Re: CHAT: Our opinions of what can be called 'winter' (was: OT: Merry Christmas!)

Here's my view of what winter is to me:

- Rain comes from lows that blow in from the Gulf of Alaska. These are
generally cold storms unless they suck moisture from what's called the
Pineapple Express - subtropical moisture from Hawaii. These storms are
usually warmer, but still not something you'd like to take a walk in
without an umbrella. The rains last for a few days to maybe one day,
and there are several days between storms with sunshine and
surprisingly warm temperatures. They are sometimes very windy storms
that bring us gusts to 50 MPH. Nothing too wild, but wild enough to
make things interesting.

- These storms bring swells that create high, and dangerous seas.
Waves are usually 20 - 30 feet. These waves usually end up washing at
least one tourist off the rocks, so typically, we're not surprised
when it happens. If we are surprised, we're usually surprised it took
as long as it did for it to happen (Cynical yes, but when there is
ample warning, what more can you do?)

- Temperatures can be surprisingly warm during the day. Probably as
warm as a pleasant spring day, at least as warm as the mid to upper
60's F, to the lower 70's F. Night time temperatures are usually about
45F, although on clear, windless nights the temperatures drop to
freezing or slightly below. Occasionally we'll see an arctic mass move
over which everyt en years or so drops temperatures around 20F.

- For the natural habitats (Classified as a mediterranean, and more
specifically, chaparral), winter is the time when plants initiate new
growth. Cultivated plants will usually keep growing except for
deciduous trees, shrubs, and perrenials which die back. Something is
always blooming here, and this is when my pink Jasmine goes into a
second flowering (J. polyanthemum). I've actually got a cirtus
(Kalamansi) which is growing a second flush of foliage).

- Thunder, lightning, and hail are rare, but welcome when they do
happen. Snow is uncommon, except occasionally when it will dust the
local mountains with snow. If we on the coast want to see actual
drifts and piles of the stuff, we take a holiday to the Sierra
Nevadas, where we can see lots of it, but go home after a weekend and
enjoy sun and warm temperatures along the coast (the mountains are a 5
hour drive from here).

California has so many microclimates that we have almost all of them
except for tropical, arctic tundra (we do have alpine tundra), and
naturally arctic/antarctic climates). We even have rainforests
(temperate). It is said that California has the most diverse range of
climates in the entire US.