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W.C. Fields once said, "California is the only state in the Union where you can fall asleep under a rose bush in full bloom and freeze to death." Surely a gross exaggeration, right? Actually, no.
Don't be fooled by what you think you know about California's weather. "Really," you say, "I've seen Baywatch and The O.C. What's there to understand? California is all buffed bikini-clad bods and perpetual sun." Well, yes and no. Sometimes the reality lives up to the myth; sometimes it doesn't. Frankly, the weather isn't that predictable.
 | The most important weather predictor is your location: coast or inland, north or south. As a general rule, the weather is cool and windy along the coastline — even in July and August — and warmer and perpetually sunnier as you move inland. The climate is always warmer and sunnier in inland Sacramento than in famously foggy San Francisco. (The temperature drops again as you climb into the mountains to high-elevation places such as Lake Tahoe.) Believe it or not, the rule even holds true in the same city: Downtown Los Angeles is more often than not 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than L.A.'s beach community, Santa Monica, which benefits from cooling ocean breezes. Latitude matters, too; in general, the southern coast — Santa Barbara and points south — sees better beach weather than its northern counterparts. |
One thing you can say for sure about California weather is how changeable it is. The temperature may drop at night more than you're used to; in many places, both along the coast and inland, daytime temperatures of 80 degrees Fahrenheit and above may routinely drop into the low 40s in the evening. Cool fog covers much of the coastline in the mornings, but if the sun breaks through, temperatures soar by noon or so. The bottom line: Be prepared for dramatic daily changes, even in summer. Layering your clothes is always a good idea.
California is seasonless to a certain degree — any time is a good time to visit. The state benefits from glorious conditions year-round, with the weather being generally warmer than most other mainland U.S. spots in winter, and cooler and drier than most in summer.
One of the most surprising ticks in California's weather pattern is that summer generally starts late. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles (and virtually all points in between) don't really start warming up until July. Even blessedly sunny L.A. is notorious for June gloom: Morning gray rolls in and stays until afternoon.
On the upside, when the warm weather comes, it almost always stays through September and usually well into October. (Unfortunately, in L.A., "warm" often means several days of really stinkin' hot.) Indian summer is common, and fall is universally the best season, weatherwise. In September and October, the fog even lifts from perpetually misty spots along the coast, such as Monterey and Mendocino. In places where the weather starts to crisp in the fall, such as Tahoe, clear air and beautiful colors make for gorgeous conditions.
If you're coming to California to hit the beach in your bikini in January, don't count on it — this is not Hawaii. Still, the weather will likely be milder here than where you're from — swimming may not happen, but strolling the sands under cloudless brilliant blue skies probably will. No wonder so many people love visiting in winter — 50 degrees in San Francisco is way better than Chicago's, or even New York's, parka weather. Tahoe is a prime spot for skiing, and snow-blanketed Yosemite is crowd-free and magnificent. And the coastal destinations — particularly Monterey and Big Sur — are likely to be more pleasant, with clearer skies in December or January than in June or July. If you're lucky, you may even get a beach day in L.A. or San Diego in those months, when the occasional 80-degree day takes a bow.
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