San Jose Weather and Climate

With about 300 days of sunshine, San Jose has a climate that has been classified as subtropical Mediterranean. The average temperature annually has been calculated as 73 degrees Fahrenheit. The city is surrounded with mountains on three sides but does not have a sea front as San Francisco does. The city therefore does not get too much rain and is semi arid in nature since it almost falls in the rain shadow area. The mean annual rainfall in the city is around 14.4 inches. And this is far less than what most of the cities in the Bay Area get.

The rain that falls does so in the months of November to April. The city is green and fresh during the spring and come summer most of the trees dry up giving the city a browner, more golden hue. There is precipitation in the San Jose area for about 50 days in a year. The highest precipitation in a month that has been recorded is 10.23 inches in February 1998. Mount Hamilton generally does get covered with snow and the Santa Cruz Mountains may or may not get covered completely.

Fog also travels into the Bay Area during wintertime. This can cause the temperatures to get moderate. While thunderstorms are not common in the city, there have been a few storms that have caused floods to occur in San Jose.

The best times to visit the city are during the months of December to April. The summer months do get pretty warm and therefore should be avoided unless you are prepared to take trips to the water parks and remain indoors for the better part of the day.