We will be there this weekend for 4 nights. Weather is in the 90’s, humidity is the high 20/low 30. Dew point in low 50’s.
What does that feel like? When it’s in the 90’s in the Midwest it is usually with high humidity and dew point and miserable.
TY
California doesn't allow humidity. It's not a thing. Have a great weekend. (:
Hot it will be during the day. Humid, not. Beautiful evenings.
If you've heard of the heat index, it works the opposite in California. Instead of the humidity increasing the feels like factor (90° and 60% humidity feels like 92°), 90° and 20% humidity will feel like 89°.
It's dry heat and not like the Midwest. You will need a light sweater for the morning and evening/night. I heard that's why grapes thrive in the region, with hot days but cool nights/mornings.
Also, Napa Valley gets hotter the further north you go (like St. Helena and Calistoga). But evenings are still perfect.
If you are doing a cave tour, those are nice and cool. If not, just try to stay in the shade. Have a great time!
Thank you everyone! I’m very excited! It’s been miserable in the Midwest this year and I’m so tired of humidity…especially my hair!
We’re in the Bay Area right now, beautiful warm days that cool down to light sweater weather in evening. Napa is just north. Fall is the most beautiful time of their year. Enjoy the food and all the wonderful wine.
It's 92 right now at my house in the east bay, about 45 minutes south of the town of Napa. It is fabulous short sleeves fall weather, not the least bit sticky. I'll need a sweater this evening for the dog walk, just before sunset, as it drops towards the mid-50's overnight.
You might need a sweater. I would just pack one light one. Might not depends on breeze, how sensitive you are to cool (it won’t be cold unless you’re out very early or late), what you’re doing, how much you’re doing early morning outside… but I wouldn’t pack more than one. If gets bright and warm early it doesn’t have the fog and cold mornings of say San Francisco. Enjoy!
And if you are up early, go outside and look towards Yountville (around 7:15-7:30am). You may see hot air balloons which usually take off after sunrise and fly into Napa for about 45 minutes.
Also, if your hotel is in downtown Napa, there is a small but nice Farmers Market right in downtown on Saturday 8am-12noon.
Well, we did have some humid days a week or two ago, but it IS the exception. Sometimes the humidity comes over from the monsoon weather they get in Arizona during the monsoon season. I lived in the Midwest and THAT suffers from humidity with heat in the summer. We do okay in California, but are kind of spoiled, in general. Our weather isn't perfect all the time, but it is pretty darn good!
Oh my, Highs in the upper 90’s with real feel of 100 + from Saturday on. I think we chose the wrong time period l, but I’m going to hang onto hope it’s not miserable since almost the entire trip is outdoors.
Of course it falls to the mid-70’s after we leave. Argh!
Lulu348 - I think you picked the best time of the year, just got unlucky with unusual heat wave for this time. The area can get some hot spike days in the fall, but that many straight days of mid to high 90s in October is unusual.
It will be hot in Napa during the day, but it won't have the sticky feeling of other places like Midwest and Florida! It's like the desert heat. And once the sun is down, you will love the evenings.
Hello Lulu348, how are you (and your hair!) doing with the heat? It might have been a record yesterday for Napa. Hope you still had an enjoyable day. It's a little more humid today than yesterday. Enjoy the cool mornings and evenings.
Does the current hot weather spike have anything to do with the Hurricane (polo) that hit recently? Apparently another one lining up.
"Hurricane Rachel strengthens to a Cat 3 storm off Mexico's Pacific coast
News"
Hurricane Rachel has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast as northern Mexico and parts of the U.S. Southwest were reeling from flooding and damage from the remnants of Hurricane Polo earlier this week. Omar Lewis reports.
Leaving today! It was definitely hot in the afternoons! But the mornings and evenings were lovely and my hair stayed great with no humidity!
Loved our trip. The only disappointment was the lunches we were supposed to have on our tours, were to be outside at the wineries. Instead we were stuck indoors due to the heat. I feel cheated in that regard.
One that went well was at Gloria Ferrer in Sonoma. What a beautiful morning and lunch. Sparking wine tasting. We joined the club.
I'm so glad to hear you had a lovely trip despite this crazy week of heat. And I would feel bummed with the indoor lunch as well, but hoping it was still enjoyable. Which other wineries or restaurants did you visit? I guess you can always post a trip report later with details :-)
Looking forward to dropping below 90 here in NorCal starting on Friday with real fall weather next week!
Have a safe trip back home.
So glad you enjoyed Gloria Ferrer!
We were there just 3 days. The wine tour went to 3 wineries around Calistoga. Envy, Something Arroyo and another smaller one. They were just okay, but the surroundings very nice and I was glad to see Calistoga even through the tour bus.
We went to Beringers and did the estate house and cellar tour which I found interesting. The sommelier who did the tour gave us a lesson on how to taste wine properly.
We did Sequoia Winery which was a disappointment. Again, too hot to sit on beer the redwoods and look out over the vineyards.
Gloria Ferrer was the highlight.
I was very surprised that Napa Town didn’t have that great of shopping boutiques, I thought the area would be a little more like Charleston in that regard. I thought St. Helena’s was much better in just a few blocks.
LuLu,
I think you will find that among Californians Napa is not as popular as its wide name recognition would suggest. Of course, there are the top flight award-winning wines that most of us can't afford, and there are some excellent wineries in the county. The town of Napa is not nearly as nice as the towns of Sonoma or Healdsburg or St. Helena, for example. And shopping doesn't seem to be as big a deal in our prime winery counties, for some reason. I guess our visitors focus mostly on the wine (and more recently, our olive oils). For us So Cal people, Sonoma and Mendocino wineries offer more bang for the buck. Both offer better scenery (forests, coastline, etc.) as well. There are so many wineries among just these three counties that it is almost impossible to know where to taste. I am sorry you had some disappointments. Since we usually are there on a road trip, I know nothing about the various tour operators. Still, I am glad you enjoyed yourselves and am glad the heat at last abated in the evening. (Here in Long Beach it was 102 just a couple of days ago. Yikes!) Thanks for the report on your trip!
Thanks for sharing your trip report! Next time come to Oregon in the late spring or early fall, you won't have to worry about weather and the wines are just as good or better (IMHO).
CL, Granted Oregon has some excellent wines. Let's agree to be in friendly competition. The types of wines from the Wilamette Valley, their Pinot Noirs, can be outstanding, but I still prefer California Cabernet Sauvignons. We have done some terrific tastings in your neck of the woods and can highly recommend them!
