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Dallas weather is not that bad. It does get hot in the summer, very hot. But, I'd still chose SF. It is such a gorgeous city, and one really can't compare SF to Dallas. I know this is about the climate in the 2 cities, but man it's hard to bypass the rest. People are constantly leaving their hearts in SF for a reason, it's beautiful. I've lived in Dallas for 1 1/2 years and in SF for 4. Dallas was not my cup of tea. With SF, I have a love affair, even though my home is L.A. and prefer it over SF.
Dallas. It has real summers. San Francisco has the worst summers for any mid-latitude, low elevation climate in the world. Steady 50s and overcast year round might be stable but yuck!
The winters averages might be colder in Dallas but there is more potential for warm days. Lots of thunderstorms too . Lots of sunshowers and just great sunny and warm to hot days. I'd feel cold about 30-40 days a year in Dallas while I'd feel cold about 350 days a year in San Francisco.
San Francisco probably only sees a thunderstorm about about once a decade? I think it gets the least thunderstorms of anywhere in the U.S. Even L.A. gets 2-3 a year at the coast and 10-20 a year of you count the entire metro area.
Last edited by ABrandNewWorld; 12-24-2014 at 11:50 AM..
Both are awful climates, especially in winter, but San Francisco would be my hands-down choice. Neither of them have much of a winter, although Dallas certainly sees snow more often. But this is made up for by hotter winter record highs in Dallas. In the average high department, SanFran and Dallas are nearly identical. Winter lows are significantly warmer in SanFran than Dallas, being much more summer-like to me in San Francisco. But since we're talking about winter here, the difference between lows in the upper 30's to lows in the upper 40's doesn't make much of a difference most of the time when it comes to any sort of real winter weather.
San Francisco summers are somewhat too warm for me, although they are decent, and I don't care for the low range and seasonal lag SF exhibits. There's also the probability of way-too-hot nights during one of the San Francisco heat waves. However these disadvantages pale in comparison to the sheer horror of a Dallas summer, averaging well over 90F for highs and 70F for lows for 3 straight months (Jul/Aug average 77F, which would be the death of me ). There's also high humidity, and it is monotonous with actual heat relief being very rare in the actual summer itself. Furthemore very summer-like conditions prevail from April through October. So for summer Dallas is vastly inferior, so my choice is San Francisco.
In the end, the choice is whether the horrific heat of summer (and every other season) is worth the marginal seasonality and paltry snow in Dallas, or whether much cooler SanFran summer and cooler weather most of the rest of the year is worth the elimination of this marginal chance. Both climates are way too monotonous and way too sunny; the only difference is monotonous high heat/humidity with marginal seasonality (which is still very warm), or monotonous mild to warm weather with low humidity. Although I despise both, I despise the latter a lot less, hence my pick of San Francisco.
And even though this isn't climatically relevant and didn't factor into my decision, San Francisco is much closer to much better climates in the mountains and interior than Dallas is, so it would be a better place to live. A very interesting climate battle. Hats off to Kaul.
You have clearly never been to San Francisco in July and if you have, you went during that freak heat wave of 2006. Even the hardiest coldies find 50s with fog and winds of 20 mph extremely cold by summer standards.
Dallas. It has real summers. San Francisco has the worst summers for any mid-latitude climate in the world. Steady 50s and overcast year round might be stable but yuck!
The winters averages might be colder in Dallas but there is more potential for warm days. Lots of thunderstorms too . Lots of sunshowers and just great sunny and warm to hot days. I'd feel cold about 30-40 days a year in Dallas while I'd feel cold about 350 days a year in San Francisco.
San Francisco probably only sees a thunderstorm about about once a decade? I think it gets the least thunderstorms of anywhere in the U.S. Even L.A. gets 2-3 a year at the coast and 10-20 a year of you count the entire metro area.
To the part of your post I bolded, are you referring to SF? SF is very dry and sunny in summer. But it is rather cool, with occasional heat waves. Even Eureka, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia gets into the lower 60s and it's really overcast at all. I said over a year ago that I'd prefer SF and I still would say that strongly. SF has the best summers (for me) of any large US city, and they're especially pleasant for the latitude. I don't really care for thunderstorms, so I can do without those. Dallas is insufferable in summer and has weak winters. I would not like to experience one of those winter heat waves in Dallas either. Record highs are in the upper 80s/lower 90s in every winter month! Ghastly. The occasional snow and cold snaps Dallas experiences do not come close to making up for how awful it is otherwise. Complete garbage.
To the part of your post I bolded, are you referring to SF? SF is very dry and sunny in summer. But it is rather cool, with occasional heat waves. Even Eureka, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia gets into the lower 60s and it's really overcast at all. I said over a year ago that I'd prefer SF and I still would say that strongly. SF has the best summers (for me) of any large US city, and they're especially pleasant for the latitude. I don't really care for thunderstorms, so I can do without those. Dallas is insufferable in summer and has weak winters. I would not like to experience one of those winter heat waves in Dallas either. Record highs are in the upper 80s/lower 90s in every winter month! Ghastly. The occasional snow and cold snaps Dallas experiences do not come close to making up for how awful it is otherwise. Complete garbage.
I've been there in summer and it might be dry (they do get mist but I believe it's not measurable rain) but it was anything but sunny. Those average temperatures are often taken downtown which is the warmest part of the city (still only getting up into the mid 60s in summer). The coast averages highs in the 50s in summer and with the fog and wind chill, it feels even colder. The occasional heat waves come in September or October and it will get up into the 70s for a few days on the coast and the 80s downtown. Dallas has ubiquitous AC and you can still enjoy the sunshine through the window if you feel hot. San Francisco has fog and low clouds at the coast for multiple days on the end in summer so you can't enjoy the sun through the office window if you work there. Winters are very mild, stable, and wet but most of the rain comes in the form of light rain and drizzle. Those Dallas thunderstorms look like a real spectacle! I heard they are even better than Miami's! Their summer rain looks warm and pleasant in contrast to fog, wind, and chill.
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. Lots of sunshowers and just great sunny and warm to hot days. I'd feel cold about 30-40 days a year in Dallas while I'd feel cold about 350 days a year in San Francisco.
). There's also high humidity, and it is monotonous with actual heat relief being very rare in the actual summer itself. Furthemore very summer-like conditions prevail from April through October. So for summer Dallas is vastly inferior, so my choice is San Francisco.
