Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Richmond is from June, July, August. — consistent weather climate
☀️Pleasant
| Score | 44 | 61 | 54 | 90 | 95 | 99 | 100 | 99 | 99 | 94 | 71 | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold | Cold | Cold | Mild | Mild | Pleasant | Pleasant | Pleasant | Pleasant | Pleasant | Mild | Cold |
| Temperature | 7–14°C | 7–15°C | 8–15°C | 9–19°C | 11–21°C | 13–23°C | 13–23°C | 14–24°C | 14–24°C | 13–23°C | 9–17°C | 7–13°C |
| Feels like | 4–12°C | 4–13°C | 5–13°C | 7–17°C | 9–20°C | 11–22°C | 11–22°C | 13–24°C | 13–23°C | 11–21°C | 7–14°C | 5–11°C |
| Precipitation | 114mm 9 days | 62mm 7 days | 92mm 11 days | 20mm 3 days | 17mm 3 days | 3mm 0 days | 0mm 0 days | 1mm 0 days | 4mm 1 days | 41mm 3 days | 56mm 6 days | 152mm 12 days |
| Sunshine | 6.5h ☀︎ 66% | 8.9h ☀︎ 83% | 9.3h ☀︎ 78% | 11.7h ☀︎ 89% | 12.8h ☀︎ 90% | 13.3h ☀︎ 90% | 13.0h ☀︎ 90% | 12.3h ☀︎ 90% | 11.4h ☀︎ 92% | 9.6h ☀︎ 86% | 8.3h ☀︎ 82% | 5.8h ☀︎ 60% |
| Wind | NE · 19 km/h | N · 19 km/h | SW · 21 km/h | SW · 19 km/h | SW · 22 km/h | SW · 22 km/h | SW · 22 km/h | SW · 21 km/h | SW · 19 km/h | SW · 17 km/h | N · 17 km/h | NE · 18 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 82% | 74% | 74% | 71% | 69% | 69% | 75% | 75% | 74% | 69% | 73% | 82% |
| Day length | 9.9h | 10.8h | 12.0h | 13.2h | 14.2h | 14.8h | 14.5h | 13.6h | 12.4h | 11.2h | 10.1h | 9.6h |
This free, three-day festival fills the riverfront downtown with dozens of stages celebrating traditional music and danc…
This outdoor sports and music festival takes over the James River rapids with kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking,…
Richmond experiences its most immaculate weather in midsummer, when coastal breezes keep temperatures mild and rain virtually ceases, yet visitor numbers crater to their yearly lows. The crowd peaks instead in November and December, precisely when winter deluges leave the shoreline cold, sodden, and gray.
Perched where San Francisco Bay meets the wider mouth of San Pablo Bay, Richmond occupies a rare dual-coastal corner of the East Bay, looking across open water toward the solitary ridge of Red Rock Island. Most travellers pass through without stopping or show up in the depths of late autumn and early winter, drawn by holiday family travel into the dampest, cloudiest conditions of the year. That timing is entirely backwards. The shoreline is at its most radiant in early summer, when marine air sweeps the waterfront clean, the steep lanes around Point Richmond catch steady sunshine without burning heat, and the streets are blissfully calm.
June, July, and August represent absolute perfection along this stretch of coast, yet visitor tallies drop to their quietest marks on the calendar. While inland valleys stifle under baking heat, Richmond stays comfortably anchored in the low twenties, air-conditioned by steady drafts funnelling through the Golden Gate. You get thirteen hours of daily sunshine, crisp maritime light, and a rainfall gauge that registers effectively zero for three straight months.
The sensory reality here is glorious. Mornings often begin with a thin filament of fog resting low over San Francisco Bay, softening the industrial contours of the shipyards and docks. By late morning, the mist burns off entirely, revealing diamond-sharp water and blue skies that hold until twilight. You can walk the waterfront pathways in light sleeves, watch sailboats lean against the afternoon chop, and sit outside for dinner without shivering or sweating.
Why crowds vanish during this golden spell is a quirk of regional travel patterns, but it works entirely to your benefit. Point Richmond feels like a private enclave, harbour parking is easy, and you get pristine coastal air without dodging tour groups or bumper-to-bumper congestion.
September maintains the flawless summer baseline, delivering the warmest days of the entire year while the crowds slowly begin to rebuild. Evenings in late September are gentle and lingering, with apparent temperatures hovering comfortably in the low twenties and sunsets setting the western horizons aflame across San Pablo Bay. If you crave beach walks and lingering outdoor dinners, September rivals July for sheer pleasure.
October introduces the first real seasonal pivot. The skies remain largely clear through the early weeks, and the Richmond Folk Festival arrives to take over the downtown waterfront with dozens of stages celebrating global roots music and dance. It is one of the most electric weekends on the local calendar, but it brings packed sidewalks and tight parking as audiences pour into the open air.
Be alert to the second half of October, however. While the days still offer plenty of warmth, rain storms can suddenly roll in off the Pacific in brief, intense downpours that drench outdoor gatherings. It marks the closing of the dry season, making early October a delight and late October a gamble.
November and December deliver a bizarre contradiction: these are the two busiest months of the entire year for visitors, yet the weather is unequivocally the worst. December is the cold, sodden nadir of the annual calendar, receiving over a hundred and fifty millimetres of driving rain alongside barely six hours of weak daily sunshine. The apparent temperature drops to eleven degrees, compounded by stiff, wet winds whipping off the water.
Visiting during these two months means confronting saturated pathways, leaden skies, and coastal trails turned to thick gumbo mud. The views across the bays toward Red Rock Island vanish behind thick sheets of mist, and outdoor plans regularly wash out under persistent coastal downpours. Unless your trip is dictated by Thanksgiving or year-end gatherings, travelling here in November or December guarantees maximum friction for the lowest scenic reward.
January and February bring only marginal relief. While crowd levels finally loosen their grip, January remains bitterly wet and gloomy. February begins to show subtle cracks in the winter mantle, serving up brighter afternoons and cleaner horizons, but you will still need waterproof boots and heavy wool layers for any walk along the shoreline.
March lingers in late-winter indecision with brisk showers, but April marks the decisive turning point. The winter storms retreat northward, the rain intensity drops to a negligible mist, and sunshine leaps to nearly twelve hours a day. Wild mustard and coastal grasses turn the surrounding bluffs a luminous green, framed against deep blue water.
May accelerates the momentum into near-summer conditions. With daytime temperatures climbing pleasantly into the low twenties and virtually no disruptive rain, the city shakes off its winter hibernation. In late May, the outdoor sports and music spectacle of the Riverrock Festival energizes the waterfront, drawing kayakers, trail runners, and spectators to the water's edge under warm, sunny skies.
May offers an ideal shoulder-season sweet spot: you get ninety-five percent of the summer's weather quality with lively local energy, well before the strange midsummer quiet settles over the docks and hilltops.
California Republic · United States of America
California Republic · United States of America
California Republic · United States of America