The best WARM, walkable communities or cities in the US

[destroycreate]

Good point about Southern California weather being very inconsistent.

As a California native, the one thing I've definitely noticed that is unique to this climate is that every year really varies. Rainfall, especially. San Francisco has an average precipitation of 23 inches a year, but really one has to emphasize "average". The first year I lived in SF we had almost 38inches of rain, it was very cold (this was 2010-2011), extremely wet. The last two years have been ridiculously dry and unpredictable, with annual precipitation having hovered around 15inches, well below normal. We had the bulk of our rain fall this past season during autumn, and after Christmas it basically never rained again. Very odd because Jan/Feb are supposed to be really wet.

San Diego is worse. I remember in 2001-2002 there was only under 3 inches of rain for the entirety of the "rainy season". Two years later it was 22 inches! Mountains turned from horrid brown to neon-green, Ireland-like.

Temperatures can also really vary. Santana Winds aren't afraid to blow by during Jan/Feb, typically after a long period of rain. There will be 2-3 weeks of flaming hot, dry weather, often in the upper 80s even along the coast.

However even nights in San Diego/LA during the wintertime can feel quite chilly. You'll definitely need a sweater/thick jacket.

Bottom line: people shouldn't come to SoCal thinking it's Key West. It's a pleasant, comfortable climate, but in my opinion only 3-4 months out of the year truly warrant beach weather.

[easy as pie]

yeah, it's raining here in sf as i type this but pride weekend will be sunny and glorious, as usual.

[brian_b]

Originally Posted by AviationGuy

I'll bet a lot of people don't know that the highest mountains in Hawaii get snow (the volcanoes on the Big Island especially). I've been in the high mountains above Honolulu on Oahu in December and needed a warm jacket. Those particular mountains don't get cold enough for snow but it does get cold up there. As for just walking around Honolulu, I don't think it's ever too cool for that.

Earlier this year I was on Mauna Kea and the temperature was about 20F with a wind chill of 0F. Very cold, but the stargazing was out of this world!

[tech12]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

yeah, it's raining here in sf as i type this but pride weekend will be sunny and glorious, as usual.

Yup, the first time it's rained in months, after one of the driest winters on record. And it usually doesn't rain at this time of year.

It's funny how there's a stereotype out there that has SF as a damp and rainy city, similar to portland/seattle/vancouver, when we actually get far less rain than any of the big Pacific Northwest cities, and in fact get less rain (and less cloud cover, and more sunshine hours) than almost any US city that's not in the southwest and some drier parts of the midwest.

Originally Posted by bnk

San Francisco at least the closest to the bay and ocean is never warm IMO. At least most of the times I have visited in all seasons.

San Francisco most certainly does get warm. There are 3 months of the year with average highs of about 70 degrees, plus at least one or two heat waves on most years where temperatures can get as high as 100. It's the kind of place where you can sometimes get 70-100 degree weather in January, while half the rest of the country is covered in snow and ice. Not to mention it almost never freezes or snows in SF. Summers may not be hot and humid like so many other places, but they typically range from cool to warm (let's say 50 to 70 degrees) depending on weather, time of day, and what part of the city you're in. SF's true summer is the "Indian Summer", and usually comes around August/September/October, bringing 70-80 degree weather with it. And of course those heatwaves strike whenever they feel like it...i remember a few years back we must have had a month of 80-100 degree weather over the course of the year, much of it occurring right in the middle of summer (june, july, etc).

SF isn't very warm compared to Miami, I guess, but it does seem like a relatively warm, or at least "not cold" city compared to plenty of places. For the record, I've been to the south, all over the east coast in the summer, all over CA, been to hawaii, Mexico, been to various deserts, etc, etc, and I still don't consider SF to be a cold place. It seems pleasant overall. Often chilly and often warm, but rarely cold and rarely hot (though the temperatures get more extreme elsewhere in the Bay Area, especially when it comes to "hot"). Of course it is subjective to some degree too.

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by tech12

SF isn't very warm compared to Miami, I guess, but it does seem like a relatively warm, or at least "not cold" city compared to plenty of places. For the record, I've been to the south, all over the east coast in the summer, all over CA, been to hawaii, Mexico, been to various deserts, etc, etc, and I still don't consider SF to be a cold place. It seems pleasant overall. Often chilly and often warm, but rarely cold and rarely hot (though the temperatures get more extreme elsewhere in the Bay Area, especially when it comes to "hot"). Of course it is subjective to some degree too.

Interesting that you perceive SF as a relatively warm city. I don't! I mean, sure, it's never going to be as cold as PNW cities or a place like Chicago, but even on 70F days in SF almost always the wind is howling. I can't tell you how annoyed I've been the past few weeks with the insanely blustery winds around 4pm. Even in the 60's it feels a lot colder because of the icy pacific.

On Indian Summer days, yeah, it can definitely get hot, but I think it's more like 3 weeks out of the year. And anyway, by nightfall it's always chilly lol.

I guess we just have different perceptions on this.

[Segun]

I've been to SF about 6 times, and I've probably had a combined 8 hours of sun and I've never felt the city above 65F. I always seem to get rained on, or some dense mist. Its become a running joke with me by now. The only time it felt warm was when I came from the Chi when it was in the teens.

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by Segun

I've been to SF about 6 times, and I've probably had a combined 8 hours of sun and I've never felt the city above 65F. I always seem to get rained on, or some dense mist. Its become a running joke with me by now. The only time it felt warm was when I came from the Chi when it was in the teens.

As much as I appear to complain about the climate here, I'll admit that there's something very romantic about the fog and the mist.

There's something to be said for living in the only city in the US during July where you could be curled up in a North Beach cafe wearing a thick sweater, sipping hot chocolate on a chilly, foggy day while the rest of the country is sweltering.

[tech12]

It's funny how people's experiences can be wildly different. I'm an SF native and am no stranger of course to foggy, cold, damp weather in SF. But my memories and daily experiences here include tons of mild sunny/partly cloudy days and even a good amount of truly hot weather too, just as much as it includes your stereotypical "55 degree windy and foggy july day" type of weather. And the thing about SF weather that a lot of people don't realize is that on that cold and foggy 50 degree july day where you're curled up drinking hot chocolate in North beach or whatever, you can often take a 30 minute/3 mile trip to say, the Mission, and it can be sunny, 70 degrees, and you'll be drinking iced coffee in a t-shirt instead of hot coffee in a sweater...all on the same day and in the same city. Microclimates aren't just about the east bay vs. the city vs. the south bay, etc, but work on a much smaller scaler and can also be applied to neighborhoods within a single city, even parts of neighborhoods. The hilly topography and the constant clash of cold pacific air and warm inland air does that.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

As much as I appear to complain about the climate here, I'll admit that there's something very romantic about the fog and the mist.

There's something to be said for living in the only city in the US during July where you could be curled up in a North Beach cafe wearing a thick sweater, sipping hot chocolate on a chilly, foggy day while the rest of the country is sweltering.

Yes, but there is just too damn much of it. I woke up one morning in June and it was 49 degrees outside. I'll stick with Florida, where I grew up running around barefoot and half naked in the sand. Then, there are people who would say there's just too damn much heat too, including the humidity. I get sick of it sometimes too, but it doesn't depress me like a cold, foggy San Francisco summer.

[mhays]

A group from my high school in Seattle went to Florida in 1987. We got off the plane and it was a wall of humidity like I'd never felt before. A few days later, our teachers woke everyone up at 3:00 am to see what "real" rain was like. If I went today the smell of humidity would probably bring back memories.

[giantSwan]

thanks all for the replies

I was more concerned with "walkable" than really really warm...but lots of great responses...gives me something to work with...

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by giantSwan

thanks all for the replies

I was more concerned with "walkable" than really really warm...but lots of great responses...gives me something to work with...

But the word WARM is in capital letters in the thread title, so what do you expect? Warm and "walkable" is the east side of South Beach.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Segun

I've been to SF about 6 times, and I've probably had a combined 8 hours of sun and I've never felt the city above 65F. I always seem to get rained on, or some dense mist. Its become a running joke with me by now. The only time it felt warm was when I came from the Chi when it was in the teens.

The last time I was there it was in the 80s (F), probably the low 80s, and the media was speaking of a "heat wave." It was extraordinarily comfortable. I had just driven out of the Southern California desert where there were towels wrapped around the metal door handles of gas stations so you wouldnt burn your hand. And even the heat in the desert was not really that bad compared to the lower midwest and upper south. Shade actually works out there.

[tech12]

^heh, to me the 80s are the upper limit of what I would call comfortable (and if it's humid, anything above 80 is not fun to me). Anything above 90 really sucks to me, though of course dry heat is a lot more tolerable than humid heat. The 70s are pretty much the perfect "warm" temperature range to me. I guess it makes sense seeing as I've spent most of my life in SF.

And speaking of heatwaves, the Bay Area is in the middle of one right now, as is the rest of the west coast. Of course for SF that translates only to 60-85 degree weather, depending on time of day and part of the city. Pretty much perfect, in my opinion. I live right by the beach and it's about 65 degrees with no wind right now, while at the same time its about 80 degrees in the mission district and in downtown (and it's only 10 am, so it'll be getting warmer). Sometimes heat waves will take it up to 100 in SF proper, even at the beach, but not this time.

[Dream'n]

Minneapolis downtown and St. Paul downtown. Both very walkable and warm even in the winter. Yes it's true. Don't even need a coat.