San Francisco weather (Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Ana: apartment, neighborhood, living in)

[lori8318]

I am 28 years old currently living in Buffalo, NY. I am considering relocating to the west coast, and have been researching San Francisco. I like all aspects of the city, my only concern is the weather. Although most any climate will be better than Buffalo, I hear it is often cloudy, foggy, and cool in San Fran. Is this true? I would like the opinion of someone who has lived there year-round, and if possible, a comparison of San Fran's weather to San Diego's weather, as San Diego's weather seems ideal. (But the city lacks the appeal of San Fran). Thank you!

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by lori8318

I am 28 years old currently living in Buffalo, NY. I am considering relocating to the west coast, and have been researching San Francisco. I like all aspects of the city, my only concern is the weather. Although most any climate will be better than Buffalo, I hear it is often cloudy, foggy, and cool in San Fran. Is this true? I would like the opinion of someone who has lived there year-round, and if possible, a comparison of San Fran's weather to San Diego's weather, as San Diego's weather seems ideal. (But the city lacks the appeal of San Fran). Thank you!

Comparing San Diego and SF weather is like comparing apples and oranges... really no similarities, aside from the lack of snow! SD is a southern CA climate, meaning very warm, sunny and dry - and you can actually swim in their oceans. SF is much cooler, foggier, gets a good deal of rain (depending on the year), and the water is too cold for swimming. But we do have a ton of microclimates, so it really depends on your exact location... typically it's foggier/cooler on the coast, and gets warmer/sunnier as you go inland. Even San Francisco itself has multiple climates - the Sunset and Richmond are super foggy, downtown is cool but (more) clear, my neighborhood in the southeast is sunny and windy, etc. Are you looking to live in the city?

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by gizmo980

Comparing San Diego and SF weather is like comparing apples and oranges... really no similarities, aside from the lack of snow! SD is a southern CA climate, meaning very warm, sunny and dry - and you can actually swim in their oceans. SF is much cooler, foggier, gets a good deal of rain (depending on the year), and the water is too cold for swimming. But we do have a ton of microclimates, so it really depends on your exact location... typically it's foggier/cooler on the coast, and gets warmer/sunnier as you go inland. Even San Francisco itself has multiple climates - the Sunset and Richmond are super foggy, downtown is cool but (more) clear, my neighborhood in the southeast is sunny and windy, etc. Are you looking to live in the city?

This is really not true. San Diego weather is more similar to San Francisco than you would think, given what you might know about Los Angeles or the other inland valley areas. It's a little warmer, yes, since it's closer to the equator, but like SF, SD has a very narrow spread of temperatures from season to season. SF is 60-65 year round, SD is 65-70. SD does have much more stable humidity - I've kept a humidistat in my apartment because I have a piano, and the intra-day swings are sometimes epic. I would not disagree with someone who felt that San Diego's climate was the best on the planet.

[gizmo980]

True... I guess it just seems very different, since it's so much warmer and drier overall. My brother actually lives in San Diego, and I go down there to visit occasionally - always too hot for me!

[tande1n5]

Both are definitely subject to the fact that they're on the coast, and both have a (relatively) narrow span of temperatures. They both have the rainy season in the winter and are Mediterranean climates. San Diego's humidity is quite low, and although it's more stable than SF's, it still can go from moderate to 0 humidity in a few hours during the Santa Ana winds. Both cities are also laden with microclimates, so 1/4 mile can make all the difference in the world. Both have foggy seasons in May-June, and a warmer indian summer/fall.

That being said, San Diego is usually warmer, clearer, etc... to the point of being a little boring sometimes (although most San Diegans beg to differ and almost every weathercast on TV serves to talk about how it's the world's greatest weather). You'll get three weeks of sun and one day of clouds, and people will go around complaining about how horribly depressing it all is.

[humboldtrat]

Living about 10 or 15 miles inland from the ocean (east or south of San Francisco), you will find the weather to be more warm and sunny and less windy and foggy. Check out the east bay or the peninsula south of San Francisco. On a typical summer day, it can be 60 degrees at the coast, 75 degrees in San Mateo and 85 degrees Walnut Creek.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by tande1n5

That being said, San Diego is usually warmer, clearer, etc... to the point of being a little boring sometimes (although most San Diegans beg to differ and almost every weathercast on TV serves to talk about how it's the world's greatest weather). You'll get three weeks of sun and one day of clouds, and people will go around complaining about how horribly depressing it all is.

This is true. It is fairly "boring" weather b/c it doesn't change a lot from day to day or even week to week. And it doesn't rain much at all. Usually and overcast or cloudy day is the worst you can expect. And people will complain if we don't see the sun for more than one or two days. But most people don't mind the cloudy/overcast or a rainy day b/c it's a nice change from the constant spring/summer weather so you learn to appreciate the "bad" weather days.

San Diego is generally 5-10 degrees warmer than SF. SD is not nearly as windy either so it can feel warmer than SF even when they are the same temperature. SD doesn't get much fog compared to SF, even when it does have a marine layer it's not the low, hanging pea soup type of fog but higher clouds instead.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Living about 10 or 15 miles inland from the ocean (east or south of San Francisco), you will find the weather to be more warm and sunny and less windy and foggy. Check out the east bay or the peninsula south of San Francisco. On a typical summer day, it can be 60 degrees at the coast, 75 degrees in San Mateo and 85 degrees Walnut Creek.

Exactly right. It would be very hard for the average person to distinguish, climate-wise, between San Diego and a mid-peninsula town like San Carlos.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Exactly right. It would be very hard for the average person to distinguish, climate-wise, between San Diego and a mid-peninsula town like San Carlos.

I wouldn't go that far to equate San Diego to the Peninsula or other parts of the Bay Area. Winters are much cooler and more rainy anywhere in the Bay Area than San Diego. The nights in SD are warmer too year round, especially in summer.

[jeevcy]

Why exactly is it depressing if it is foggy and sunny the same time as in SF? Why is it better to have clear skies as compared to foggy sunny skies? It's not as if it's going to rain ...

I thought the fog and the sun together look very pretty together especially when you are taking the bus from the East Bay in the morning. Watching the Golden Gate Bridge, the city skyline and surrounding hills wrapped by fog is a sight to behold.