Am traveling from San Diego to Pismo Beach to Big Sur to Napa to San Fran during the last week of Oct. Someone PLEASE help prevent me from overpacking! What can I expect for weather? I understand little humidity, but what about temps during day/night...rain? Thanks a lot!!

For OFFICIAL, long-term climotoligical data on scores of cities in California, go to

nimbo.wrh.noaa.gov/Hanford/climo/state.htm

San Diego has been extremely hot this summer---who knows what it will be in October. Generally, SD has perfect weather all year round. Pismo Beach will be nice---it's a beach town--warm days and cool nights (about mid 50s), Big Sur the same as Pismo Beach, but perhaps slightly cooler at night, Napa will be warmer--it's farther inland, expect near 80 during the day, and SF currently is 70s during the day and about 50 when the fog rolls in about 4-5 pm. So---lots of layers. As a Californian, I always wear a t shirt and slacks during the day with a linen blazer to add at night. In SF, you might add a long dark skirt instead of the slacks for evening and keep in mind that here in SF we tend to wear dark colors---not like the summer stuff in the rest of the country. Natives will still be wearing linen at that time of year, but in dark colors. Wool crepe in SF starts about the beginning of November, so you can do that also. In general, as long as El Nino doesn't get in our way this year, October is one of the prettiest months in California. Tourists gone, for the most part, and clear blue skies and always low humidity. But, it's been so wacky lately, you need to check closer to departure time. Our rains in No California usually don't start until mid November--although last year was a big exception! I certainly would take the gamble and NOT bring a raincoat or umbrella--you can always buy a cheap umbrella if it rains, and our rains when they start are nothing compared to the rest of the country---don't know where you're coming from, but nice during the day--t shirt with an occasional cotton sweater over and the above recommendation for evenings. SF is casual chic---jackets but usually no ties for men except in the fanciest places. Enjoy!

P.S. Forgot to tell you, unless you're a hardy soul, probably better to bring shorts to walk the beach than a swimsuit for Pismo Beach. The water's quite cold---you'll want to get your feet wet, but perhaps not the whole of you.

You have just received about as good a forecast as you can get. You don't need an overcoat. A sweater or jacket is needed for the evenings as it is cool near the ocean. The most beautiful time of the year in San Francisco is October. It should be as dry as it is going to get. Rain tends to start in November as the prior person said.