June Gloom Stretches into Gray Sky July
Kirsten Amavisca, Chris Bashaw and Sarah Guidas, San Clemente Times
It’s a tongue-in-cheek phrase that communicates the irony of what outsiders think Southern California is like, contrasted to what locals know to be reality. With overcast skies and record-breaking average temperatures dipping lower than normal, weather officials have since confirmed last July as being one of Southern California’s coldest in decades, if not a century.
But although the rhyme describes the ironic weather of a July in Southern California, a postponed summer is no laughing matter for commerce.
With overcast skies and record-breaking average temperatures that dipped as much as four degrees below last year’s, No-Sky July had an evident effect upon local businesses.
Because of the decrease in beach-goers and tourists, many businesses that depend on them have seen a decline in sales, especially those providing the staple goods and services of what is usually a warm Southern California summer.
“To be honest we’re more quiet than last year,” said Camilo Hernandaz, manager of Zoomar’s petting zoo.
Hernandaz considered the possibility that cold weather was affecting his business, but said it could be a coincidence.
However, Zookeeper Nina Leone offered evidence to the contrary.
“People call ahead to see what the weather is like,” she said. “I get three or four calls a day from people who regularly come and before they get off the phone, they want to know what the weather is like.”
Mike Macgregor, employee of the bike and surrey rental business Wheel Fun Rentals, said the company has been getting less business because of the weather.
“We definitely got less business on the Fourth of July this year; we usually do really well,” he said.
Boating activities have also suffered losses in revenue, co-owner of Dana Wharf Donna Kalez said.
“There has been a big decrease in the amount of ocean trips we run,” she said. “The Ocean Adventure Trips and the Music Cruise trips have been cut back, especially the ones in the evening because it’s freezing—people were wearing huge coats and scarves.”
Poor weather has had a mixed effect upon restaurants and other food vendors.
“Usually the breakfast crowd is huge, but breakfast has died down and now lunch is busier,” said co-owner Steve Zdrakas of Proud Mary’s Restaurant in Dana Point Harbor. “As soon as the sun comes out, people get happy.”
Beverly Hinsey, manager of Harbor Grill Restaurant, couldn’t comment on exactly how her sales have been by the weather this summer.
“It’s a toss-up. When people can’t go boating or to the beach because of the weather, a lot of people go out to eat instead. Because of that, business actually increases when the weather is bad. Now that the sun is out, we’ve been seeing less people because they can go outside now.”
Mariana Artatchka, owner of Hummingbird House Café in downtown San Juan Capistrano, provided similar input.
“I get late crowds on hotter days,” she said, suspecting that people prefer outdoor eateries on hotter days and come into restaurants on cooler ones.
However, the opposite trend was observed by Gladys Martinez, manager of the Doheny State Beach Snack Shop.
“The [bad] weather affected us a lot; business is way down. We do better on the weekends, but we’re still not doing well.”
Denise Estrada, picnic and special event coordinator at Doheny State Beach, said less people patron the beach on weekdays, but weekends remain busy.
“People still get here at seven or eight in the morning to get a fire ring on the weekends. The picnic areas fill up and the campgrounds have been full all summer,” she said.
Estrada said she thought a lot of people from out of town come from the Inland Empire where it’s a lot hotter and the cooler weather comes as a relief.
Glen and Judy Hoke from Flagstaff, Az. were staying at the Doheny campgrounds and refused to be discouraged.
“We’re still having a great time here,” they said. “Even though it’s not 100 percent sunny, we’re making the best of it and doing what we would do even if the weather was perfect.”
A public information statement released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed the presence of “unseasonably cool July weather,” caused by “an upper level trough of low pressure along the West Coast during the majority of [July].”
The trough of low pressure air “kept the weather cool west of the mountains.”
According to information gathered from online weather service wunderground.com, average temperatures recorded last July are among the lowest recorded within the past five years.
Weather stations in San Juan Capistrano and Capistrano Beach recorded average temperatures of 66.5 and 65.3 degrees, respectively, compared to 70.8 and 69.1 degrees last year.
Dana Point and San Clemente follow the same trend with a respective average of 64.1 and 63.8 degrees, compared to averages of 68 and 66.1 degrees recorded last year.
However, last July wasn’t the coldest for San Clemente. In 2007 the average temperature fell to 58.2 degrees
Some surfers are perplexed by colder water temperatures. Two in San Clemente said they would usually be wearing board shorts, but because of cold water they’re still wearing their winter wetsuits.
Dr. Jin-Yi Yu, professor of atmospheric science at the University of California, Irvine said the California Current could be responsible for colder water conditions.
“Typically the current runs from the north and [goes] to the south, bringing cold water down the coast of California,” he said.
Colder water also creates a thick marine layer by cooling down the warmer air that sits closer to the surface of the water. As the warm air cools water molecules slow down, causing the air to become more dense and fog-like.
With a record-breaking July chill has come a resurgence of talk about the controversial theory of Global Warming.
Philip Gonsalves, a spokesman for NOAA, said that it is “anecdotal and not very scientific” to prove or disprove Global Warming based upon one region’s weather.
“Having the coldest July in Southern California doesn’t disprove the Global Warming theory as much as having the hottest July proves it,” he said. “The temperature for any given place and time can’t be extrapolated to the rest of the globe and doesn’t have a significant bearing on the veracity of the theory.”
Despite the literally global scale of weather conditions and patterns, the effects of such systems still affect businesses and people on the local scale of Southern Orange County.
Even though the amount of customers via tourism has dipped this summer, many businesses continue to rely upon local customers for success.
There is confidence and hope among business owners that the next few months will be hot, which might suffice enough to fill the void created by Southern California’s missing summer.
“I’m hoping that it will be really hot in October and September,” said Kalez. “Businesses really need it to be.”
