probability / PAC Calib. prob. forecasts ), and information regarding current behavior of the Polar Vortex ..and what it might do  via twitter / AER Blog updates from Meteorologist Judah Cohen,  and info posted on the PV Forecast Twitter page are the only things i place any trust in..

  Seasonal "forecasts" from sources like Accuweather or, far worse.. The Weather Channel / Farmer's Almanac ( ... For anyone who thinks it might still be 17... 18... or 1910 )?  or some "odd" meteorologists on twitter / elsewhere, ...that Ryan Maue "character" for example 🤣  8 out of 10 times, take a peek, just for humor's sake, roll eyes,  ...and hit "Delete from memory" .. Then check Stormsurf or the IRI for ENSO updates, ...if any are posted 😀

Edited November 14, 2022 by Silas_Sancona

[GottmitAlex]

Here we go. 11:08PM PST South San Diego, 8C

Brood lamps came on.

Too early. I didn't expect this until December.

 

[bubba]

It all levels out. One region may start cooler earlier one year and then January promises highs in the low 90sF. In the words of Rick James “enjoy yourself”.

[Wodyetia]

Frost advisory tonight after over an inch of rain. These are the ones that stress me out, cold and wet. Hopefully I will stay in the 37 range per NWS.

[Wodyetia]

On 11/13/2022 at 11:10 PM, GottmitAlex said:

Here we go. 11:08PM PST South San Diego, 8C

Brood lamps came on.

Too early. I didn't expect this until December.

 

What are you doing the next couple nights?

[GottmitAlex]

2 hours ago, Wodyetia said:

What are you doing the next couple nights?

Nothing. Brood lamps turn on upon hitting 8c. Then they turn off at 9c+.  Our highs have been above 15c. Except today which was at 12c. (Raining and hail). Tomorrow should be sunny.

[Wodyetia]

38.4 last night and another frost advisory for tonight!!! This is April! Never seen it this cold this late into spring.  🥶
Lots of my palms/tropicals are struggling and just don’t look happy. Need the warmth come on….

How are other SoCal gardens doing?

[mnorell]

Yes, it is pretty crazy that this winter just keeps giving, giving, giving! We had 42 degrees this morning here at our place in Rancho Mirage. Supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer this morning. But the I-15 corridor just keeps getting hosed, I have noticed this looking in the early morning at Wundermap. Granted, the I-15 is a notoriously frost-prone region but indeed, this is April and it is in our mindset that spring has sprung at least slightly, everywhere except in the cool maritime-influenced coastal zone. One doesn't expect it, and I was pretty shocked to see it happening so close to the coast in SD County this morning. But we have to keep in mind that this type of crazy winter is not that unusual when going back in the historical record to about 1880, when many SoCal records began in earnest. Seems like there is a winter of this type roughly every 20 years or so. But this one is apparently the worst since the long, wet winters in the late '70s/early '80s. During those winters, I remember when Mission Valley in San Diego (I think it was '77-'78) was virtually impassable except on the 405 and 163 freeways. The San Diego River was amazingly flooded, the huge movie theaters had their auditoriums submerged. My great-grandparents settled from Switzerland in the Alpine (inland San Diego County) area around 1880, and also had a house in the downtown area of San Diego, and my mother told me that her father railed against the development taking place in Mission Valley in the mid-20th century, since he had witnessed the massive flood of the valley, I think in the 1910s...and knew that one day, it would come again...

[Wodyetia]

1 hour ago, mnorell said:

Yes, it is pretty crazy that this winter just keeps giving, giving, giving! We had 42 degrees this morning here at our place in Rancho Mirage. Supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer this morning. But the I-15 corridor just keeps getting hosed, I have noticed this looking in the early morning at Wundermap. Granted, the I-15 is a notoriously frost-prone region but indeed, this is April and it is in our mindset that spring has sprung at least slightly, everywhere except in the cool maritime-influenced coastal zone. One doesn't expect it, and I was pretty shocked to see it happening so close to the coast in SD County this morning. But we have to keep in mind that this type of crazy winter is not that unusual when going back in the historical record to about 1880, when many SoCal records began in earnest. Seems like there is a winter of this type roughly every 20 years or so. But this one is apparently the worst since the long, wet winters in the late '70s/early '80s. During those winters, I remember when Mission Valley in San Diego (I think it was '77-'78) was virtually impassable except on the 405 and 163 freeways. The San Diego River was amazingly flooded, the huge movie theaters had their auditoriums submerged. My great-grandparents settled from Switzerland in the Alpine (inland San Diego County) area around 1880, and also had a house in the downtown area of San Diego, and my mother told me that her father railed against the development taking place in Mission Valley in the mid-20th century, since he had witnessed the massive flood of the valley, I think in the 1910s...and knew that one day, it would come again...

That’s awesome that you can trace your family back to the 1880s! I’ve only been here for about 10 years so hopefully I’ll have another 20 of better winters then. Just hope my stuff pulls through without too many casualties.

[mnorell]

56 minutes ago, Wodyetia said:

That’s awesome that you can trace your family back to the 1880s! I’ve only been here for about 10 years so hopefully I’ll have another 20 of better winters then. Just hope my stuff pulls through without too many casualties.

I wouldn't worry too much about the super-cold/super-long winters, yes this has been a truly awful and annoying experience (I think so, at least!), but such seasons are fairly rare in SoCal and your plants usually are going to get 'dinged,' and not killed...they will recover for the most part, and you will, with time, forget. If you lose something it's an opportunity to plant something new in its place. I lived for some years in Natchez, Mississippi, and learned to have a very rewarding tropical garden even there, frustrating at first but after adjusting I found many things that grew so beautifully (far nicer than in California) in the incredible Loess soil and with the summer heat and humidity...though the coldest periods in winter were much colder than anything SoCal can offer other than in the mountains. Frankly, I think the problems with SoCal winters are more in terms of coolness (for a long duration), and in soil quality...if you are warm and air-drained, you have rock and clay and everything can seem to be against you in terms of maintaining plant quality...if you have great soil, you are generally in a river-bottom and going to get frosts/freezes in winter. Every place has its problems. Florida seems to have either sand or coral rock as "soil," plus hurricanes that can really ruin your life for several years (that happened to me)...even Hawai'i has its issues, though of all the places I've lived, Honolulu, for me, really did have a magical climate. I don't think one can find a better place that accommodates both humans and plants in such a happy condition.

[bubba]

I completely missed the continuation of this interesting pearl of wisdom thread. I ramble too much about the Florida coast but the muck soil on the east side of Lake Okeechobee near Pahokee is nearly 20 feet deep and many old stories about tomatoes exploding like grenades in the winter season when they were not picked quickly enough!