Normal weather days by city › California
NOAA 1991-2020 normals · California
Normal weather delay days in San Francisco, CA
A normal year in San Francisco has about 39.4 rain days (0.10 in or more) and 0.1 freezing days. February has the most rain days and July the fewest.
These are NOAA's official 1991-2020 climate normals for SAN FRANCISCO INTL AP, CA US (NOAA station USW00023234, 10.8 miles from downtown). Contractors use them as the "normal" baseline for weather days in bids, schedules and weather-delay clauses.
Weather-day calculator
From the start of October to the end of March (6 months), a normal San Francisco schedule sees about:
days with 0.10 in or more of rain or melted snow
days with 0.50 in or more
days with a low of 32°F or colder
days with a high of 90°F or hotter
These count calendar days. On a Monday to Friday schedule, about 5 in 7 of them fall on workdays (24.0 rain days). Real years vary a lot around the normal, which is why a day-by-day record of the actual weather matters when a delay is disputed.
Month by month
Average number of days per month, 1991-2020.
| Month | Rain days | Heavy rain days | Freezing days | Hot days | Normal rain | Normal high / low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.89 in | 58° / 45° |
| February | 7.8 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.96 in | 61° / 46° |
| March | 6.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.73 in | 63° / 48° |
| April | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.36 in | 66° / 49° |
| May | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.48 in | 68° / 52° |
| June | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.14 in | 72° / 54° |
| July | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.00 in | 73° / 55° |
| August | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.04 in | 73° / 56° |
| September | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 0.07 in | 75° / 56° |
| October | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.79 in | 72° / 53° |
| November | 4.1 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.04 in | 64° / 49° |
| December | 6.9 | 2.8 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 4.14 in | 58° / 45° |
| Year | 39.4 | 12.8 | 0.1 | 4.2 | 19.6 in |
Using these numbers
- Contract first. Your contract decides which days count: the thresholds, the baseline, the notice you must give and whether the weather actually stopped work on the critical path. Some contracts name their own table of normal weather days; use that if yours does.
- Normals are averages. A wet February can easily bring twice the normal. Comparing what actually happened, day by day, with the normal is what supports a time extension request.
- One station. These numbers come from one official airport station. Rain can differ across town.
Other California cities
Los Angeles · Sacramento · San Diego · Fresno
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Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals for station USW00023234. A dash means NOAA publishes no value for that station.