Thursday, November 13, 2014

Weather

      San Diego is known for its almost perfect weather. The average temperature in San Diego ranges from upper 50's in the summer time to high 70's in the winter time. Precipitation in San Diego is less than 12 inches annually and is mostly in the months of December and March. San Diego, just like Colorado and Arizona, has four seasons as well. So, despite their beautiful weather, San Diego's climate changes throughout the months.  

This photo shows the US average temperatures throughout the year compared to San Diego, which stays in the middle throughout.

      San Diego's climate is known to be microclimate because of this region's topography. Microclimate is when the climate of an area varies depending on location. Some factors that play a part in a place having a microclimate are surface temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar insolation and precipitation. Natural environments play a part in microclimate as well, this can include the topography, soil type, sun exposure and latitude of a region. Throughout San Diego there are hills, mountains, canyons causing the climate of the county to vary depending on location. As a result, an Diego has many climate zones throughout the city. Topography plays a significant factor in the microclimate because it affects the areas humidity, area, or wind speed. For example, the temperature of any ocean or body of water influences the atmosphere in that area. So, because of the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, they experience cool summers and warm winters.
This shows the different areas where the climates are different.
 
This photo demonstrates the different climate zones in San Diego. 
   


      The coast of San Diego is known to experience marine like climate so in May/June months, its coast is known to be cloudy and gloomy. The thick clouds on top of the ocean coast causes the air in the area to be cool and damp. But, traveling a couple miles east of the ocean, the temperature and the weather can be sunshine and high temperatures. So, even though some parts of San Diego along the coast experiences cloudy weather, there are areas just a little distance away that almost never experiences cloudy weather. 

 
A photo taken of a cloudy day on the coast of San Diego.


Works Cited
"Microclimate." Microclimate. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.