I was born & raised in California...Southern California, to be exact. I am used to two seasons, not four: our cold/wet season, & our hot/dry season. Winter & spring can be cold & wet, but not always. We've actually had temperature extremes of the low teens in the overnight hours, to daytime high temps over 115 degrees. I recall a couple winters in the past few years where it even snowed in the valley areas, although the snow didn't stay on the ground for very long. It's also not uncommon to have heat waves of over 90 degrees in December & January.
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As far as our cold season goes,50 degree temperatures will send Southern Californians outside in a parka, & we'll return to the warmth of the indoors, ready for a hot cup of anything. Whether we bundle up to go outside or not, we'll sure be talking about the cold weather, as if we went to bed in San Diego & woke up in Antarctica.
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Who needs a traffic reporter when it's a drizzly, lightly raining day? Anyone who has ever driven on a California freeway knows that Californians simply can't drive when there's even the hint of moisture on the roadways, let alone when it's pouring down rain. The surest way to bring traffic to a halt, is a little rain, or someone changing their tire on the shoulder. One would think there is a 10-car pileup with the traffic jam that results from tire changes or drizzle on the roadways.
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As for our hot & dry season, well, summer & fall make up those months, with our wildfire season being in full swing from August through October. A careless match on a windy, Santa Ana day can cause a raging wildfire that destroys acres of land, homes, & kills wildlife ("Santa Ana days" refers to the type of wind conditions we get here sometimes).
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Then comes that time of year when the rest of the country looks forward to spring, after a harsh winter with sub-zero temperatures & a blanket of snow. Those of us in the valley & coastal areas of Southern California only know it's spring because there are more birds flitting about than usual. As for our temperatures, they vary. It could be a "cold" 50 degrees on Monday, & by Thursday, we could be cranking up the air conditioner to cool off on a 90 degree day. People often get sick here during those 40 degree temperature swings. It's like climatic whiplash!
But here's the thing that separates Californians from the rest of the country: we accept a lot of things here, but are very intolerant of weather changes. We are spoiled, climate-wise, & we love our sunny weather. We pay a lot to live here, & the "sunshine tax" (aka higher cost of living) we pay makes us feel entitled to expect that it should be sunny & warm, because after all, we paid for sunshine, & that's what we want!
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People all across the nation could be hit hard by freezing winter storms that dump several feet of snow & knock out power lines. We read or listen to the news stories & we feel compassion for those folks, but then when the temperature drops below our comfort zone of 65-75 degrees, we find ourselves in a tizzy, wondering how we will ever stay warm.
I lived in Spokane, Washington for 7 years. I remember when we moved to Spokane at the end of April, & spring was just setting in, after a long winter. I wore my white winter ski jacket/coat to the grocery store, & encountered strange looks. When I asked my in-laws why people were looking at me funny, they told me it was because my coat was white, which could actually show the dirt more than a regular coat, so people thought it was odd that I would wear a white coat, that's all.
Looking back, I realize my in-laws were being kind to me. People looked at me funny because my status as a California transplant to Washington stood out like a skunk trying to pretend to be a cat. People noticed my stripe, by the fact that I was wearing a very padded winter coat at the time of year when others were ditching their coats for long-sleeved t-shirts. I had California written all over me!So while the rest of the "4 Seasons" country is experiencing freezing cold winters, I'll try to remember not to be such a Californian, at least not while talking about the weather. It's probably a bit rude to complain to my friends in Michigan & North Dakota about our 50 degree days, while others are shoveling snow, scraping ice off of windshields, & enduring freezing cold temperatures. When I complain about the cold snap we're having, I'll try to keep it just among my local friends & family. They can empathize. They too are spoiled. But together, we can appreciate just how good we really do have it here, & can try our best not to take our warm weather for granted. After all, just about the time we begin to forget how good we have it here, along comes a cold snap, & out come the parkas again. We need those cold snaps now & then, to help us remember to be grateful....especially because most of the year, we really can't complain, because our days look like this:
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