6 Truths Non-Californians Should Know About Socal Weather

As someone from Illinois, Socal weather is definitely not what I was expecting it to be. I was under the impression that it’d be sunny every day, and that the weather would be fabulous, but that was a bit off…

1) Everything is sooo brown

This is SOMEWHAT related to the weather because of the drought. In August, when I was on the way to my hotel, I remember being disappointed at how washed out and brown everything was. I had been to Socal twice prior, but this was the first time I noticed the vastly different color palette. (Yeah, yeah, how artsy of me.) Back home (Illinois), there is a lot of lush, vibrant green, but even the green here looks a bit pale.

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2) It’s sooo dry

The dry weather is terrible for my eczema. I’m constantly itching at my hands. I also perpetually have a runny nose (which I THINK is because of dry air…right? Idk). It’s also incredibly important for you to bring around a water bottle, because walking from class to class in a dry environment (probably) exponentially increases your risk of dying of thirst.

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3) It DOES get below 60 degrees

I wrongly believed that the temperature in Socal never hit below 60. Before I came here, I bragged a lot to my friends that it’s always warm in Cali. Thus, I didn’t bring as many sweaters or even a coat. When November rolled in, I was wearing multiple hoodies at a time. I made sure to pack more winter clothes in my suitcase before coming back after winter break.

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4) But then it’s, like, insanely warm in February??

Now, a lot of my closet is dedicated to no longer necessary thick sweaters because it gets to 70s or 80s in the day—or at least it has this year, specifically. Thanks, global warming. It’s because of you that I can Snapchat pictures about the awesome weather to brag to my Midwest/East Coast friends.

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5) It still gets cold at night 🙁

My first night in Socal, I was extremely confused by how cold it was when it was 80 or so in the daytime. I was wearing a sun-dress and shivering my leg hairs off. It wasn’t even that bad by Midwest standards (where it starts actually feeling cold around 40 degrees). The large temperature fluctuation just throws me off, is all.

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6) The rain here is a miserable time

Okay, yes rain is good for the drought, but is it just me or is it always cold when it rains? Maybe I haven’t been here long enough for a warm summer rain, which are pretty common in Illinois. Nonetheless, going from place to place in the rain is pretty terrible. My bicycle handlebars are spongy, so my hands are even colder when I grip onto them. Also, my jacket isn’t exactly waterproof. I do have a rain poncho but I feel like I’d lose cool points if I wore it.

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