Redding California vs Medford for 'exciting' weather? Which does it better?

[Heatblizzard]

For any of you that lived or worked in either which one do you think wins and why? Yes Redding California does get snow sometimes quite severe but hardly ever. Usually once every other winter they get a dusting to an inch of two. I think Medford may win better in that department despite being drier.

[Fake]

Neither.

If you want exciting weather, move to Antarctica.

[Haruspex]

I used to live in Redding.

It gets to be very hot in the summer. 110-118F some summers.

Winters are mild. There's some rain. Sometimes, but not often it gets cold enough to freeze a bit. Once every 5 years or so it snows and everyone loses their minds because nobody knows how to drive in the snow. That snow is usually gone before the end of the day.

Other than that Redding is beautiful. You're at the top of the Sacramento valley, surrounded by mountains and lakes and waterfalls from three directions. There's a very extensive paved trail system if you're into running or cycling or just enjoying a walk. There's the usual smaller city staples available, like your Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc.

Of course, when a place is nice, it attracts a lot of people, including people you may not want in your neighborhood. Recent years the homeless population seems to have spiked quite a bit. I've had aggressive panhandlers literally chase me when I ignored them. Drug activity is quite high now. The big park downtown near the city hall isn't somewhere I would go, and I certainly wouldn't take my kids there. Redding has some growing pains for sure.

So if you're looking for "exciting" weather, maybe not Redding unless you consider a dry 115F in July "exciting".

Or wildfire activity. That could be considered "weather". A few years back a good chunk of the West side of Redding burned down. Lots of nicer new houses, plus the entire area surrounding Whiskeytown reservoir, where I used to enjoy going frequently. My son was born in Redding in the summer and the skies were orange like it was the apocalypse. That could be exciting, depending on your definition. I used to imagine that his birth was the heralding of the End Times due to how the sky looks. My wife found that less amusing than I did.

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by Haruspex:

I used to live in Redding.

It gets to be very hot in the summer. 110-118F some summers.

Winters are mild. There's some rain. Sometimes, but not often it gets cold enough to freeze a bit. Once every 5 years or so it snows and everyone loses their minds because nobody knows how to drive in the snow. That snow is usually gone before the end of the day.

Other than that Redding is beautiful. You're at the top of the Sacramento valley, surrounded by mountains and lakes and waterfalls from three directions. There's a very extensive paved trail system if you're into running or cycling or just enjoying a walk. There's the usual smaller city staples available, like your Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc.

Of course, when a place is nice, it attracts a lot of people, including people you may not want in your neighborhood. Recent years the homeless population seems to have spiked quite a bit. I've had aggressive panhandlers literally chase me when I ignored them. Drug activity is quite high now. The big park downtown near the city hall isn't somewhere I would go, and I certainly wouldn't take my kids there. Redding has some growing pains for sure.

So if you're looking for "exciting" weather, maybe not Redding unless you consider a dry 115F in July "exciting".

Or wildfire activity. That could be considered "weather". A few years back a good chunk of the West side of Redding burned down. Lots of nicer new houses, plus the entire area surrounding Whiskeytown reservoir, where I used to enjoy going frequently. My son was born in Redding in the summer and the skies were orange like it was the apocalypse. That could be exciting, depending on your definition. I used to imagine that his birth was the heralding of the End Times due to how the sky looks. My wife found that less amusing than I did.

Did you know Redding has a few microclimates? The east side as unofficially the 'Star Wars' estates are a lot drier then the west side? The West Fire District used to hold COOP weather data and it was consistently wetter then the airport's official data. I'm not sure the exact cause but I guess the rain must get squeezed out over the western half of Redding and it's even more insane the closer to Shasta Lake/Dam you go to.

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by derrick:

Originally posted by Fake:

Neither.

If you want exciting weather, move to Antarctica.

Damn right I would.

Redding is a lot more exciting then Sacramento's climate but Sacramento has the bay breeze Redding doesn't get which can cause some pretty coolish lows compared to relative areas. Even more so in SW Sacramento and in the Delta region which still has 2 car ferries in actual daily service. If you want 'insane' check out Sacramento July's 1955 weather. One would wonder if it was a different climate all together!!

[Haruspex]

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

Did you know Redding has a few microclimates?

I have heard this. Yes. I lived on the west side near downtown. It did seem wetter compared to when you head East, when things turn very dry, and the further East you go it gets more and more desert-like the closer you get to Lassen and Modoc counties.

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by Haruspex:

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

Did you know Redding has a few microclimates?

I have heard this. Yes. I lived on the west side near downtown. It did seem wetter compared to when you head East, when things turn very dry, and the further East you go it gets more and more desert-like the closer you get to Lassen and Modoc counties.

So it actually gets WORSE even more east of Redding? About when does it start getting wetter again as you go up?

[Haruspex]

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

So it actually gets WORSE even more east of Redding? About when does it start getting wetter again as you go up?

Well, Burney, Fall River and that area are very forested, but beyond that it really starts looking like Nevada. Lots of sage and juniper. High desert. So starting in Redding, go East and it starts to look drier, then you hit the mountains and it's very forested, then it plateaus and you're in high desert.

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Originally posted by Fake:

Neither.

If you want exciting weather, move to Antarctica.

Or tornado alley.

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by Haruspex:

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

So it actually gets WORSE even more east of Redding? About when does it start getting wetter again as you go up?

Well, Burney, Fall River and that area are very forested, but beyond that it really starts looking like Nevada. Lots of sage and juniper. High desert. So starting in Redding, go East and it starts to look drier, then you hit the mountains and it's very forested, then it plateaus and you're in high desert.

What about as you head up towards Weaverville to the west and beyond?

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

For any of you that lived or worked in either which one do you think wins and why? Yes Redding California does get snow sometimes quite severe but hardly ever. Usually once every other winter they get a dusting to an inch of two. I think Medford may win better in that department despite being drier.

Keep an eye out for those predatory mudslides... That's one thing I never understood about Californians who love building on hillsides.

Oh, and wildfires.

And, drought. Yeah, there's that, too.

And... earthquakes.

What's next, plague? Is California Ramses II's Eqypt? (If you see a guy named Moses ranting about not getting a vacation, stay clear.)

I'm all for that pioneering spirit an' e'rrything, but... there are some things one can't pioneer out of.

IOW - My advice is to just be sure to check for more than "snow," never having lived in California. :)

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by Morkonan:

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

For any of you that lived or worked in either which one do you think wins and why? Yes Redding California does get snow sometimes quite severe but hardly ever. Usually once every other winter they get a dusting to an inch of two. I think Medford may win better in that department despite being drier.

Keep an eye out for those predatory mudslides... That's one thing I never understood about Californians who love building on hillsides.

Oh, and wildfires.

And, drought. Yeah, there's that, too.

And... earthquakes.

What's next, plague? Is California Ramses II's Eqypt? (If you see a guy named Moses ranting about not getting a vacation, stay clear.)

I'm all for that pioneering spirit an' e'rrything, but... there are some things one can't pioneer out of.

IOW - My advice is to just be sure to check for more than "snow," never having lived in California. :)

Northern Cali really doesn't get much in the way of those things (except wildfires) though Sacramento has been due for a 9.0 since we left in the 90s.

[Haruspex]

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

What about as you head up towards Weaverville to the west and beyond?

You know, I never actually found myself going in that direction while I was there, or at least never so far West as to leave Shasta county. Last time I went to the coast I went up and over (through Medford) to Crescent City, or Star Wars: Return of the Jedi territory. Weaverville, I understand, is still classified as a Mediterranean climate, though a bit wetter. So unlike Redding it experiences colder mornings

[nohuman]

Pretty exciting here. Winter showed up finally. Like a foot and a half in a day and now it's -20c, when it was basically 'spring' a few days ago...

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by Haruspex:

Originally posted by Heatblizzard:

What about as you head up towards Weaverville to the west and beyond?

You know, I never actually found myself going in that direction while I was there, or at least never so far West as to leave Shasta county. Last time I went to the coast I went up and over (through Medford) to Crescent City, or Star Wars: Return of the Jedi territory. Weaverville, I understand, is still classified as a Mediterranean climate, though a bit wetter. So unlike Redding it experiences colder mornings

Weaverville is at or above 1500 feet. I think they are around 2,000 so will get those lower snowfalls quite easily. I wonder if they are prepared for snow or still freak out like valley folks where everything shuts down?

[Heatblizzard]

Originally posted by EnÐΩGeÑe§¡§:

Pretty exciting here. Winter showed up finally. Like a foot and a half in a day and now it's -20c, when it was basically 'spring' a few days ago...

Redding in the past (pre modern climate of the 90s and 2012) has gotten more snow then one would think and record low temps are actually quite low compared to rest of the lowlands. The 50s for example had quite a few low elevation snow events and unusually cool summers with only a few hot ones sandwiched in.