Sierra: Difference between revisions

Sierra is located {{convert|546|km|mi}} northeast of [[Sevilla]] and {{convert|391|km|mi}} southeast of [[Alahuela]] and the [[Alexandria]] border. The city has a total area of {{convert|2678.1|km2|sqmi}}. Much of the city was built on savanna and foothills, although some parts of the city lie within a forest zone. The flat terrain and extensive greenfield development closer to the coast have combined to worsen flooding. Downtown stands about 65 feet above sea level. The city owns surface water rights for 2.18 billion gallons of water a day in addition to 230 million gallons a day of groundwater, although a lot of the city's water is also pumped in from other sources, such as sister cities [[Mirada]] and [[Rosslyn]].

The city is divided into over 80 districts and neighborhoods, many of which were incorporated places or communities that merged into the city. These neighborhoods were developed piecemeal, and are well-defined enough that the city has signage marking nearly all of them.

More broadly, the city is divided into the following areas: Downtown/Central Sierra, Eastside Sierra and Torino, Pacifica, Lakeland, Greater Venturas, Vegas, Woodlands, Westwood, and the Saratoga and Dominion Valleys.

The city's street pattern generally follows a grid plan, with uniform block lengths and occasional roads that cut across blocks. However, this is complicated by rugged terrain, which has necessitated having different grids for each of the valleys that Sierra covers. Major streets are designed to move large volumes of traffic through many parts of the city; many of them are extremely long: Adrena Boulevard is 43 miles (69 km) long, while Follett Boulevard is over 60 miles (97 km) long, reaching as far west as Guines County. Traffic congestion is a major issue within the city's urban core during rush hour, as some four million people are active in the extensive road network.

Sierra is strongly characterized by the presence of low-rise buildings. Outside of a few centers such as Downtown, the Woodlands, Venturas, Torino and Westwood, skyscrapers and high-rise buildings are not common. The few skyscrapers that are built outside of those areas often stand out above the rest of the surrounding landscape. Most construction is done in separate units, rather than wall-to-wall. That being said, downtown Sierra itself has many buildings over 30 stories, with fourteen over 50 stories, and two over 70 stories. Also, Sierra is increasingly becoming a city of apartments rather than single family dwellings, especially in the dense inner city and Torino neighborhoods.

Sierra has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification ''Am'') with a marked drier season in the winter. Its sea-level elevation, coastal location, position relative to the equator, and proximity to the Ecinis Current shape its climate. With January averaging 68.2 °F (20.1 °C), winter features highs generally ranging between 73–80 °F (23–27 °C). Cool air usually settles after the passage of a cold front, which produces much of the little amount of rainfall during the season. Lows fall below 50 °F (10 °C), an average of 10-15 nights during the winter season following the passage of cold fronts.

The wet season begins some time in May, ending in mid-October. During this period, temperatures are in the mid 80s to low 90s (29–35 °C), accompanied by high humidity, though the heat is often relieved by afternoon thunderstorms or a sea breeze that develops off the Ecinis Sea, which then allow lower temperatures. The city, like much of the northern Verona coast, is subject to a late spring/early summer weather phenomenon called "June Gloom". This involves overcast or foggy skies in the morning which yield to sun by early afternoon.

Extremes range from 27 °F (−2.8 °C) on February 3, 1917 to 100 °F (38 °C) on July 21, 1940. While Sierra has never officially recorded snowfall at any official weather station since records have been kept, snow flurries fell in some parts of Sierra on January 7, 1979.

Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 through November 30, although hurricanes can develop beyond those dates. The most likely time for Sierra to be hit is during the peak of the [[Melian Islands|Melian]] season, which is mid-July through the end of September. Although tornadoes are uncommon in the area, they have occured, with the last forming in formerly rural southern Sierra in July of 2009.