Hi
My wife and I are travelling from the UK to California in March. We fly into SF and then leave from San Diego 2 weeks later. To help with the packing, what weather can we expect at this time of year.
Andy

Expect great weather in the 60's -70's.

Bring shorts, t-shirts, light weight clothing.
Perhaps a windbreaker or very light sweaters for the evenings.

Casual! Unless you are going to nice restaurants.

You couldn't have picked a more delightful time to travel in California.

Just remember to LAYER clothing!

I am a native California currently living in San Diego but have lived all over the state. I don't want to rain on your parade but I do disagree with the previous message. The best month weather wise is October. This is a given. March can be very chilly and damp. Of course you may luck out and get good weather but March is in our rainy season. Last year you would have had almost steady rain. This winter is shaping up pretty nicely but who knows. I have seen it rain 22 days of the month in March ( San Diego ) and I have also seen it very warm and sunny. Therefore make sure that you bring clothes for all situations. The San Francisco Bay area is considerably cooler and damper than San Diego.

Thanks
The above responses leave me no better off as they are so contradictory so we''l have to plan for and expect anything.
Cal, I notice in response to another request you say that the weather in California is great!
Many thanks for taking the time to answer
Andy

Perhaps instead of asking people to predict the weather two months ahead of time you could search the internet- there are websites that give out weather information. See what its like the week before you leave. Our t.v. stations usually give us the weather for the following week. E mail me just before you leave and I'll tell you what its like here in Southern California anyways. If you go back to Fodors homepage I beleive there is a link to WEATHER! I would never have thought to ask my brother in Holland what to pack 2 months before I got there. And by the way it rained the first week and by the third week we had heat waves in Holland. An all weather rainproof parka is a travel neccesity and something I still use even here in California!!

Here's the Real Scoop.

Be prepared for cool, not cold weather.

The weather in San Diego will almost certainly be warmer and drier than in San Francisco.

This year is shaping up as a drier than normal year (see references to "La Nina"). Of course, it can rain, but it very seldom rains more than a couple days in a row. It can be blustery, but you're more likely to get showers than heavy rain.

Soooo, pack a medium-weight water-resistant jack. Add a sweater, light-weight to medium weight trousers. Wool is a good choice. Dress casually, but wear nice clothes. Jeans are OK, but it's important to dress up a bit for dinner in a nice place.

Generally speaking, the later in March you travel, the better the weather.

P.S., I've lived in California for almost 40 years, in various places.

Go to www.weatherpost.com/historical/historical.htm
It has historical average highs, lows, rainfall, and a lot of other great data for travellers. They claim to have 2000 cities in their database. I use it all the time.

Scott's advise above is the most acurate. I have lived in southern CA for about 40 years, one of the few natives my age. Right now we are having the opposite of last year's El Nino. La Nina is giving southern CA a much drier and warmer winter than normal. It was 80 degrees this week and it hasn't rained in weeks. Even our "cool" weather is nothing like yours!

many thanks for all your helpful replies. At least we now know the natives are friendly & helpful!! Caifornia here we come.
Andy

The weather is great in California especially Southern California. However that is based on the overall weather conditions throughout the year. We basically have 2 seasons. The dry and wet season. The dry season runs from May-October with April and November being mostly dry. It usually doesn't rain at all during the dry season. The wet season is more iffy than wet like Seattle. In other words, we do get rain during the wet season but we also get some very good weather. It was 80+ degrees and sunny at my house on Christmas day. It was 93 a couple of years ago during January. Remember that San Diego is a desert and only receives an average of 9.32" of rain a year. Usually it will not rain more than two days in a row but like everywhere else, there are exceptions. The best weather usually occurs in the fall with clear warm days. The marine layer can get very heavy along the coast especially during June ( we call it June Gloom ). Usually the marine layer ( our natural air conditioning ) burns off in the morning but sometimes it stays all day during the June Gloom period.

BTW, I am a native Californian for 50+ years though I have had periods where I have lived in other states ( AZ, FL, NV, OR, WA, KA, etc. ) as well as Mexico, Venezuela, and Canada. No, I am not nor was in the military. No offense meant as I strongly support our military. It is just that I had a yearning to roam and explore in my younger years. Now we are settled in the San Diego area ( 14 years this time ) and have no intentions of ever leaving.