It's Hot Almost Everywhere But Here

Quote of the day:
“We believed in forgiveness, and we believed in knowing exactly what we were forgiving people for.”
--Garrison Keillor

Much of the country is very hot right now. Southern California is not exempt.

Normally, there is a significant variation between temperatures at the beach and inland, with the thermometer going up with each additional half mile or so. Also, there are differences as elevation rises and falls.

This is why a place like Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley can be one of the hottest places in the country (as it was several times last year). Even though it’s just several miles from the ocean, any cooling breeze is blocked by surrounding mountains.

This year, it seems like all these differences are accentuated. In Cambria this week it actually is cool at the coast--temps reached the high sixties with a stiff, cold northwestern wind in the afternoons.

Inland a couple miles it is ten degrees warmer with a gentle breeze. In Templeton and Paso Robles--20 miles to the east--the high temperature is in the 90s.

What all this means is that, whatever our weather reputation and whatever San Diego or Los Angeles temperature is reported, most of us in Southern California are basking/roasting in the high 80s or low 90s.

Not only that, but we’ve been seeing more humidity than usual. Don’t talk to me about dry heat. In addition to being annoying, it’s not always true.