All year weather in San Francisco
San Francisco, located in Northern California is home to more than 800,000 people in the city area; making it to on of the most populated major city in the U.S. (with New York City claiming 1st place).
With such a large amount of people, not even including all the visitors they get a year, means that there are many activities of all kinds of genres available. Whether you want a tour of the city - from which you can even pick what TYPE of tour you want in terms of walking, bus, food - or you want to experience the nightlife and other large events, San Francisco can provide. One of the more famous sights of San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge which is a must see for all visitors and people staying permanently alike!
San Francisco - Golden gate, china town and Silicon Valley, to name a few. Awsome city! Check annual temperatures here.
Annual Weather Averages for San Francisco
| Temp ↓ | ||
|---|---|---|
| January → | 11 °C | |
| February → | 12 °C | |
| Mars → | 13 °C | |
| April → | 13 °C | |
| May → | 14 °C | |
| June → | 15 °C | |
| July → | 15 °C | |
| August → | 16 °C | |
| September → | 17 °C | |
| October → | 17 °C | |
| November → | 14 °C | |
| December → | 11 °C |
Hottest and coldest months in San Francisco
Highest peak average temperatures:23 °C in july
Lowest peak average temperatures:
7 °C in january
Weather Averages in Fahrenheit for San Francisco
| Temp ↓ | ||
|---|---|---|
| January → | 50 °F | |
| February → | 53 °F | |
| Mars → | 55 °F | |
| April → | 57 °F | |
| May → | 57 °F | |
| June → | 59 °F | |
| July → | 66 °F | |
| August → | 65 °F | |
| September → | 63 °F | |
| October → | 61 °F | |
| November → | 57 °F | |
| December → | 51 °F |
Hottest and coldest months in San Francisco
Highest peak average temperatures:73 °F in july
Lowest peak average temperatures:
45 °F in january
So on a monthly basis, how does the weather look?
Starting off the year in January, this tends to be San Francisco's wettest month with an average of 5 inches of rainfall. Temperatures will vary from 46°F (the average low temperature) to 57°F (the average high temperature).
For February and March, the temperatures will increase to around 48°F-61° (average low and high respectively). Rainfall is still present here with a predicted 3 inches of rain. So, slightly warmer weather and less rainfall overall.
April and May follow the same trend shown in the previous two months, with higher temperatures between 50°F to 64°F, and even less rainfall. The average rainfall for these months is only 1 inch, a large difference from the original 5 inches seen in January.
The next four months; June, July, August and September, are the summer months for San Francisco. With a pleasant average temperature which can range from 53°F to as high as 70°F, expect warm weather on a daily basis. Very little to no rainfall is ever expected in these months, which means that dry spells are quite common. On average, September is actually the warmest month of the year here.
October still pulls a bit of the warm weather with it from September, but this is when the temperatures begin to decrease ever so slightly. Rainfall averages out at 1 inch this month.
Once November hits, winter is back for real. With an expected 3 inches of rain and temperatures ranging from 55°F to 64°F, the cold has returned. Following this is December, which is usually the coolest month of the year. This month also experiences more rainfall, up to 4 inches now, closing in on the wettest month of January.
What really makes the overall seasons of San Francisco unique is that all the months may seem rather similar (I mean, we aren't talking HUGE temperature or rainfall differences), they can feel very different. People feel like they experience drastic weather changes which in reality might just be the onset of cold when the rainfall increases again. Either way, it is important to plan ahead each day and try to expect the unexpected, however impossible it may seem.
Climate influences
There are very strong influences on San Francisco's yearly climate, a lot of it due to the actual terrain on and around the city. This terrain was made from the interactions between the North American and Pacific tectonic plates, their motions being described as a strike-slip fault. The fault line, known as the San Andreas Fault, has been the cause of all the earthquakes often felt in the region.
But now, onto the actual weather influences. San Francisco has a very sharp topography both in the city, and in the surrounding landscape. This, combined with the overall climate of the whole of California, results in moist winters and usually dry summers - as described earlier. Another influence is the cooling effect from the sea due to San Francisco's proximity to the sea. Relatively cool waters from the Pacific Ocean are present here. This is due to the strong Pacific High (pressure wise) which strengthens the northwestern winds; these winds help transport the already cool water close to San Francisco, further away. This allows even colder water to upwell from deeper depths, resulting in a colder onset in climate.
Thanks to this cool maritime climate, during summertime when it is warm in San Francisco, fogs can appear. This is probably where people experience the drastic changes in weather since the day can start off with a heavy fog, and then throughout the day this fog will lessen and can ultimately result in a clearing later on in the day.
Snowfall is an extremely rare event in San Francisco with only 10 documented time periods with measurable snow amounts. This is referring to the instances of snow IN the actual city; there have been several other instances of snow in the surrounding area, mostly at higher elevations where the temperature is lower.
When to visit
Well, it is very important to carefully plan out when you are going to visit San Francisco as the weather can change quite a lot from month to month, and can even vary greatly from hour to hour. So if you know you are visiting in one of the more wetter months, pack for rain, but don't expect it to rain all the time - make sure you have given yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly (or if you are unlucky, unpleasantly) surprised by the weather. The amount of preparation can also vary greatly from person to person. If you are used to rather similar temperatures all year round, then even small changes can be a shock to the system. However, other people who experience large climate changes from season to season can both understand the climate San Francisco experiences very well, and sometimes even over-prepare. This is where people will discuss if you ever could be over-prepared, but when you only have a limited amount of things you can actually pack (if you are visiting for a shorter time) then planning what to bring is essential.
Even after all of this, San Francisco is a beautiful city with a lot of sights, so it is definitely a place to visit at least once in a lifetime.