Washington picks up around 12 more inches of snow each winter.
San Francisco has around 79 fewer freezing nights a year. Washington endures about 42 more days above 90 °F each year.
The year at a glance
Averages from 30 years of climate history, 1991-2020
| San Francisco | Metric | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| 248 days | Sunny daysclear or partly cloudy skies | 206 days |
| 23 in | Precipitationper year | 42 in |
| 71 days | Wet daysrain or snow per year | 119 days |
| 0 in | Snowfallper year | 12 in |
| 3 days | Hot daysabove 90 °F | 45 days |
| 0 days | Freezing nightsat or below 32 °F | 79 days |
| 77% | Humidityaverage relative | 69% |
| 58 °F | Average temperatureyear round | 58 °F |
Monthly temperatures
Average daily high and low for each month, in °F. The gap between the two lines is what an ordinary day feels like across the year.
Daily highs
Daily lows
View monthly temperatures as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco high | 58 | 60 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 66 | 66 | 68 | 70 | 70 | 64 | 58 |
| Washington high | 44 | 48 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 85 | 90 | 88 | 81 | 70 | 58 | 49 |
| San Francisco low | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 53 | 55 | 56 | 56 | 54 | 51 | 47 |
| Washington low | 28 | 30 | 37 | 47 | 57 | 66 | 71 | 69 | 62 | 49 | 39 | 32 |
Monthly precipitation
Total rain plus melted snow for each month, in inches. Taller bars mean wetter months.
View monthly precipitation as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 4.5 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 4.2 |
| Washington | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
Monthly sunny days
Days each month with clear or partly cloudy skies, so compare the same month between cities.
View monthly sunny days as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | 14 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 18 | 15 |
| Washington | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 |
Keep comparing
Nearby cities and popular picks for each side of this matchup. Any two cities can be compared from the home page.
San Francisco vs another city
- San Francisco vs Daly City, CA
- San Francisco vs Sausalito, CA
- San Francisco vs Emeryville, CA
- San Francisco vs Tiburon, CA
- San Francisco vs Berkeley, CA
- San Francisco vs South San Francisco, CA
- San Francisco vs New York, NY
- San Francisco vs Los Angeles, CA
- San Francisco vs Chicago, IL
- San Francisco vs Houston, TX
- San Francisco vs Phoenix, AZ
- San Francisco vs Philadelphia, PA
Washington vs another city
- Washington vs Mount Rainier, MD
- Washington vs Chillum, MD
- Washington vs Arlington, VA
- Washington vs Hyattsville, MD
- Washington vs Hillcrest Heights, MD
- Washington vs Takoma Park, MD
- Washington vs New York, NY
- Washington vs Los Angeles, CA
- Washington vs Chicago, IL
- Washington vs Houston, TX
- Washington vs Phoenix, AZ
- Washington vs Philadelphia, PA
About this data
Every figure on this page is a 30 year average computed from daily climate history for 1991-2020, using each city's own coordinates. Wet days count days with measurable precipitation, calibrated against the wet day counts in NOAA's published climate normals. Sunny days count clear plus partly cloudy days, defined as average cloud cover of 63 percent or less and calibrated against NOAA's published sky cover tables. Snowfall figures are model estimates anchored to NOAA station measurements near each city.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5, ERA5-Land).