Weather in San Francisco
 

Hello everyone I’ve checked routes and things to do but, forgotten to ask a very important question. How is the weather end of May up to the middle of June? Will be in San Francisco, Yosemite and Carmel (not sure if this is important) Thank you.
Gina

The weather should be mild in all of those places - Yosemite is likely to be the warmest. Rain is very unlikely. May and early June are nice months. In SF and Carmel, expect some morning and possibly evenning fog, but sun during the day. Temperatures most likely in the 60s, possibly into the 70s. In Yosemite it will likely be cool in the mornings and evennings and in the 70s in the afternoons. You will probably have warmer temperatures on the drive across the central valley. By June it could be down right hot.

J Correa:
thanks for all your help.

SF has microclimates. You can be on Market St or the Financial Dist. and it can be cold and than when you go to North Beach it can be nice and warm.

Even on a sunny day once the sun is down it can get cold in SF so do bring some kind of jacket whatever so you don't freeze to death!

SF and the coast rarely stay warm at night--there can be sometimes be a 20 degree drop between day and nighttime temps which is why we always tell visitors to bring a jacket and to dress in layers. Although many first time visitors find it hard to believe it, 50 degree nightime temp can feel pretty cold in conjunction with fog, because it is damp, it just feels chillier.

It may be urban legend, but Mark Twain reportedly said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco." Beware and bring a warm jacket for surprisingly chilly nights.

Although this might depend on the types of activities you have planned, I'd say that you need to be prepared for anything! We went to a SF Giants game in mid-June last summer and were getting a bit chilly in our jeans, long sleeves, and fleeces - the breeze off the water was definitely refreshing!

The same goes for Yosemite - the days will likely be beautiful. We had low 70s and sunny every day we were there. The nights, on the other hand, were chilly in the tent (not so much a problem if you're not camping!). In the valley, we were comfortable in our 30 degree sleeping bags...but the night we spent near Half Dome was COLD - we were in about every item in our packs (including hats) - and still not quite warm.

Have fun!

Thank you everyone for your input. My main concern was rain, or fog. I know fog is unpredictable there, but as long as we can get sunny days I will be alright. Thanks again.
Gina

We have been rained out of several Memorial Day weekend camping trips on the coast near San Francisco.

I think rain of any measurable amount is unlikely in SF Memorial Day weekend and into June. Maybe your rain out was on the coast north of SF. I think we get a rainy May once every 7 or 8 years at the most.

colombiana,
We're planning a trip to San Francisco in the spring, so I've been looking for weather information too. I just found the following page on about.com, with a chart of the average weather for each month. It says that May is usually clear, with little fog and one of the best times of the year to visit.

http://tinyurl.com/dhute

Sandy

Everyone has pretty much covered the Coast. But one thing about Yosemite - it will probably be warm. But it is also fairly common to have late afternoon thunder showers. And the hotter it is the more likely the thundershowers.

Not gully washer thunder storms like in the midwest - but just be prepared if you see clouds piling up.

The rain was at Butano State Park and San Mateo County Memorial Park. Locals will know how close that is to SF.

Thank you once again for all your help.

Sandy thank you for the site. have a great trip too :)

I remember last time I was there it was April and the weather was wonderful except one day I went to Carmel :|, did not get to see all its beauty.

Butano and Memorial Parks are in the Santa Cruz Mountains about 30 miles south of SF off of Hwy One. It's unusual to have rain on Memorial Day weekend, but not unheard of, I remember one such weekend there was steady light snow at Sequoia NP.

More likely along the coast is heavy fog, especially by June. Back in the forest, this fog precipitates off the tree leaves and needles, and forms its own "rain" beneath the trees. This past summer I ran into this several times along Hwy 35 south of SF, where it was completely fogged in and drizzly, while it was bright, sunny and warm a few miles away along Interstate 280.

This same abrupt change in the fog vs. sunshine happens within the city of SF too, the west side is often socked in and chilly in summer, while the Mission is sunny and relatively mild.

colombiana,
You're very welcome for the site, and thanks for the good wishes for our trip :-) Looking forward to it! It's our first time going to San Francisco.

Sandy

Sequoia: You are so right about the fog dripping off of trees. Went camping once at Mt. Tamalpais, it "rained" all night at our campground, but not at the neighboring campgrounds down a flight of stairs. They looked at us like we were nuts when we took our soaked selves to the bathrooms! In the morning, we talked to the ranger and were corrected that it was not rain, but "condensation from the trees"--to this day we use that phrase jokingly. We were able to hike to where it was sunny for breakfast--good thing, because our matches were soaked and we couldn't start a fire at our campground.