There are many cool things about Michigan weather, I’ve discovered. One is that it’s so unpredictable (within reason). Another is the months of snow, which I have to say I’ve missed. And another is that when severe weather happens, it reminds you that Mother Nature really is still in charge, not us puny humans.

That aspect is not always as evident in California, where, although weather is obviously a fact of life, in some regions it’s not as much a fact of life as a publicity brochure selling point. You don’t usually move to Los Angeles unless you have family or friends there, adore (or are obsessed with slaving for) the entertainment industry, have a well-paying job somewhere in that or another LA industry, or, a good enough reason for most people, you’re in dire need of constant great weather with no surprises.

Same goes with the Bay Area, with some slight alterations. Like: you don’t move to SF unless you know something about SF weather first. For example: Weather in SF is not like weather in LA. Not even remotely. Nor, actually, is it like weather across the bay in Marin or Alameda Counties. Not even remotely. Nor, actually, is weather on the west side of the city like weather on the east side. Not even remotely. You can be in the Sunset or the Richmond on any given day and be completely socked in with the most glorious, comforting fog (or, depending on your point of view, the most odious, hateful, depressing fog) and take a bus or drive over to the other end of the city—or even just a walk over to the Haight—and have sunlight galore. Or, you can be in one part of Nob Hill or Telegraph Hill, walk a few blocks, and have wind and chill where a few blocks back there had been warmth. That’s one of the great things about SF, but it can drive you crazy if you’re not prepared for it.

What you get in place of dramatic storms and blusters in California are earthquakes and fires. Which, in its own way, is somewhat scarier, because neither of these is subject to prediction. There are days when you live in certain parts of the state that you utter silent prayers before you get out of bed in the morning that a quake doesn’t hit or a fire doesn’t erupt.