I was wondering when is the time to actually see San Francisco in the Sunlight? I went in July of 2021 and it was cloudy with a fog covering the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yet on Full House all the opening sequence of the GG Bridge show blue skies and clear above it all.
Is there a season when to go to not see fog?
Also are there days where the temperatures rise into the 70's at all?
Best bet is the summer time. You're still likely to have significant fog during the summer months until late in the day. Usually 70F is about hot as it gets in the summer but there have been numerous times it has been in the 80s when I've visited during summer months.
I visited San Fran in June and recall it being mostly sunny. One year that area had really poor air quality because of the fires, but I thought that was 2020, not 21.
Quote from: webny99 on March 25, 2022, 12:03:00 PM
I visited San Fran in June and recall it being mostly sunny. One year that area had really poor air quality because of the fires, but I thought that was 2020, not 21.
Really the poor air quality is a thing at some point every summer. My observation is that the bigger fires tend to happen later in the summer when the areas just inland from the coast have had a chance to dry out fully.
Best bet for sustained sun is when the wind shifts around and comes from the north / onshore, which is more likely outside of the summer. Summer tends to pull the marine layer from the ocean towards the heat inland - but usually it does burn off during the day before coming back in for the evening.
The real answer is to stay on the east side of the city and look at the Bay Bridge instead!
It was in the 70's earlier this week - we get scattered warm days throughout the year, and they actually seem less likely in the summer, and much more likely in the fall, well into October.
For the fifteen months I lived in SF from 1996-1997, it was actually sunny most days.
I remember it said during the 1989 World Series (the Bay Area earthquake series) that October was the best weather of the year in the Bay Area. Warm, clear days.
A lot of days in the summer the cloud/fog comes in mornings and evening and is clear in the middle of the day. But sometimes it doesn't. I think to be sure of getting that shot Full House had a crew camp out in SF for a couple of months and go set up anytime it looked promising. (Or used stock footage?)
Mark Twain said "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". He was frustrated by the fog and clouds too.
Quote from: Rothman on March 25, 2022, 05:23:17 PM
For the fifteen months I lived in SF from 1996-1997, it was actually sunny most days.
Basically Labor Day until the rains come (around Halloween). In December and January when it isn't raining, it gets REALLY bright. When it's raining in most of the state, it's foggy or cloudy in San Francisco.
Quote from: michravera on March 26, 2022, 12:59:49 AM
Quote from: Rothman on March 25, 2022, 05:23:17 PM
For the fifteen months I lived in SF from 1996-1997, it was actually sunny most days.
Basically Labor Day until the rains come (around Halloween). In December and January when it isn't raining, it gets REALLY bright. When it's raining in most of the state, it's foggy or cloudy in San Francisco.
I think it actually rained only two or three times during my time in the Bay Area. The hills around Concord and Clayton were a golden brown tinder box.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 25, 2022, 11:49:33 AM
Best bet is the summer time. You're still likely to have significant fog during the summer months until late in the day. Usually 70F is about hot as it gets in the summer but there have been numerous times it has been in the 80s when I've visited during summer months.
Also technically Daly City, Pacifica, and South San Francisco have more fog than San Francisco city proper.
Quote from: Rothman on March 26, 2022, 09:25:07 AM
Quote from: michravera on March 26, 2022, 12:59:49 AM
Quote from: Rothman on March 25, 2022, 05:23:17 PM
For the fifteen months I lived in SF from 1996-1997, it was actually sunny most days.
Basically Labor Day until the rains come (around Halloween). In December and January when it isn't raining, it gets REALLY bright. When it's raining in most of the state, it's foggy or cloudy in San Francisco.
I think it actually rained only two or three times during my time in the Bay Area. The hills around Concord and Clayton were a golden brown tinder box.
The stats say that it rains about 65 days per year. That's lots less than Seattle or Miami and lots more than Fresno or Las Vegas. The OP didn't ask about rain. That is rare from Good Friday to Halloween. The question was about when it is actually sunny without a lot of morning clouds. I gave my best answer: Roughly the beginning of September until Late October.
Quote from: roadman65 on March 25, 2022, 11:36:44 AM
I was wondering when is the time to actually see San Francisco in the Sunlight? I went in July of 2021 and it was cloudy with a fog covering the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yet on Full House all the opening sequence of the GG Bridge show blue skies and clear above it all.
Is there a season when to go to not see fog?
I live in lower elevation in SF (~200 feet), I'm pretty far from downtown, and it is almost always cloudy in the morning and late afternoon for the past month. Between that time it can be clear skies. In neighborhoods with higher elevations or on a hill like Inner Sunset or Twin Peaks it's possible to see gaps of blue sky in the clouds. When there's a heat wave then there might not be clouds, this happened last month when it was 93°F outside but at 7 AM that day I realized it wasn't cloudy at all. Now I know it was no coincidence.
Quote from: roadman65 on March 25, 2022, 11:36:44 AM
Also are there days where the temperatures rise into the 70's at all?
Very often the thermostat in my house goes past 70°F, but micro-climates are a thing in SF. It could be windy elsewhere, and if you're in the Sunset District (I'm not) it will likely be moist/humid
It wasn't cloudy at all today except very early in the morning and as sunset rolled around. Glorious day–clear deep blue sky, few clouds, nice cool weather. Now if only the smells of weed and urine weren't so omnipresent downtown...
It was sunny for most of the time all 3 times I visited SF: January 2014, April 2015, and July 2016. Had I just been getting lucky?
Funny enough, the only time I've ever been to San Francisco, it was warm and sunny–while, just a few days earlier, it was cool and cloudy in Tijuana. (That was in March 2000).
The only time I've been to SF and fog was an issue was during 2014. I always seem to hit the city during optimal weather. Granted that's fairly easy for me to do now that SF is a three hour drive away.