Nashville is 1.6°C (2.9°F) warmer by day, Nashville gets 713 mm (28.1 in) more rain a year.
Nashville is at its warmest in August and coolest in January, while San Francisco peaks in September and bottoms out in January. Month for month, Nashville is the warmer of the two in 6 of 12 months.
Nashville is the wetter of the two, collecting 1,332 mm (52.4 in) of rain a year against 619 mm (24.4 in) in San Francisco. The most comfortable time to visit is May, June and September in Nashville and July, August and September in San Francisco.
| Nashville | Metric | San Francisco |
|---|---|---|
| 🌡️ Temperature | ||
| 68.7°F | 🌡️Average daytime high | 65.8°F |
| 48.6°F | 🌙Average nighttime low | 49.1°F |
| August | 🔥Hottest month | September |
| January | ❄️Coldest month | January |
| 🌧️ Rain | ||
| 52.4 in | 🌧️Annual rainfall | 24.4 in |
| May | ☔Wettest month | December |
| October | 🏜️Driest month | July |
| 💨 Climate | ||
| 77% | 💧Average humidity | 77% |
| 1.7 m/s | 💨Average wind speed | 2.3 m/s |
Overnight, Nashville typically falls to around 9.2°C (48.6°F) while San Francisco settles near 9.5°C (49.1°F).
Nashville is hottest in August and coldest in January, whereas San Francisco peaks in September and is coolest in January.
Nashville sees the most rain in May and the least in October; San Francisco is wettest in December and driest in July.
Nashville feels the more humid of the two, averaging 77% relative humidity against 77%.
For San Francisco, the pick of the year is July, August and September.
Month by month, here is the coldest night, the average day and the hottest afternoon each city can expect. Switch Compare to read rainfall, humidity, wind or solar instead, and Period to move between the long-term 45-year average and any single year — the shading is a quick warm-to-cool guide.
| Month | Nashville | San Francisco | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Avg | Max | Min | Avg | Max | |
| January | 27.3 | 36❄️ | 44.6 | 43.3 | 49.8❄️ | 56.3 |
| February | 30.7 | 40.3 | 49.6 | 44.6 | 51.3 | 57.9 |
| March | 38.1 | 48.6 | 59 | 46 | 52.9 | 59.9 |
| April | 46.9 | 57.6 | 68 | 47.1 | 55 | 63 |
| May | 57 | 66.6 | 76.1 | 49.6 | 58.3 | 66.9 |
| June | 65.3 | 74.7 | 83.8 | 52 | 61.7 | 71.2 |
| July | 69.6 | 79.2🔥 | 88.9 | 53.6 | 63.3 | 73 |
| August | 68.4 | 79.2 | 90 | 54.9 | 64.8 | 74.5 |
| September | 61 | 72.5 | 84 | 55.2 | 65.3🔥 | 75.4 |
| October | 49.3 | 60.8 | 72.5 | 52.9 | 62.2 | 71.6 |
| November | 37.9 | 48.7 | 59.4 | 47.7 | 55.2 | 62.8 |
| December | 30.9 | 39.9 | 48.7 | 43.5 | 50 | 56.5 |
| Annual Avg | 48.6 | 58.6 | 68.7 | 49.3 | 57.6 | 65.7 |
Min / mean / max temperature (°F). 🔥 marks each city's hottest month, ❄️ its coldest; shading runs cool blue to warm red.
The same figures plotted out, so the shape of a typical year is easier to see than in a grid. Where the two lines run close together Nashville and San Francisco feel alike; where they separate, they are genuinely different places to be.
Hover or tap any point to read the exact figures. Nashville San Francisco
See how Nashville and San Francisco stack up against other cities. Swipe for more.
Choose which city to keep, then search for any other city in our database — we'll build the comparison for you.
Quick answers to the questions people ask most when comparing Nashville and San Francisco — each drawn straight from the climate figures above.
Nashville is the warmer of the two. It averages daytime highs of 20.4°C (68.7°F) against 18.8°C (65.8°F) in San Francisco — roughly 1.6°C (2.9°F) warmer by day.
Nashville is hottest in August, averaging highs of about 32.2°C (90°F), while San Francisco peaks in September at around 24.1°C (75.4°F). That makes Nashville the hotter of the two at the height of summer.
Nashville gets colder. In its coldest month (January) overnight lows average about -2.6°C (27.3°F), compared with 6.3°C (43.3°F) at the low point of the year in San Francisco.
Nashville is the wetter city, collecting about 1,332 mm (52.4 in) of rain a year versus 619 mm (24.4 in) in San Francisco. Nashville is wettest in May and driest in October; San Francisco is wettest in December and driest in July.
Humidity is similar in both, averaging around 77% in Nashville and 77% in San Francisco across the year.
The most comfortable months in Nashville are May, June and September, when average temperatures are at their mildest.
San Francisco is at its most pleasant around July, August and September, based on the mildest average temperatures of the year.
Nashville is the warmer city in 6 of the 12 months of the year. The gap is widest in July, about 8.8°C (15.8°F), and narrowest in October, about 0.8°C (1.4°F).
Nashville has the bigger seasonal swing, about 24°C (43.2°F) between its coldest and hottest months versus 8.6°C (15.5°F) in San Francisco — so San Francisco has the steadier, more even climate.
It depends what matters most to you: choose Nashville for warmer weather and pick San Francisco if you prefer drier conditions. There is no single "better" climate — it comes down to whether you value warmth, dryness or comfort most.
Every figure on this page is calculated from NASA POWER satellite climate data spanning 1981–2025 (45 years). The averages describe the long-term climate of Nashville and San Francisco, not a single year's weather or a short-range forecast.
