Berkeleysider Alan Tobey thinks those who grumble about summer fog are misguided.
Our friends and relatives may think we “suffer in the cold fog” all summer, but we know better. Here are just some of the reasons we cherish our misty meteorological friend:
- The money we save on sunscreen subsidizes our hot coffee requirement.
- It’s never too warm to drink red wine.
- While most of the country is paying up for air conditioning, cool Berkeleyans with solar panels are selling their peak power to PG&E at top rates.
- It’s hard to get sweaty biking to work.
- We can be precise about when real summer weather temporarily brings us over-90 temperatures. This year summer was on a Saturday.
- On socked-in mornings the neighborhood roosters sleep late.
- Any Berkeley restaurant with a wood-fired oven can succeed in July and August.
- We can count on daily fun-filled breezes for kite flying, sailboarding and more-challenging bicycle workouts.
- There’s no excuse for drinking light beer, which we don’t make here anyway.
- Sweatshirt sales to freezing visitors reliably boost the city’s sales tax revenues.
- Ice cream cones melt outside at a leisurely rate, prolonging the pleasure.
- Outdoor barbecue parties are unpopular, so Berkeley men have to learn to cook more interesting food than just burgers.
What else makes fog season especially enjoyable in Berkeley?
Photo “Attack of the killer fog” by Keoki Seu/Flickr
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Love it! How about… Blustery hikes in Tilden continue into summer!
Many years ago I moved away from Texas because the summers were too intense. Bring on the Berkeley summer fog!
13. It clings to the hills prettily.
14. The shock of walking outside in the morning wakes you up a bit.
15. Cool weather is good for snuggling.
16. We get to breathe the fresh, clean, Pacific air before the rest of the country gets their lungs on it.
Great!
Maybe: No need for winter or summer wardrobes.
“This year summer was on a Saturday.” Nice!
17. It’s always amusing to watch tourists in t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops freeze their little tuckuses off.
Um. . . I have gotten plenty sunburned on foggy days. But I agree with everything else.
18. Helped spur the development the polarfleece clothing and gave rise to Berkeley’s own PET-fleece chic.
19. Supports local farmers from the Central Valley by suppressing residents’ ability to grow tomatoes in their backyards.
20. Redwood trees.
Ummmmm… you/we still need sunscreen. UVA and UVB rays penetrate cloud no problem, just as if there were no clouds in the sky!
Only men in Berkeley barbecue? Men only barbecue in Berkeley? I’m confused.
I’ve lived in the East Bay for 25+ years and still detest the cold, foggy summers. (I’m planning a vacation in Sacramento, or maybe Death Valley.) But I enjoyed this list.
21. Trips to other Cities makes you appreciate how much you love summers in Berkeley.
A few weeks ago, an airport van van dropped us off at the Philadelphia airport at about 4:00 pm. The 102º record temperature for the day was set at 3:54 pm. It was 57º at SFO when we landed.
22. When it’s really thick and low, you can look where a semblance of horizon should be and have the pleasing fantasy that no place else actually exists.
23. The magical moment when you’re above a sea of fog and only Sutro and the Golden Gate Bridge Towers poke above the white blanket.
Yes, our otherwise out-of-place redwoods sustain themselves through the summer with help from our summer fog.
But…
http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/02/16_fog_redwoods.shtml
Hiking in the ethereal cloud forest on Mount Sutro on a foggy day… but be prepared for mud/ slush.
http://sutroforest.com/2010/08/08/mount-sutro-forest-a-walk-in-the-fog/