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Best time to visit San Francisco

United States · 37.77°N 122.42°W · monthly climate normals, judged against the Warm preset (mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers)

The best time to visit San Francisco is April to October, when mean temperatures run from 14 °C57 °F to 19 °C66 °F and rainfall stays below 60 mm2.4 in a month.

The rainy season runs November to March, and January to February is a true monsoon — 144–168 mm5.7–6.6 in a month, peaking in January at 168 mm6.6 in. September is the hottest month at 19 °C66 °F and January the coldest at 10 °C50 °F.

Figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at 37.77, -122.42 — a climate guide, not a forecast.

San Francisco weather by month

Pick the weather you like and every month is judged against it — temperature above the month names, rain below.

Weather you like

mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showers

Good time to go for a Warm holiday: April to October.

Open San Francisco on the interactive map ↗ the same verdict for every place on Earth, any month

▲ Temperature mean , coldest to warmest month
10°49°JAN1686.612°53°FEB1445.713°55°MAR1204.714°57°APR481.916°60°MAY160.618°64°JUN80.319°65°JUL0019°65°AUG0019°66°SEP80.317°63°OCT401.613°55°NOV1124.410°50°DEC1285.0
▼ Rainfall per month, driest to wettest

Reading the chart. Gold is good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour names the reason it doesn't — the temperature bar can be too cold or too hot, the rain bar too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar is a half that fits while the other half fails; a gold month name means both fit.

What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the monthly mean, judged against the preset's band (mean 14–24 °C57–75 °F for Warm). Rain is judged by each month's class within San Francisco's own year rather than raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month the preset doesn't allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season — 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate whose wettest month is at least three times its driest — so every monsoon month is rainy season too; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.

MonthRain Mean SeasonWarm verdict
January1686.61049monsoontoo cold
February1445.71253monsoontoo cold
March1204.71355rainytoo cold
April481.91457drygood
May160.61660drygood
June80.31864drygood
July001965drygood
August001965drygood
September80.31966drygood
October401.61763drygood
November1124.41355rainytoo cold
December1285.01050rainytoo cold

When to go to San Francisco, by holiday type

Looking forRuleMonths that fit
Warmmean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showersApril to October
Tropicalmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoonno month
Beachmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, dry or showersno month
Coolmean 0–14 °C32–57 °F, anything but the monsoonNovember to December and March
Snowmean below 0 °C32 °F, any rainno month

Is there a rainy season in San Francisco?

Yes. The rainy season runs November to March, and January to February is a true monsoon — 144–168 mm5.7–6.6 in a month, peaking in January at 168 mm6.6 in. Outside it, April to October is dry.

September is the hottest month at 19 °C66 °F and January the coldest at 10 °C50 °F. Annual rainfall totals about 792 mm31 in.

Where to go instead when San Francisco doesn't fit

The nearest destinations that do fit the Warm preset in the months San Francisco doesn't:

Nearby destinations

distances in — tap a unit to switch.

The interactive map colours the whole world by how it fits your picks in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.