White Christmas in San Francisco?
Historically, San Francisco, CA has a 0% chance of a white Christmas — at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on 25 December, almost never — based on NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for San Francisco Oceanside, 9 km from the city centre.
At least 5 inches is on the ground in 0% of years, and new snow (0.1 inch or more) falls on Christmas Day in 0%.
All US cities ranked Weather alerts now
From 15 December this page also links the National Weather Service forecast for San Francisco.
San Francisco against other cities
San Francisco, CA ranks 87 of 93 US cities on our list.
| Oakland, CA · 13 km | 0% |
|---|---|
| San Jose, CA · 67 km | 0% |
| Stockton, CA · 101 km | 0% |
| Sacramento, CA · 121 km | 0% |
| Fresno, CA · 261 km | 0% |
| Reno, NV · 299 km | 19% |
What this page shows, and what it misses
NOAA's smoothed share of Christmases from 1991 to 2020 with snow on the ground at San Francisco Oceanside (station USC00047767, 8 ft above sea level, 9 km from the centre of San Francisco), based on 18 years with data (NOAA marks this normal provisional: fewer complete years).
It misses this year's weather and local differences: snow cover can change a lot over a few miles and a few hundred feet of height.
FAQQuestions people ask
Will San Francisco, CA have a white Christmas?
Historically, San Francisco, CA has a 0% chance of a white Christmas — at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on 25 December, almost never — based on NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for San Francisco Oceanside, 9 km from the city centre. These are long-run odds, not a forecast: from about a week before, check the National Weather Service forecast for San Francisco.
How much snow does San Francisco, CA usually have on Christmas Day?
At least 5 inches is on the ground in 0% of years, and new snow (0.1 inch or more) falls on Christmas Day in 0%.
How does San Francisco, CA compare with other US cities?
San Francisco, CA ranks 87 of 93 US cities on this list for the chance of 1 inch or more of snow on the ground on Christmas Day.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (daily normals; Palecki, M., Durre, I., Applequist, S., Arguez, A. & Lawrimore, J., 2021), public domain. Forecast links: National Weather Service (api.weather.gov), public domain. Station matching and ranking are Global Incident Tracker's own; NOAA does not endorse them.