Spring and Summer creates a yin and yang effect in the Bay Area. Workers traveling from inland, sunny, hot areas such as Walnut Creek and Concord will often grab their coats–even if the temperatures are around 90 to 100 degrees. That’s because the majority of commuters drive to San Francisco or other coastal cities–where fog and cold weather dominates most of the climate. Yet, travel south along the coast and bay–Fremont, Hayward, San Mateo, Pacifica–and the warming sun returns. Same if you travel north–Hercules, Martinez, Pinole, Pittsburgh, San Rafael, Vallejo. This is the infamous microclimate.

How are these microclimates formed? Blame our system of mountain ridges. Along the Oakland-Orinda border, the Oakland/Berkeley hills shield the inland areas from the assault of fog and winds. Tall hills in San Francisco, such as Twin Peaks, guard sections of the city behind it. The other reason is that wind patterns aren’t widely dispersed. They spew horizontally across San Francisco, reaching into Oakland, and weakens once they reach the Caldecott hills. The cities above, behind, and south of the wind reach retain much of their warm temperatures. And the further away from the Oakland/Berkeley hills, the higher that mercury levels will rise.

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