BLOG POST #1

Weather and Climate Data Blog Post #1

Location:  Stockton, California USA

Latitude: 37.97 degrees N     

Longitude:  121.31 degrees W     

Elevation:  13ft (4m)
Station Location:  Garden Acres Weather Station           (www.wunderground.com)

Geographic Setting:

     The city of Stockton, CA has a total area of 64.8 square miles (168 km²).  61.7 square miles (160 km²) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) (4.76%) is composed of water.  The city is located in the northern area of the San Joaquin Valley.  It sits 50 miles south of the state capital of Sacramento.  Stockton's climate is classified as a Mediterranean climate.  Characteristics of this climate include hot and dry summers and mild winters.  During the winter months there are approximately 20 days of at or below freezing temperatures.  The San Joaquin Valley also experiences a thick dense ground fog during the winter months.  The fog is named Tule after the tule grass wetlands.  July is generally the warmest month with December being the coldest.  January is the month that Stockton sees the most precipitation throughout the year.  The hottest temperature on record is 112 degrees Fahrenheit in 2006.  The coldest temperature on record is 13 degrees Fahrenheit in 1989.  The estimated Bowen Ratio's differ from the city to the agricultural areas.  The city has a Bowen ratio of approximately 1.5 and the rural areas have an approximate Bowen Ratio of .5 (irrigated land) - 1.0 (non-irrigated land).

General Info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton,_California
Bowen Ratio: http://www.arb.ca.gov/ch/communities/ra/westoakland/documents/appendixb_final.pdf  (pg. B-12)

Average Monthly Temperatures/Precipitation for Stockton, CA

Month	High  (°F)	Low (°F)	Precip. (in.)
January	56	38	3.41
February	63	41	3.2
March	68	45	2.68
April	74	47	1.41
May	82	53	0.56
June	89	57	0.1
July	94	59	0
August	93	58	0.02
September	90	56	0.29
October	80	50	0.99
November	67	42	2.16
December	57	37	3.05

Source:  http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/USCA1100

Average Temperatures/Precipitation for Sacramento, CA

 

Source: http://www.world-climates.com/city-climate-sacramento-california-usa-north-america/

As there was no graph for Stockton, CA; I decided to use the Sacramento, CA graph as it was the nearest locale.  As you can see there is an inverse relationship of temperature to precipitation.  The warmer the temperature equals lesser precipitation and vice versa.