SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Just like every other place that experiences seasons, spring is a time of transition here in Sacramento.
That being said, Sacramento has had an odd start to the year weather-wise. ABC10 found that 26 out of the current 51 days (51%) have actually felt like spring so far. However, those figures can be highly subjective.
Ideal spring weather is a difficult thing to quantify, but ABC10 compiled data dating back to the vernal equinox on March 20, making note of the high temperature, low temperature, maximum wind gusts, cloud cover and precipitation totals. While all of the variables listed above (and even more including pollen count and humidity among others) factor into how comfortable the weather on a particular day is, temperature is generally the number one factor in daily weather conditions.
Therefore, this subjective index is based solely on daily high temperature. In order to the categorize the data, ABC10 pulled the climatological average of each day dating back to March 20 for downtown Sacramento. On March 20, the average temperature is 69 degrees but by the time the summer solstice arrives on June 21 that number is 91. A 22 degree rise in three months goes to show how fast summer arrives here in California.
The range of high temperatures settled on was 65-85 degrees. This is related to the climatological averages described above, subtracting about 5 degrees of each to give a range of temperatures which are generally pretty comfortable. According to a poll from YouGov, the average American settled on 72 degrees being the ideal temperature, which sits nicely within the range settled on. The poll also found that those in the west described 88 as the point where it gets too hot, which is a few degrees warmer than other parts of the country.
Of course, much more goes into how a day "feels" rather than just temperature. For example, many of the 'ideal' April days were accompanied with strong winds, and high pollen counts so many people struggled with allergies or other problems associated with high winds.
The first 11 days of spring failed to reach this ‘spring index’ threshold and it continued to feel more like winter than spring. Temperatures in the 50s and lower 60s dominated the forecast, along with rain falling on half of those. In total, March ended up 5 degrees below average, along with being much wetter than average.
By the time April rolled around, the first 'ideal' spring day had arrived. The high temperature was 68 degrees, and although it was still technically below the average high of 70 degrees, it felt like spring had finally arrived following the cold end to March.
The wet winter prompted one of the most spectacular "superblooms" in years and April provided ample days for viewing. In total, two-thirds of April days fell into the ideal temperature range.
This month has started off cool for May standards, but six out of the first nine days of the month landed within the ideal spring weather range. That adds up 26 days of beautiful spring weather so far (20 in April and 6 in May) out of the 51 days so far this season, or just over 50%.
Considering March was below average, April was right on par with average, and May has started off below average, it's safe to say it has been a cooler spring so far.
However, summer-like heat returns this weekend. A high pressure system building over the west will supply temperatures well into the 90s and near 100 in some locations for Mother's Day weekend.
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