Why san francisco is cold

Not really, although autumn comes closest. Many people who live in this popular city come to love or at least accept the cooler summer temperatures. Those who hate them are likely to move to warmer options in the East Bay where housing is also less expensive.

Summer temperatures are generally higher than winter temperatures. Average San Francisco temperatures peak at around 70 degrees F, with September being the warmest month. Individual days may see higher temperatures, of course.

The lowest monthly average high temperature is 55 degrees F in December. December also has the lowest average minimum temperatures of around 40 degrees F. San Francisco is a year-round tourist destination, so you aren't likely to avoid all crowds by visiting in winter.

But peak season is summer, and that's when the crowds are most dense and the prices are highest. Many find fall the best season to visit, and it's often the warmest, too.

Given San Francisco's changing weather, you'll do best to play the chameleon yourself. Pack clothing you can layer up for chilly mornings, then layer down for warmer afternoons. KQED Inform. Save Article Save Article. News Fix. Jul 17, Failed to save article Please try again. KQED Stay in touch. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Enter Email Address Sign Up. When it flows onshore, it covers the western half of the city and gets caught up on the range of hills in the center of SF.

As a result, the outer neighborhoods near the ocean the Sunset and Richmond districts tend to be a lot foggier than the rest of the city. The weather forecast for San Francisco comes in two parts: the coastal area and the rest.

A sunny afternoon near the bridge can be cold and foggy an hour later. Hence our recommendation to dress in layers. April is iffy; often sunny and warm, but can get rain. Consequently, if you come when most people visit, May through October, your chance of having your vacation ruined by precipitation is very low so you don't have to carry an umbrella around.

Because the weather in San Francisco is so changeable, the best solution is to dress in layers. A jacket or sweatshirt with a hood is the best outer layer; the wind can be cold and strong when the fog starts to come in. But an hour later, the fog may burn off and it's getting warm, so a t-shirt or light long-sleeved shirt would be more comfortable.

Or the other way around. The hoodie vendors on Fisherman's Wharf do a brisk business! I would ditch the shorts. The bay counties surrounding SF get very warm in summer, often really hot, and see sunny skies every day, while San Francisco sits in its cool, foggy spot all summer. But even within San Francisco there are noticeable differences in temperature and sun.

There can be a 10 degree difference between downtown San Francisco and the Avenues, out by the beach. The warmest and sunniest parts of the city? The Mission District and Potrero Hill on the eastern side, sheltered by the hills. Is San Francisco the only foggy town in the Bay Area? Daly City, just south of SF is worse; and the oceanside town of Pacifica, just minutes down Highway 1 from San Francisco, is the foggiest of all. The weather changes here in minutes. Nevertheless, there are some common patterns with the weather in San Francisco.

June, July and August tend to see a lot of fog. Socked in until 5 or 6 pm, when it clears up again and the wind dies down. In the Avenues, the Sunset and Richmond Districts closest to the ocean, the fog can sit there all day.

Rain comes in waves; a storm will blow in, last for a couple of days, and then move inland. A few days or weeks later, another front comes in and repeats. Even when we do get rain, it only averages around one third of the days in the month, so it's really pretty tame in winter. Occasionally we get some fierce winds which knock down trees, but we rarely see those heavy downpours that people in other parts of the country get. Thunder and lightning are rare as well.

Kind of boring, weather-wise! March, April and May show a transition from rain to fog, though April can be gorgeous and sunny. Our warm and sunny months are September and October. The air is clear and golden and the city looks its best. During our "heat waves", the fog stays way offshore and there's not a cloud in the sky. If the day is hot and the air is very still, you may hear someone mention "earthquake weather". Even though there appears to be no scientific basis for a correlation, some people get a bit anxious when the day is unseasonably hot and our afternoon winds are a no-show.

The October day in when the last hefty earthquake struck was really hot and windless, and the weather was unusually warm the day of the Big One in , but don't let it worry you! It's usually cool and windy in SF. Referring to the fog as Karl got started a few years back when someone created the hashtag karlthefog on Twitter and it took off for some reason.

Karl refers to Karl the giant in the film Big Fish; why, I don't know.