Thanksgiving in San Francisco and the Bay Area usually brings mild holiday weather. Late November falls between the Bay Area's short warm fall and the start of the wet season. That means the day can be clear and mild, with highs around 60, or wet as a November storm passes through. What Thanksgiving here almost never is, though, is severely cold. Freezing temperatures on Thanksgiving Day in San Francisco are essentially unknown, and even a rainy one is mild compared with late November in most of the country.
Typical Thanksgiving Temperatures
In San Francisco, Thanksgiving averages a high near 61°F and a low near 49°F downtown. Actual temperatures vary from year to year, and warm, clear years can reach the mid-60s, while stormy years stay in the 50s with rain. The summer fog is largely gone by late November, because the marine layer, the cool ocean air behind it, is thin or missing.
In place of summer fog, late November brings the chance of winter rain. The Bay Area wet season usually starts in October and November, and by Thanksgiving storms from the North Pacific reach California more often. Measurable rain fell on about one Thanksgiving Day in four from 1991 to 2020, so a wet holiday is normal but far from certain. Clear, cool Thanksgivings are more common than wet ones. The holiday falls right between the dry season and the reliably wet months of December through February.
Inland Bay Area on Thanksgiving
The inland East Bay and South Bay have similar Thanksgiving weather, with some local differences. In summer, the inland valleys run 15 to 25 degrees hotter than San Francisco, but by late November that gap has mostly closed. With the marine layer no longer in control, inland highs are usually only a few degrees above San Francisco's. Oakland, Livermore and Walnut Creek are often in the low 60s on a clear day.
Nights in the inland valleys get much colder than on the coast in late November. On clear Thanksgiving nights, inland areas can cool to the upper 30s or low 40s as the ground loses heat to the sky. San Francisco, warmed by the bay and ocean, stays in the upper 40s. Frost is possible in the inland valleys on cold, clear nights after Thanksgiving. In wine country, November frosts are expected, since the grapes have already been harvested and the vines are going dormant.
Rain Probability and the Wet Season Start
Rain on Thanksgiving is a little more likely in El Niño years, when the jet stream often steers more storms toward California. Rain on the holiday is usually not the heavy atmospheric river kind that dominates January and February. November storms are often lighter and pass in 12 to 24 hours rather than lasting several days. A common pattern is a Thanksgiving rain that clears by Friday afternoon, leaving clean air and cool, clear weather for the rest of the weekend. For the whole month, from early warm spells to the first big storm, see San Francisco weather in November.
Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest travel periods at SFO and OAK, but weather delays are less common than on summer mornings. Winter storms can sometimes bring wind and a bumpy approach. The low summer clouds and morning fog that slow arrivals from June through August are much less of a factor in November. The biggest Thanksgiving travel problem in the Bay Area is usually the sheer volume of traffic, not the weather.
Best Thanksgiving Activities in the Bay Area
Clear Thanksgiving days in the Bay Area are excellent for being outdoors. The low November sun casts long, warm light in the late afternoon, parks and trails are less crowded than in summer, and recent rain leaves the air clear. The Marin Headlands, the East Bay hills and the coastal parks south of San Francisco are especially appealing. The grass is starting to turn green with the first rains, and the views are at their sharpest. Even a Thanksgiving with light rain has its appeal, and a hike through the redwoods in a cool drizzle is a classic Bay Area experience.
