My family will be travelling to SF in Dec specifically the week before Christmas. What is the weather like and is it okay to do the coastal drive north/south for a day trip during this time. We have been to SF before in June and we loved it. Thought we will do something different this time. Please advise.

Weather was quite nice during that period last Christmas. We sat outside during the day many times.

We have lots of coast here - which area did you have in mind? Marin & Sonoma Coast, San Mateo coast, Big Sur/Carmel coast.

Marin & Sonoma would probably be the best if you'll be doing this on a work day. Marin/Sonoma would also let you do a little inland driving to visit a winery or two. We drove up there this past weekend. I've posted a suggested driving tour up north several times in the past. See if you can find it. You can easily do the coast north, then over to Healdsburg (cute village/wine country), then back to SF in 1 full day.

Stu Dudley

Like all months, SF is pretty unpredictable. We've been there several times at Christmas and never had weather for "sitting outside" unless there were heaters. One year quite a while back, snow came down and Union Square was really magical as it actually became blanketed -- but that's certainly nothing to count on.

Hey Stu, thanks for your comments. Yes, I read about your interesting and detailed itinerary up north and have downloaded it into a file for keeps. Yes, I was thinking of driving to visit Muir Woods, Sausalito which we missed the last trip. Just wondering if it will be too cold and if it is possible to do short walks.

Am thinking of doing a coastal trip down south to Half Moon Bay and still considering whether to do Monterey again. We will also spend some time walking around the neighbourhoods which we missed the last trip too.

Too cold for walking? Never. Not in this city, even at night. But too wet, that's another thing. The most recent Christmas, as Stu points out, was in the middle of a dry spell that lasted a few weeks. The odds are just as likely that it could be drizzly or downright rainy. So keep your plans flexible and think of any weather that happens as what was meant to be. Bring shoes that are, as well as comfortable for all-day walking, secure on wet surfaces. Muir Woods can be lovely but slippery during the winter. Even if it rains, there are days in between the storms where the weather is clear, bright and brisk - ideal conditions for a drive up or down the coast/

NP, I'm not sure what you saw, but it hasn't snowed at all in San Francisco since 1976, and that was in February. In fact, the last time there was even a trace of snow in December was 1932.

I remember the snow of '76. We lived in the Noe Valley & the 24 Divisadero could not make it up the hill between 24th st & 25th. People were skiing down 24th st - and probably ruining their skis. By noon, the snow was gone.

There was a 10 day period about 15 years ago around Christmas when it was in the 20s & lots of water pipes froze & burst. Killed all the citrus trees on our property, and most of the trees on Burlingame ave.

Stu Dudley

Well, I hate to argue with records, and I'm guessing it was about the early 1980's, but during the week before Christmas (because we spent Christmas in Saratoga). We stayed just off Union Square (The Cartwright) and there were huge flakes of white stuff coming down on Union Square and enough to actually make the ground white. It didn't last long, but it was there. Perhaps you're saying this was ash from a distant volcano or something? Sure looked like snow to me!

Stu, I lived on Twin Peaks at the time and didn't bother leaving home until the snow melted! (By the way, we moved from Twin Peaks (1976-78)to Noe Valley (1978-1986)before moving to Burlingame)(1986-present). And I remember well that awful freeze!

NP, are you sure it wasn't a) fake or b) actually an accumulation of hail (most likely)?

OK. Looked through my journals -- maybe my memory has failed me a bit with the idea of Union Square being blanketed, but this is what I wrote.

"December 22, 1990. Walking back to the hotel through Union Square at about 11 PM, we were shocked to see big white flakes coming down. With the Christmas trees all lit on the square and the air filled with snow, it was an amazing sight. We entered the hotel and told the desk clerk it was snowing, he was shocked but went outside and sure enough. He had never seen snow in his life (I think he came from India), and had lived in San Francisco for years. It soon stopped, but it was a nice change from our usual Christmas in Florida".

Our whole stay (four nights) was really cold that year. And if it wasn't snow, someone sure played a great joke on us! Does snow not "count" if it doesn't really stick?

Does snow not "count" if it doesn't really stick?

Actually, I think it doesn't. They only report "accumulations".

We lived in the Noe Valley from '75 through most of 81. Lived at 428 Jersey - directly across from the public library. Ever dine at Diamond Sutra???

Stu Dudley

We lived across from the Rec Ctr at 30th and Sanchez. Don't remember Diamond Sutra, but ate at Little Italy often.

stu--I remember that week of cold temps. It was 16 years ago, and we were visiting my parents in the east bay. We came from Idaho so it felt sort of tropical, lol, but my parents were so cold. We had to keep water dripping at night and they lost a couple of their fruit trees.

>>We lived across from the Rec Ctr at 30th and Sanchez<<

We jogged by your house almost evey day on our "route". The Rec center is currently going through a major overhaul.

We lived on the same block as Little Italy. Before Little Italy, the site was Der Weinersnitzel.

On the night it snowed, we were dining on 24th with friends at the sushi place (it closed just last year). First time I had ever had sushi. Walked out of the restaurant & snow was coming down and about 2 inches was on the street. I think that was the last time I had sushi, and it't hasn't snowed here since then.

Stu Dudley

Don't mean to set off a "flurry" ha ha, but it's not unusual for a teeny bit of snow or sleet to happen just about every rainy season in S.F. The thing is, with our various microclimates in the city, it may be cold enough in one part of town to do so but not in another. Anyone who has witnessed the summer fog here with its east of/west of Twin Peaks dichotomy will know what I'm talking about. I don't remember the particular snowfall that NeoP is talking about, but maybe I wasn't downtown that evening. I'm kind of an "owl" by nature and I've witnessed many a late-night shift from cold rain to a brief snow shower during San Francisco's winters. It's so fleeting and so few people are up to realize what's happening most of the time. But then, I live way west in the city and we get the brunt of whatever weather is coming in off the Pacific before it peters out or gets stopped by Twin Peaks on its way.

I just looked at Weather Underground. Yes, I see the low on December 22, 1990 was 28. In fact it was similar to that for several days. Really cold for SF that trip! But trust me. While they may not show any precipitation for then, that was either one expensive Christmas gimmick the city was doing over Union Square, or else we really did see snow!

Or a major drug bust in Pac Heights??

Hey, you guys hijacked my post .
Seriously what is tne temperature like in Dec? Coming from the tropics, 24C can be cold to some people.

Sorry, about that Nyetzy, but I thought the question had been answered.

I just went back to Weather Underground for you. That week before Christmas in 1990 I was talking about was "record breaking" cold with lows at 27 and 28. But the records don't show a lot of variance from that for the week before Christmas generally.

Looking at December 22:
In 2007 the high was 52 (11C), the low was 35 (1C) and the mean average for the day was 44 (6C). On Christmas Day I see it reached a high of 55 (12C).
I'm from Florida and that is not "sitting out" weather for me.

That's not so far off record keeping averages for that day either (still looking at December 22) which is
high 55 (12C), low 42 (5C) and the mean average for that day is 49
(9C).

Rain is fairly likely as well.

Hope that helps. But you should also realize that the temps I've given are for San Francisco itself. You can go out of the city 20 miles and it can be a LOT warmer (or even colder along the coast).