anne321

are all Southern California beaches effected by June Gloom?

rjw_lgb_ca

Short answer, yes. It's a predictable phenomenon of late spring when a dense marine layer rolls in off the ocean and socks the coast in low-lying cloud cover, and occasionally fog, for the morning hours until the sun burns it off. Which sometimes doesn't happen. Inland areas can stay markedly sunny and hot at this time; one recent June I saddled up the convertible and left my home in Long Beach-- socked in and lower 60s-- to arrive in Palm Springs two hours later facing bright sun at 105F. It was still overcast in LB.

It affects basically all SoCal beaches, with some variation. South-facing beaches MAY clear up faster than west-facing beaches. If an offshore airflow overwhelms the marine layer (similar to the Santa Ana winds of fall and winter), June Gloom doesn't happen that day.

We put up with it, knowing that by mid-July we'll have the sun we expect. And there are other things to do besides the beach in southern CA!

Sherri

In So. California, we are all familiar with "June Gloom". From inland deserts, warm winds hit the cold ocean waters and low clouds and fog sweep inland which keeps the temperatures lower. The fog usually lifts and weather gets warmer by the afternoon, but in 2003 from May through June that was not the case. In 2003, June Gloom weather seemed to last longer than usual - hope that this year is not the same!

GoTravel

rjw, I'll be in San Diego mid March. I'm guessing it will be too chilly for the beach and pools?

We're staying at the Westin.

SaraLM

I think a pool would feel ok in mid March. We were there the last week of March last year and were hot. While it wasn't hot by their standards, we were coming from cool Oregon so our blood was still thick and we hadn't acclimated to it. So if you are from a warm locale then it might be too cool. It was actually wonderfully warm! We did not have time to get to the beach but it might have been too cool for that, I don't know about the water temp.

Growing up I remember being willing to go in the water when a Californian wasn't even wearing shorts yet so again it is just what your body is acclimated to.

rjw_lgb_ca

Hi, Go! In all likelihood, you'll find the beaches a bit nippy, yes. Temps generally struggle to top 70 on the shore right up to June (for some reason, San Diego is a few degrees cooler than Long Beach to the north, where I live). The water will definitely be too cold for you.

I'm not familiar with the Westin, but you might ask if the pool is heated. If the clouds burn off, the sun will feel mighty nice!

GoTravel

Thanks y'all. I should probably start a new thread with this instead of hijacking anne321's thread.

The Westin is new and within walking distance to the Gaslight District.

Hey, rjw, a friend of mine just took over the Crown Plaza South Beach so if you go check out the Westin, I'll get John to send you a CPSB freebie! <wink>

Ryan

Here I was thinking June gloom was an affliction that hits parent's when the school year ends.

Barbara

Ryan, that version doesn't go away until the end of August!

Anne, the "gloom" is right along the coast. Two to three miles inland it can be quite clear and warm.

rjw_lgb_ca

For anyone visiting southern CA right now, you'll be getting a preview of "June Gloom" for the next several days. Today started clouded over, but the sun is burning off the clouds and it's going to be warm and sunny by this afternoon.

Who turned up the heat...? It was 78F in Long Beach on Saturday. I wasn't planning to get the top down on my car, but it was warm and I dropped the top and cranked up the tunes! Enjoy it before more rain and drizzle come, I always say...

DixieChick

You can always go to these two sites to see how the gloom is lifting at Venice Beach and at the Santa Monica Pier:

http://www.westland.net/beachcam/
http://www.westland.net/piercam/

It's about 11 am right now and it looks like it's burning off. I can see the shadows of people crossing the street.

P_M

I will be visiting Southern California in late May and going on a cruise from LA. Does the June gloom ever start early, like the last week of May? I know this is impossible to predict, but please tell me if this has happened in the past. Thanks.

Mary2Go

Yes, it could be cloudy that time of month as well but you never know. It is about 95 here today and that is pretty unusual for the first part of May!

knute

In my opinion all the "June Gloom" talk is silliness. Yes, if charted over a long period of centuries the weather may be cloudier in June and locals may notice it slightly after a number of years, but I've gone to California every June for 15 years and had plenty of sun every time. Weather patterns are simply too difficult to predict, but the talk of dark, overcast days for weeks on end is pure myth IMO. For me the most important thing when planning a trip is that it be rain-free, and that is what California can pretty much guarantee you in summer.

here_today_gone2Maui

June Gloom is not days and weeks of gloomy overcast skies, but rather the morning sky. And, yes, I can honestly say I have experienced every year of my life, all 29 of them. When you get up in the morning and leave for work, it is noticeably cooler and overcast. But every we all know that it will burn off sometime, usually by mid-morning where I am from in the San Gabriel Valley. Along the coast it may take longer to burn off, or it might stay socked in all day. But the weather conditions cannot read a calendar and June Gloom can come in May, when it would be called by its lesser-known name of "May Gray.". It is the time of year when you dress for warm weather, then grab a sweater for the morning commute.

Visitors may not recognize it as it just looks like it is going to rain in the morning, but then it clears up. But anyone from souther California will tell you it isn't going to rain, it's just June Gloom.

cigalechanta

June Gloom doesn't sound so bad compared to here in the Boston/area, where so much rain in spring in the last ten years prevents us from enjoying a meal al fresco. The last three days has ben very windy and the tree garbage has made it impossible to eat outside.

Surfergirl

It depends on where you live and, of course, the year. Last June, for example, was one of the few years where we had about a week of it in the Santa Monica area, and by mid June, it was finished for the summer. It usually begins at the end of May and continues to the beginning of July. However, in L.A. at least, it's only in the morning along the coast. Go in 5 miles, and it virtually does not exist. I know this sounds weird, but I've been able to pinpoint La Cienega Blvd. as the general ending point heading from the beach inland. I use that, because my mother lives just east of La Cienega and I live in WLA and while we still have grey skies in the morning, she'll tell me it's bright and sunny where she is.

Like Mary said, this weekend (and this morning), it's been unusually hot and sunny.

here_today_gone2Maui

Surfergirl, I suppose this is an example of the diffrences within the basin, but last year was one of the gloomiest years further inland. Yes, June Gloom is also an inland occurrance, and I can vouch that it reaches at least as far inland as Pasadena. Actually, according to NOAA, last spring the average high temp for June was among the coolest in 83 years due to the persistant marine layer, with the average high temp being only around 73 degrees, more than 6 degrees lower than the average. I have been assured by an associate at JPL that you can expect more June Gloom, but less total rainfall until 2023, due to something called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a 25 year cyle of warming and cooling of the oceans.

I lived in the Pasadena area, in the foothills, and in 2003 we had June Gloom from May through to July. Last year it seemed to me like the warm weather was never coming, since I left for work everyday in haze and by the time I'd be coming home it was late in the day. My early morning drive into OC was in and out of fog, and the skies hung dark and dreary outside my office window for an eternity last year. Many days it just did not burn off at all, at least down in OC.

Surfergirl

Well color me red! I learn something new each week from this forum.

Seriously, I always thought in the basin, it was just smog. But I like to think of the whole phenomena as the clouds just saying hello to the ground.

cigalechanta

that's a nic thought, surfergirl.
When I was a child and afraid of thunder, my father said fear not, it's only the angels bowling.And when it rained, they were crying.