San Francisco Is America's Best City in 2012

[mongers]

300 hours is 12.5 days a month of sunshine. 

Surely 10 hours per day on average would be a better metric ?

Yours could lead people to think most of their waking hours will be sunny.

Which I suppose begs the question of whether Max's stat is only including daylight hours.  Pretty sure it isn't.

Which would be largely correct for a summer month with 300hs sunshine.

Non-daylight hours that are sunny ?

[garbon]

Did you think I'd lived there or vacationed there extensively?

No I knew from your comments you had spent little time there if at all.

With all the places in the world to visit - I think 2 weeks was pretty generous for a general region that had already disappointed me.

I'd wager that most people who hate Los Angeles have spent less than 2 weeks there.

[garbon]

300 hours is 12.5 days a month of sunshine. 

Surely 10 hours per day on average would be a better metric ?

Yours could lead people to think most of their waking hours will be sunny.

Which I suppose begs the question of whether Max's stat is only including daylight hours.  Pretty sure it isn't.

Which would be largely correct for a summer month with 300hs sunshine.

Which doesn't make any sense - as there is no way that an SF summer consists of 10 hours a day of sunshine. That would mean that SF is always sunny during the day in summer.

[Maximus]

My apologies. I forgot that I was dealing with a Canadian.

I don't see how that's relevant as the places I grew up in had similar amounts of sunshine as those you listed. That was my point-- they're all continental climates which are expected to have lots of sunshine and which San Francisco is not.

[garbon]

My apologies. I forgot that I was dealing with a Canadian.

I don't see how that's relevant as the places I grew up in had similar amounts of sunshine as those you listed. That was my point-- they're all continental climates which are expected to have lots of sunshine and which San Francisco is not.

Because all of your compatriots seem to like what I'd call gloomy weather and temps.

I'm not sure I follow as San Francisco falls into Mediterranean climate - so one would expect a lot of sun...except that SF throws a curveball and actually has a lot less sun then its neighboring surroundings.

[mongers]

300 hours is 12.5 days a month of sunshine. 

Surely 10 hours per day on average would be a better metric ?

Yours could lead people to think most of their waking hours will be sunny.

Which I suppose begs the question of whether Max's stat is only including daylight hours.  Pretty sure it isn't.

Which would be largely correct for a summer month with 300hs sunshine.

Which doesn't make any sense - as there is no way that an SF summer consists of 10 hours a day of sunshine. That would mean that SF is always sunny during the day in summer.

No your underestimating how long a summers day is, in SF at high summer the day is 14 hours 45 minutes long.

[Admiral Yi]

Have you ever been to San Francisco mongers?

[mongers]

Have you ever been to San Francisco mongers?

Which bit of San Francisco would be the apposite question.

[garbon]

No your underestimating how long a summers day is, in SF at high summer the day is 14 hours 45 minutes long.

Fairish point though I think what I said still stands. It isn't very likely that most of the day in summer in SF is sunny unless one uses a very loose definition of sunshine.

[Admiral Yi]

Which bit of San Francisco would be the apposite question.

The part that faces the sun during the day.

[mongers]

No your underestimating how long a summers day is, in SF at high summer the day is 14 hours 45 minutes long.

Fairish point though I think what I said still stands. It isn't very likely that most of the day in summer in SF is sunny unless one uses a very loose definition of sunshine.

I think in large part the confusion is because of where the main weather station in SF is situated, I'd bet it's probably on one of the hills in the sunnier parts of town, whereas you and others are fondly remember one of the more foggy micro-climates nearer the shoreline etc.

[Maximus]

Which I suppose begs the question of whether Max's stat is only including daylight hours.  Pretty sure it isn't.

I'm pretty sure it is. If you look at the data there's a strong correlation between number of sunshine hours and the number of daylight hours in a month. Taking a look at the same data for Chicago, since I'm more familiar with the weather there, it has 3 times more sunshine hours in July than in December. I'm pretty sure there isn't actually that much difference in cloud coverage, but the change in daylight hours could explain it.

[Maximus]

Ah it appears that wiki agrees with Mongers:

Because of its sharp topography and maritime influences, San Francisco exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates. The high hills in the geographic center of the city are responsible for a 20% variance in annual rainfall between different parts of the city. They also protect neighborhoods directly to their east from the foggy and sometimes very cold and windy conditions experienced in the Sunset District; for those who live on the eastern side of the city, San Francisco is sunnier, with an average of 260 clear days, and only 105 cloudy days per year.

[Tonitrus]

Seattle #2! 

Which is so clearly a lie.

I don't know why, has everything going for it:  rainy and gloomy most of the time, plenty of coffee shops and Asian chicks.  Sounds like a winner to me.

To speak on demographics...I was checking out the website for my old elementary school the other day (which is in one of the wealthier suburban neighborhoods)...enrollment for 2010-2011 was 51% Asian.

[garbon]

No your underestimating how long a summers day is, in SF at high summer the day is 14 hours 45 minutes long.

Fairish point though I think what I said still stands. It isn't very likely that most of the day in summer in SF is sunny unless one uses a very loose definition of sunshine.

I think in large part the confusion is because of where the main weather station in SF is situated, I'd bet it's probably on one of the hills in the sunnier parts of town, whereas you and others are fondly remember one of the more foggy micro-climates nearer the shoreline etc.

That's fair. Also I don't fondly remember those parts at all - it's why I lived in the sunny neighborhood.