Weather in March
 

I know it's impossible to predict accurately - but can anyone give me a clue as to the sort of weather/temperatures I might expect in Southern California in mid to late March. I do know it will be warmer than northern England where I live! But I'd love to know if it's T shirt and shorts weather(they don't see the light of day in England in March!) or much cooler.
Many thanks.

March weather will be variable-- no other way to say it. The T-shirt and shorts days happen, true-- but more likely, khakis and long-sleeve shirts will be seen around. Lows tend to the 50s, highs in the upper 60s to low 70s.

Having said that, the weather in early March this year was stunningly warm. I'm talking "shorts, T-shirts, top never went up on my convertible" weather. I hosted a conference down in Dana Point, and daytime highs were definitely in the low 80s a couple of days. However, nights were a bit crisp; guys wore long-sleeve dress shirts and khakis, women wore cocktail dresses and pashmina wraps and sipped Hess Select wine on a patio overlooking the Pacific. Which made everything wonderful.

And yes, I'm gloating a bit...!

Hi Morgana,

What PART/S of SoCal, specifically?

:-)

True, Travdog, if you are talking about Palm Springs, unless there's a flash flood, yes, short and t-shirt are fine for daytime. If you're thinking L.A., bring the t-shirts (worn year around) and a couple of shorts, but bring a pullover or jacket for the evening, and definitely bring jeans. Probably an umbrella, just in case. February is our wettest month, but it often spills into March.

Surfergirl - Exactly. For instance, I live in Santa Barbara. I know for sure the weather is not going to be the same in March here as it is in the San Diego!

I predict cool and dry, with some morning fog. But, it could be doing ANYTHING in March, short of snow in coastal areas.

Layers are your best bet. If you're lucky, some mild heat during the day if you're far inland or in the desert.

Also, Morgana, if you're anything like me....we're going to England in a few weeks, and I have NOTHING left from when I used to live there, not even a coat. So, I'm planning to do some serious shopping when I get there. I will find any excuse to do that. :-)

Hi again
We are visiting our son at Irvine University so will be staying within a few miles of the campus. I would like to stay by the coast.
Apologies for my ignorance - I somehow assumed it would be roughly the same temperature everywhere in 'SoCal'. Is that what I am to call it??
Enjoy your shopping in England. The shops are full of lovely autumn/winter stuff so you will be spoilt for choice.

Morgana, I didn't see you're coming from England, so I'm going to change my answer a bit. First, Irvine is in a warmer part of southern California (but chilly at night), so definitely bring shorts. Second, March in England, particularly London (where I lived) is probably just as variable as rjw says, but you're still pulling out of the chill of winter at that time, and you will neeed less clothing protection than us who live here.

Someone once said to me that the human body adjusts after a while to the weather they live in -- I've heard that people who live in warmer climates have thinner blood. Don't know if it's true or not, but I do know that when I lived in L.A. (as now), I always had to wear heavy coats in winter and get bundled up (we freeze if it goes under 20 celsius!). But I remember the time I came home from London to L.A. at Christmas to visit, everyone was walking around with big coats and jackets, and I was walking around with just a t-shirt and jeans, no jacket at all. I have noticed this same phenomenon with my English friends who come here to visit in winter -- they all walk around like it's the middle of summer. I guess, for them, it feels like it!

Hi Morgana,

Re:Apologies for your "ignorance" - Don't be silly! How are you supposed to know?!
Re: SoCal, no, I suppose its a bit pretentious sounding now that I think of it, I was just in fast typing mode. :-)

Surfergirl is right about Irvine, as well as the body adjusting to temperature thing, I think. The other thing to point out is that, even if it is cold (by our standards!) you'll notice it is not the same kind of wet cold you guys get in England, that goes right through you.

I went to Irvine this January (for the first time-accompanied my husband on a business trip) and there are some interesting things there. First, there is South Coast Plaza, which is some serious world class shopping. You could spend all day. There's also the Irvine Spectrum, which has all sorts of shops and restaurants and things do at night. There's even a huge ferris wheel with great views of Orange County. Also, Newport Beach is about ten minutes away from downtown Irvine, and it has (yet another!) great shopping center, near the water, near Balboa Island, another fun place to stroll and people watch.

Of course, I am sure your son knows all about these things, but I thought I'd pass on my recently acquired knowledge of this area.

Have a good time!

Morgana - For you coming from England, March in Irvine would probably be shorts weather, while I would be wearing jeans and a jacket! LOL.

Anyway, just as everyone said weather in March can be variable. Looking at weather.com, the average temperature in Irvine at that time is around 68F. Nights can be cool. March is one of the few months that we do get rain, however, that would be only a few inches and it doesn't seem like it has rained here for years. Maybe we are due for a wet season.

My daughter goes to UC Irvine and lives in Newport Beach. Is this the school your son goes to? It is a beautiful campus and as travdog mentioned there is plenty to do around the area. I would definitely stay in Newport Beach, it's about a 10 minute drive and you would love the beach.
We have what is called microclimates here in Southern California. Newport Beach could be foggy and cool while a few miles away in Irvine it could easily be 10 degrees warmer. Layering is the best answer. I would think that you wouldn't wear shorts too much but I would bring a pair or two. Obviously you can keep an eye on the weather as you get ready to pack.

If you would like advice on where to stay,let me know. Maybe while you are here we could have a GTG with some of the So. Calif Fodorites, that would be fun.

Everyone's giving good advice here. The "microclimate" phenomenon is something that surprises people when they first visit California. Irvine itself, being rather inland, can go through wider variations in temperature than, say, Newport Beach. There are also variations depending on whether a beach city is west-facing (like Santa Monica or San Diego) or south-facing (like Long Beach). I find that the communities facing south have slightly higher temps. But overall, it will be spring-like weather. It may rain a bit. What we call "rain" is considered "drizzle" elsewhere. What the hey, we may not see precipitation for several months at a time, so rain is rain.

A clarification: South Coast Plaza is of course on land that was originally part of the Irvine Ranch (Orange County used to be covered with orange groves and strawberry fields), but the city it's in is now Costa Mesa. It's not particularly far from the University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine in local parlance)-- 5 miles or so.

Thank you so much for all your replies. It all sounds fabulous and I can't wait to go - we are just about to book our flights. I did a little research before, and Newport Beach seemed to come out top as somewhere to stay. We are thinking about renting a small apartment though, rather than stay in a Hotel. My husband and I frequently have to stay in Hotels for our work, and therefore on holiday we would prefer the freedom of an apartment. We haven't looked into this yet so any advice, comments etc would be very welcome. We will also hire a car and see the sights. My son will be very glad to see us but won't want his mum and dad on his doorstep for 2 weeks! So we will get out and about. My husband is a huge Grateful Dead fan and wants to go to some of their old haunts (in San Fran I believe).
Yes, my son in at UC Irvine as an exchange student. Maybe he will meet your daughter Paula! He's only been gone a week, just had a couple of emails from him and a phone call as he's still finding his feet. He did say though that the beach was 'more than perfect'. I miss him!
M

Morgana-Just getting ready to go to bed and wanted to reply. What year in college is your son and what is he studying? He must have been settling in this last week because first day of classes at UCI is today (Friday). I always think it's strange that they start the quarter on a Friday but they always do. The campus is pretty big so we would have to find a way to connect them. My daughter is very outgoing and always likes to make new friends. If you like, you could e-mail me and we could discuss about how they might meet. My e-mail is [email protected].

If you are going to be here for two weeks and want to go to San Francisco and other spots, would you want to get an apartment for a week? I can help you find one, I know alot of the rental agencies, etc as I am always helping my daughter and her friends find rentals. She can probably suggest several too. In fact I am going to be in Irvine tomorrow so I will ask her. There are rental signs all over the area where she lives, very nice places on the beach.

I hope your son enjoys his stay, I am sure you miss him. My daughter was in Europe all summer, we actually met her there in London in August but she traveled all over. She loved it. I missed her too but it was only for a few months not a whole school year. Thank goodness for e-mail and cell phones, it is so much easier to stay in touch.

Funny you should mention the Grateful Dead. Ok, not one of my favorite bands, but we all have at least one good friend who is, or I guess was, a "deadhead", so you'll see the decals on the back of cars and vans of all those faithful fans still plowing around Southern and Northern California. Some of the band members played at the House of Blues earlier this year. The irony of your comment is, a few years before Jerry Garcia died, they were playing at what was then called "Irvine Meadows" (forget the new name) -- a big outdoor amphitheatre in, you guessed it, Irvine. The one and only Dead concert I ever went to at the insistence of my dear friend (ok, it was fun, I admit it). Weird, lost in the '60's bunch of people. The point is, if there is a point here, the remaining members may just be playing down here at that time, so before you head over, you might want to check out some of the dead sites, I think dead.net is one, or the L.A. weekly website.

Paula - I have emailed you!
Surfergirl - how thoughtful about the Dead. However........we have beaten you to it! Last year, when we were in Florida, we saw Dylan and the Dead playing in Tampa. The show went on for over 6 hours!
In England we have great difficulty buying Grateful Dead merchandise. I can get CDs and DVDs but when we visit I am hoping to get my husband some T shirts (no tie-dye allowed!), mugs, stickers etc.
You are quite right though about irony - my husband has loved Jerry and his band for years, they played at Irvine, my son now goes to university at Irvine and I have now talked to you on this website - someone who saw the band at Irvine. Funny old world!
I suppose to go a complete circle I would tell you that my lad loves the Grateful Dead too - but he doesn't. His idol is Springsteen but that's another story!