which Bay Area city has the best weather? (San Jose, San Francisco: neighborhood, living in)

[fair weather cumulus]

Hi,

My husband is interviewing for jobs in Cupertino and Palo Alto. I'm going to try to get into UC Berkeley.

I lived for many years in the midwest and northeast and developed a serious case of winter depression (seasonal affective disorder - SAD). I was completely debilitated from October through March and no treatment seemed to help. We've been living in AZ for 5 years and I haven't had any SAD issues.

I want to make sure I give the Bay Area my best shot. Can you please tell me which cities around the South Bay / East Shore areas have the best weather (sunniest, least fog, cloudy days, rain)?

Thanks!

[Mach50]

Inner Peninsula has the best weather, read the banner:

[fair weather cumulus]

Thanks! Love the picture!

[humboldtrat]

The south bay and the east bay around Fremont and Milpitas will probably be the warmest fog free place with still reasonable commuting to UC Berkeley/Cupertino. The farther inland you go, the less fog you will get. The Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville area will be a little bit warmer with little fog. As for rain, it's pretty much the same throughout the Bay Area during the winter.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

As for rain, it's pretty much the same throughout the Bay Area during the winter.

As far as annual rain fall totals, they can vary greatly in the region. North Bay locations can get over 40 inches per year but South Bay is closer to 15 inches a year. Although I say most cities are between 17-25 inches. It's mainly the North Bay that is significantly wetter than the rest of the Bay Area.

[ambient]

There is a tradeoff between weather and proximity to all of the diverse things that make cosmopolitan city life fun - if you can afford it and want it.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by sav858

As far as annual rain fall totals, they can vary greatly in the region. North Bay locations can get over 40 inches per year but South Bay is closer to 15 inches a year. Although I say most cities are between 17-25 inches. It's mainly the North Bay that is significantly wetter than the rest of the Bay Area.

Yes, I know. However it can be raining in the north bay but cloudy and threatening rain in the south bay. Either way, the OP wants sunny days as opposed to cloudy/foggy days. Anyway, with this last storm, it rained pretty much everywhere - but more so in the North Bay and in the Santa Cruz Mtns.

[Idunn]

You would find the weather appreciably warmer and drier in Cupertino and Palo Alto than in Berkeley. This holds true for San Francisco as well, and it is not uncommon to depart a quite temperate south bay in summer to find San Francisco chilly with a slight, cool, humid fog. One quickly learns such idiosyncrasies, but the warning still often evident in clouds of fog which are either absent in the south bay, or more usually unable to fully crest to coastal mountains to the west, but near Burlingame have more luck as the mountains drop in height, and more or less having their way in SF.

Put another way, expect to find a lot of regional nuances in an overall temperate region. Generally speaking some of the most temperate weather lies between the bay and the coastal mountains, north at least as far as Redwood City and south to Sunnyvale. Places such as Los Gatos have lovely weather, although somewhat warmer, San Jose as well. Fremont, on the east bay, would be similar to San Jose, a bit more extreme, hotter in summer. By Berkeley however one begins to seriously experience the maritime influence coming through the Golden Gate. A bit milder than San Francisco, but their residents would be comparing nuance.

San Francisco itself has many specific zones. For instance the business district in the SE quadrant tends to be relatively sunny and dry, while at the exact same time the western district near the ocean can be overcast and chilly. The Noe valley is a small pocket of relative sun, a lovely neighborhood, but move very far in a different direction and the weather likely to change.

Then further north, a place such as Napa, say, different again. It would tend to be drier and warmer in summer. Precipitation varies but is more generally uniform over the region. Basically it rains occasionally throughout the winter, for a few hours or days, with a mild interest, seldom really strong. The sun usually makes an appearance on any given day, and particularly south of San Francisco is a frequent guest. Come summer it is dominant, with any rain unusual from late spring through autumn.

If liking Phoenix, AZ you may find the summers of the warmer areas reminiscent of spring, the winters a bit cool. Compared to the better part of the United States it is a near ideal climate, temperate and mild.


ps. Mark Twain once said (presumably), and probably not entirely in jest, that, "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco."

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by ambient

There is a tradeoff between weather and proximity to all of the diverse things that make cosmopolitan city life fun - if you can afford it and want it.

Yes! I totally agree. I grew up in Walnut Creek and loved the sunshine and warm temps, but it was pretty boring. SF is exciting, but it gets so foggy. I think cities develop around their climates, i.e. SF with the area's cloudy weather has the most stuff to do indoors, like restaurants, museums, etc., while the boring areas have great weather but nature trails, parks, swimming pools, etc.

I think if you're coming from out of state, then you'll love the weather no matter what.

[fair weather cumulus]

Thanks everybody! I really appreciate your help! We're flying in next weekend for a visit. I'll
check out all your suggestions. I'm hoping for bad weather to help our evaluation . I appreciate any additional input. We've got a few months before the move to make up our minds. Thanks!