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For the French, "mediterranean " means the southern France regions around the north Mediterranean, which are much-MUCH - colder than the SF area from late autumn to late spring (in summer however they are warmer than coastal northern Califormia,-but less so than the "inland empire" . That's why we don't call SF a "mediterranean climate"-although technically it is one, because of that subtropical feel (for us), and because there can be snow (well only snow flurries most of the time) even on the Riviera, which is not the case in northern Calif south of Point Reyes..
southern France is much further north than the Bay Area, close to the middle of Oregon. It's hard have really mild winters at that latitude. Barcelona isn't that different from the Bay Area winter-wise, and neither is southern Italy. I voted for subtropical due to how mild the winters are, others will disagree but it will just depend on your definition of "sub-tropical" which is rather ill-defined.
The Bay Area is essentially frostless, has warm to hot summers, and can support the growth of citrus and many different kinds of palms and tropical flora. San Jose is similar to Tampa in terms of how immune from sub-freezing weather it is.
I would describe it as a wet and dry subtropical climate. Close to being full-blown tropical like Miami, but the winters aren't quite warm enough and you do get a vague semblance of seasons.
The region is full of microclimates, as any gardener will tell you. I've lived in San Jose, and yes, we did have freezing temps at night. Just depends on your microclimate, which of course can make a world of a difference for your plants. The Sunset Garden Book will have the answer you're looking for.
It's subtropical, what is the definition of "temperate?"
Climates are Polar, Temperate, or Tropical.
Temperate is simply the zone between the tropics and polar regions. The Bay area is Mediterranean which is a temperate climate - It has wet winter/dry summer precip pattern that are necessary for Med climates, and importantly, lacks summer frontal systems from the polar low pressure zone, which means it definitely isn't an oceanic climate. The last feature is important because it separates oceanic climates from other Temperate climates
Subtropical climates (which the Bay Area isn't) are also Temperate climates.
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