Does It Ever Snow in San Francisco, California?

As anyone who has ever been there knows the city of San Francisco can have some weird weather but it is generally a mild weather city with moderate temperatures. San Francisco has a moderate average daily temperature of 57 degrees, the city averages under 20" of precipitation a year and doesn't average even one day a year when the temperature drops below the freezing mark. But on rare occasions it does snow in San Francisco, California.

Snow does occur somewhat regularly on the mountain peaks around the San Francisco area but snowfall in the city itself is pretty rare. The record for the most snow to ever fall in the city of San Francisco is 3.7" which occurred on February 5, 1887. Reportedly up to 7" of snow fell in the Twin Peaks section of the city during that record snowstorm.

Here is a list of documented cases where at least .1" of snow fell in San Francisco, California.

Does It Ever Snow in San Francisco, California?

1. February 5, 1887 - as mentioned above a record 3.7" of snow fell in the city

2. December 31, 1882 - 3.5" of snow fell in San Francisco on this New Year's Eve day from 11:30 am to 4:20 pm

3. January 21, 1962 - unofficially up to 3" of snow fell in the Sunset and Westlake districts of city

4. December 25, 1856 - 2.5" of snow blanketed the city on Christmas Day

5. January 12, 1868 - 2.0" of snow

6. February 7, 1884 - up to 2" of snow fell in the city

T-7. February 5, 1976 - 1.0" of snow in San Francisco with 5" of snow on top of Twin Peaks

T7. March 3, 1896 - 1.0" of snow fell in the overnight hours

9. December 11, 1932 - .8" of snow

10. January 15, 1952 - .3" of snow

11. January 16, 1888 - .1" of snow

​When was the last time snow fell in the city of San Francisco? On February 26, 2011, ​some of the higher elevation portions of the city including Twin Peaks saw a dusting of snow. 

 
Will it snow in San Francisco this winter? Well, since 1856, there have only been 11 times when it snowed in San Francisco ranging from 3.7" of snow down to .1". So the odds are pretty good that it will not snow in San Francisco this winter but it could happen.

For more see:

Ten Coldest Weather Temperature Days Ever Recorded in San Francisco, California

All-Time Hottest and Coldest Weather Temperatures Ever Recorded in San Francisco, California

Ten Coldest Weather Temperature Days Ever Recorded in Los Angeles, Calfiornia

Does It Ever Snow in Los Angeles, California?

Ten Coldest Weather Temperature Days Ever Recorded in Dallas, Texas