Seattle Versus San Francisco Weather: Our Summers Are Better

Seattle folks sometime feel a bit of an inferiority complex relative to the denizens of the Bay area, with some suggesting that the SF area has better weather.  But the truth is that Seattle has better late spring/summer weather and this weekend is a good example.

The Space Needle Pano Cam at 11 AM Friday shows blue skies and perfect weather conditions.

A San Francisco cam show dreary low clouds.  Depressing.   So bad that the airport had extensive delays.  Seattle has much nice buildings by the way

Take a look at the visible satellite imagery Friday morning. Western WA is clear, with a some low clouds offshore.

 The Bay Area is all socked in.  And there is a low pressure center offshore with spiraling cloud bands.  Looks scary.

The weather.com 5-day weather prediction for Seattle is forecasting superb conditions, with temperatures rising into the lower 80s for the entire weekend.

San Francisco has a bleak outlook, with highs in the lower 60S and lots of clouds. Depressing.

I know what some of you are thinking....this is just one weekend.   Does SF really have inferior summers?   Well, lets look at the climatologies for both cities.   Seattle's typical high temps (red line) peak in late July and August around 73F.

San Francisco only gets into the mid-60s that time of the year.   They have a strange annual temperature variation with their highest temperatures (only around 70F) in September...and this doesn't do them much good, since kids are back in school and folks have returned from their summer vacations.

And now the shocker.... Seattle has MORE HOURS OF SUNSHINE than San Francisco in July and August.  Don't bother looking at other months.

 The bottom line of all this is clear:  Seattle has a nearly perfect summer climate and SF's summers are not quite as good.  And don't forget about the wisdom of Mark Twain:

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."