Micro Climates

My family would visit California in the past during traditional school breaks, which lead me to believe the Bay Area had pretty much one climate: cold.

During Winter break, it was cold because it was December. During Spring break in March, it was cold because apparently the fog does something to keep it that way. During Summer break, when one would expect the weather in California to be sunny and warm, it was-you got it, still cold. I remember once being so cold they put me in bed wearing a sweater, a pile of quilts and with a cup of hot chocolate. I was still cold. It was June.

So for the first time in a while I’m visiting home when it’s the very end of Summer going in to Fall. School starts about now so we wouldn’t have visited during this time of year. It’s been a long time since I was here for this season; which is mild? I’m not going to say warm, but I’m getting to that later. You can see how I would be confused by the weather. I brought warm clothes but I’ve really only needed a light jacket, I even still wear flip-flops.

Besides the quirky Bay Area weather, there is also the extreme micro climates of our house. Now, nearly every single room has huge glass windows, some of them floor to ceiling. They were built about 60 years ago so they are single pained and pretty basic for windows (which are getting super technical these days). My bedroom for example, gets the most direct sun in the evening. It turns my room into a sweltering sauna. You have to close the curtains and open the doors and it’s still hot in there. On the other hand, the living room with it’s three walls of windows it usually chilly, no matter the weather.

Also in the back yard, if you sit in the sun it’s too hot, if you sit in the shade it’s too cold. The side porch it’s a similar problem of hot and cold, but with a breeze. Some rooms are too dark, no matter where the sun is or what it’s doing, other rooms are blindingly bright. The kitchen is an odd combination of both blinding bright and dark, you have to be standing in the right place to get the perfect light.

I’ve noticed that people here are probably used to the blinding sunsets. I’m not talk about the lovely colors, but when the sun is starting it’s slanting decline to the horizon. You can’t even look west without being literally blinded for a moment (or more).

My parents said they got used to the sunlight, but it’s still painful to me. It’s not like Texas’s sun wasn’t bright, you’d stand outside too long and get a burn, but something is different. The California sun is blinding but cool (unless you’re in a glass room). While Texas’s sun is hot but not overly bright. It’s like the difference between a 60 watt bulb and an LED light.

Now, for me, I tend to be a little colder in general, but I can get too hot in the sun. So I like to try and dress in layers. Here I can almost get away with moving to different areas of the house instead of layering up or down.

Then there is also the factor of where you are in the Bay Area which will determine the climate. We live up near the top of a hill, which is always cooler than the flats below us. But if we went through the tunnel it would be much warmer on the other side. It’s nearly impossible to dress for the weather, I seriously end up bringing the opposite of what I’m wearing just to cover all the bases (ex: if I’ve got on warm clothes, I bring flip-flops and a lighter shirt. If I’ve got on light clothes I bring shoes and a jacket). And I ask where we will be going to determine the warmth that I’ll need to dress.

But I Can say, at least it’s not humid and gross. Which makes this funny weather a win in my book.