As we finish up our first decade in America's southern appendage, I'm here to contest the notion that there are not seasons. There are seasons, they're just not the same as what you're used to.
Summer is swamp-ass season. I want to qualify that this is not exactly true for the Atlantic coast. Their average temperatures are a few degrees below ours, and they see a lot more wind. Here in the O.C., swamp-ass season starts with the end of school, at the end of May. Daily highs aren't 90 on average quite yet, but the humidity moves in. We get real washout thunderstorms that last for hours. By late June, the humidity briefly subsides in the middle of the day under the hot sun and still air, and then all the moisture from the gulf and the ocean collides and causes a brief downpour at about 3:30 p.m., followed by more sun. This goes on until at least September, and it's kind of like winter because being outside kind of sucks.
October brings a brief transition that I call mini-fall. The rainfall drops almost in half, there are a few days where you can leave your windows open, and it cools off just enough that for some reason a cockroach or two decides that maybe it's warmer inside of your house. Oh, and the mosquitos are the worst right after the fall love bug season.
Then with the holidays, just before Thanksgiving, we have jacket weather season. As the name implies, it gets cool enough to wear a jacket, especially at night. To tourists, it seems warm, but you can spot the locals wearing hoodies. This is what makes living here great. There is no snow to shovel, very little rain, no humidity to speak of, and it's just outright comfortable most of the time. You probably don't want to be in the pool unless it's heated. I spend so much time on the patio. The grossness of July and August is totally worth it for this season.
The other brief transition, in April, is mini-spring. It starts with another love bug situation, but you know that the glorious jacket weather is behind you. It isn't raining a ton yet, but you get some pretty warm days, sans humidity. This isn't terrible, but make sure that your AC is working well before the HVAC guys double their prices.
Those are the seasons.
No comments yet.