California Weather

California Weather And Climate

The weather in California is determined by the proximity of a location to the Pacific Ocean, and by elevation for inland locations. The major cities of San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have very similar climates. Indeed, San Diego and Los Angeles are virtually identical in terms of normal high and low temperatures, while San Francisco is cooler. You can figure on temperatures rarely exceeding 85°, or going below 55°on the Pacific Coast. All 3 cities are extremely dry during the summer, and see very little precipitation during the rest of the year, and all three see little variation in temperature between day and night, summer and winter. Many people would consider the climate of coastal California to be the best in the United States, or even the world.

Move inland and you'll see far more variation in temperatures. In Sacramento the temperatures vary by 15°during the winter from day to night, and over 30°in the sumer from day to night, and normal winter highs are almost 40°lower than summer highs. In Death Valley the normal high in July is 115°!, but in winter it's just 65°.

Snow is rare except in the Sierra Mountains. Tornadoes are extremely rare and no serious tornado has ever been documented in California. Flooding is a possibility, and fires are frequent. Sometimes the fires and flooding combine to create mudslides.