San Diego
and Denver are two major cities in my life. I currently reside in Denver, while
San Diego will always be my hometown. There are similarities between the two
cities, as well as differences. The most obvious difference between the two
cities is the weather.
San Diego
weather is perfection, that is, in my own opinion. The climate in the city
often varies over short geographical distances due to mountains, hills and the
bay. I experienced the weather
difference over the geographical distances. When I lived in a town called
Alpine, it seemed to be always 5-10 degrees cooler than El Cajon, which is the
city where I went to high School. I always though that it was very weird, but
the reason for that is because Alpine is in the mountains, while El Cajon is
nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. SD typically experiences mild and
sunny weather, for the majority of the year. In the wintertime and the early
months of the year, the city experiences heavy precipitation while during the
months of May and June, a thin layer of clouds cover the coastal and inland
communities. Some call it “May Gray” or “June Gloom.” May gray and June gloom
is a local saying that refers to thee way in which San Diego sometimes had
trouble shaking off the fog that comes in during those months. Summer to early fall is typically the hottest
times of the year. The months of September through February then bring dry and warm
winds from the desert called Santa Ana. These winds can burst out in gusts of
100mph and it can lower the humidity level to single digits because they bring
sometimes hot but always dry conditions. Santa Ana can easily spread or worsen
fires. “The Santa Ana winds are
actually warm due to barometric pressure increases: as the air is pulled down
to sea level from the higher altitudes of the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains
to the east it compresses and heats up.”
Denver on
the other hand has beautiful weather as well. Although it is known for it’s “bipolar
weather, “ and 300 days of sunshine a year, it still experiences all four
seasons. It is amazing how one day it will be snowing and the next day it will
be bright and sunny. The summers range from mild to hot with an occasional
afternoon thunderstorms and high temperatures that can range up to the 90s.
While the winter ranges from mild to occasional bitter cold where you can’t
feel your face. And again, in the winter time it is possible for it to be
snowing the night before and have it be sunny the next morning. Last year, I
saw snow fall in the month of may which
shows extreme weather patterns for Colorado.
What I
thought was really interesting is literally experiencing both climates from
both cities. During the first week of February, I went home to San Diego for
the weekend. This was during the snow storm in Colorado. On February 5th,
the temperature in Denver was -11 degrees with a -30 wind chill. It was the coldest I have ever been in Denver
and needless to say, I was very ready to go home to the warmer weather in San
Diego. The first few days in San Diego were a little chilly. It rained for the
first couple days and was overcasted. But then eventually it got warmer and the
temperature went up to the 60s, which to me is perfectly nice and warm, it felt
like spring. But to the local San Diegans, this temperature is considered quite
chilly and for some even freezing. That cracked me up a little.
In
conclusion, both cities experience beautiful and different weather patterns.
San Diego experiences weather that Denver does not experience and vice versa.
The reason for this is their geographic location. Because San Diego is closer
to the ocean, they experience less temperature fluctuations than Denver who
experiences 4 seasons. I love living in both cities and experiencing both
weathers.
