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San Francisco weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Wrapped in fog and cooled by the Pacific, San Francisco has one of the mildest, most even climates in North America: cool, grey summers that cheerfully defy the California stereotype. San Francisco weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, extremes and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

−3.8°Fhigh below average

62° / 53°Today
65° / 54°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+1.3°Faverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–49+1.3°F vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 4.2 incheshigh 56°low 46°February, rain 4.0 incheshigh 57°low 48°March, rain 3.3 incheshigh 58°low 49°April, rain 1.6 incheshigh 60°low 50°May, rain 0.7 incheshigh 62°low 52°June, rain 0.2 incheshigh 65°low 54°July, rain 0.1 incheshigh 66°low 55°August, rain 0.1 incheshigh 67°low 56°September, rain 0.2 incheshigh 68°low 57°October, rain 1.1 incheshigh 66°low 55°November, rain 2.6 incheshigh 61°low 50°December, rain 3.9 incheshigh 56°low 47°wettest month January, 4.2 inches · 21.9 inches a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Overcast

Right now

55.9°

53°feels like
84%humidity
51°dew point
7 mphfrom W
UV index0.0
sunrise07:22sunset18:26day length11h 05m
TodayOvercast62°53°
TueOvercast66°52°
WedOvercast63°56°
ThuPartly cloudy64°57°
FriClear67°55°
SatClear74°58°
SunOvercast76°62°

On this date: October 19

Today (forecast)
62° / 53°
Average for October 19
65° / 54°

High below average · −3.8°F

  • Highest since 1940: 80.6° · 1964
  • Lowest since 1940: 47.6° · 1949
  • One year ago: 71° / 56°

Every October 19 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 19 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for San Francisco is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 37.77°N, 122.42°W, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
37.77°N, 122.42°W
Time zone
America/Los Angeles
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

19 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +1.3°F.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

San Francisco occupies the tip of a hilly peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, giving it a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) that is unusually cool and even for California. Every month is mild and summers in particular stay cool: warm, moist ocean air meeting cold water welling up along the coast condenses into the persistent fog and low cloud that pour through the Golden Gate on summer afternoons. Sharp microclimates mean fog-bound western districts can be markedly cooler than sunnier, sheltered neighbourhoods only a few kilometres away.

The fog is driven by heat in California's interior valleys, which forms a low-pressure zone that draws cool Pacific air in through the Golden Gate. Rain is confined almost entirely to the winter half of the year, in classic Mediterranean fashion, leaving the city's summers dry as well as cool.

The warmest month is September, with typical afternoon highs of 68.3°F and nights around 56.5°F. The coolest month is January, when afternoons reach about 55.5°F and overnight lows sit around 45.9°F. Freezing temperatures almost never occur.

San Francisco picks up roughly 21.9 inches a year, with a peak of 4.2 inches in January and as little as 0.1 inches in July.

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in San Francisco has climbed 1.3°F from the first ten years to the last ten. You can follow the shift year by year in the charts below.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgweather.govbritannica.com

Climate graph (climograph)

September is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 11°F. Wettest month: January (~4.2 in). Whole year averages ~21.9 inches of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 49 rainy days a year: most in January (~8), fewest in July (almost none).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 0.08 in per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

San Francisco month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Highest and Lowest are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightHighestLowest
January55.5°45.9°4.2 in89.7 h71.2° (1962)31.1° (1949)
February57.4°47.5°4.0 in810.6 h70.0° (1986)31.0° (1989)
March58.5°48.8°3.3 in811.7 h76.2° (1972)38.1° (1966)
April60.1°49.9°1.6 in513.0 h82.6° (2022)40.4° (1976)
May62.1°51.8°0.7 in214.0 h87.8° (2008)44.9° (1950)
June64.8°53.8°0.2 in114.6 h87.8° (2019)47.6° (1999)
July65.9°55.0°0.1 in014.4 h82.1° (1959)49.5° (1955)
August66.8°56.2°0.1 in013.5 h88.5° (1968)49.6° (1955)
September68.3°56.5°0.2 in112.2 h95.6° (2017)49.3° (1950)
October66.4°54.7°1.1 in311.0 h91.7° (1987)44.2° (1946)
November60.7°50.5°2.6 in69.9 h79.8° (1949)38.6° (1952)
December56.1°46.8°3.9 in89.4 h68.8° (2020)27.8° (1990)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +1.3°F.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.15°F per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Dec–Feb is warming fastest: +0.25°F per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 77°F per year: 5.7 early in the record → 6.1 recently. Frost days: 0 → 0.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

Hottest day since 1940 in 2017, coldest in 1990: 95.6°F / 27.8°F.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~21.9 in/year on average. Last decade: +4% vs that average. Long-term trend: +0.10 in per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about San Francisco

Which is the warmest month in San Francisco?
On long-term average, the warmest month in San Francisco is September (mean daily temperature of about 61.1°F) and the coolest is January (about 50.0°F).
How does today's temperature in San Francisco compare to the historical average?
On October 19, 2026, San Francisco is forecast to reach a high of 61.5°F and a low of 52.7°F. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 65.3°F and a low of 54.3°F, so today's high is 3.8°F cooler than that average.
How much has San Francisco warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in San Francisco is about 1.3°F warmer.
How much does it rain in San Francisco?
San Francisco receives about 21.9 inches of precipitation per year on long-term average, with January typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in San Francisco?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in San Francisco is about 55.8°F. The warmest month is September and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in San Francisco by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in San Francisco (°F, full record since 1940): January 56°/46°, February 57°/48°, March 58°/49°, April 60°/50°, May 62°/52°, June 65°/54°, July 66°/55°, August 67°/56°, September 68°/57°, October 66°/55°, November 61°/50°, December 56°/47°.
What is the weather like in San Francisco in summer?
In summer, June through August, San Francisco is dry and mild. Daytime highs sit at 65–67°F and nights at 54–56°F; August is the warmest month. Hardly any rain falls.
What is the weather like in San Francisco in winter?
December to February is winter in San Francisco, and it is wet and cool. Afternoons run 56–57°F and nights 46–48°F; January is the coldest month. Rain is steady at around 4.0 inches a month, spread over roughly 8 days. No season is wetter.
What is the weather like in San Francisco in spring?
March to May is spring in San Francisco, and it is fairly mild. Expect 58–62°F by day and 49–52°F at night, with May the warmest month. Rain eases through the season: 8 rainy days and 3.3 inches in March, 2 days and 0.7 inches in May.
What is the weather like in San Francisco in autumn?
September to November is autumn in San Francisco, and it is mild. September still brings 68°F afternoons and 57°F nights, November only 61°F and 50°F. Rain picks up through the season: 1 rainy day and 0.2 inches in September, 6 days and 2.6 inches in November.
How many days a year does it rain in San Francisco?
On long-term average, San Francisco has about 49 days a year with at least 0.08 inches of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 21.9 inches.

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