Weather / Climate in San Francisco

San Francisco is famous for its romantic fog, unusally cool summers and mild winders. It's that beautifully cloudy, wet, heavy, fog that makes the city's weather so interesting and unpredictable. San Francisco’s rare combination of water, wind, and geography makes the SF bay a notorious fog bank. However, San Francisco's temperate, marine climate usually means relatively mild weather year-round and compared to most of the states' weather conditions, San Francisco's are consistently pleasant.

Spring (March - May):

Clear days and little fog, spring is one of the best times to visit. March, April and May are characteristically cloudless and mild, some of the warmest and driest days of the year occur in spring in San Francisco, and we are often free from the spring showers the rest of the US is experienceing. San Francisco spring blooming trees and flowers are at their best as well.

Summer (June - August):

Summer is the most popular time to visit San Francisco, however, our summer’s damp, foggy days and cold, windy nights, make San Francisco summers uncharactistically cold compared with summers elsewhere. By late August, however, the fog thins and things begin to warm up. Definitely bring layers if you come to a San Francisco summer!

Fall (September - November):

Fall in San Francisco is truly the best time of year for weather. Days are warm and sunny, the temperature rises, the skies clear, and the locals call in sick to work and head for the beach. It's what residents call "Indian summer." Rainfall is also rare, the fog has cleared and the long warming process has finally peaked, making September, October and early November the three best months to visit San Francisco.

Winter (December - February):

Snow in San Francisco is rare, even in San Francisco's coldest months of the year, December and January. There is however, a lot of rain, and storms from the coasts of Mexico and Central America bring lots of moisture to San Francisco. Also, since San Francisco winters are mild compared to the rest of the country, and days between storms can be surprisingly crisp and sunny, the city is also wonderful during winter, when the opera and ballet seasons are in full swing; there are fewer tourists, and many hotel prices are lower.

Clothing:

Even if it's sunny out, don't forget to bring a jacket; the weather can change almost instantly from sunny and warm to windy and cold in San Francisco, so we recommend dressing in layers all year long. This means that you should wear pants and a light shirt but always keep a jacket available, and things you can take off and carry easily. It usually doesn’t get cold enough to wear a thick winter coat, nor warm enough for shorts in the summer months.