San Francisco ranked as the second most ‘ideal’ climate in the country. This city topped the list

San Francisco has the most “ideal” climate in the United States, second only to San Diego.

That’s according to the Camelot Climate Index, a metric developed by longtime Bay Area meteorologist Jan Null, who describes the “ideal” climate as one that is “relatively mild with few extremes in temperature, humidity or precipitation.”

The data show that San Francisco fits the bill. The city lies within a rare type of “Mediterranean climate” zone, one that is warm and dry in summer and mild and wet in winter. Null said San Francisco’s position on the edge of the cool polar jet stream and the humid tropics means it dodges weather extremes for the most part.

Null’s index accounts for temperature, precipitation, sunshine and humidity. Hot days and cold nights knock the score for a city down, and so do rainy days and ones with high humidity. Values closer to 100 reflect a more perfect climate, in Null’s eyes.

California cities top the list. San Diego leads the scale at 89, San Francisco follows at 87, Los Angeles is closely behind at 86 and Sacramento sits fourth at 80. Other major U.S. cities fall lower in Null’s index, with Miami at 70, New York City at 68 and Houston at 63.

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Of course, it’s a subjective index. While rain, fog, sun and wind carry connotations, weather is a matter of preference. Some may enjoy storms more than others. Heat could be one person’s bane and another’s boon.

Null has worked as a meteorologist in the Bay Area for more than half of a century, which could influence his idea of a perfect climate, and the formulas that go into the index.

“In some ways that’s skewing it,” Null said. “There are people who love snow, or all you crazy Pacific Northwesterners, you love your rain.”

Null was talking to me, a native of the Seattle area. Although I miss the extremities of the seasons in Washington state, it’s nice to be able to wear the same outfit nearly every day of the year in San Francisco. Overall, I actually prefer it here.

Enjoyable climates are a matter of preference, but what makes San Francisco unique is its city’s remarkably consistent weather compared to the rest of the country, and even other parts of the Bay Area.

That consistency is mainly because the city is surrounded by 55-degree water on three sides. In summer, the relatively cool water serves as natural air conditioning. In winter, it’s the opposite, as water is warm relative to the surrounding air and acts as a heat blanket.

I was curious what others made of San Francisco’s high ranking on the index, so I went to San Francisco’s Dolores Park on a sunny day last week and asked a number of parkgoers for their thoughts.

“I don’t know if I’m digging the marine layer summer,” said Dougal Adamson, a Scottish tourist who just finished a nearly month-long trip across the United States. Adamson complained the city’s hottest days came in late October when days are already short.

One San Francisco resident, Alfredo Pereira, also expressed his desire for warmer, sunnier days.

“I’m from Lisbon (Portugal) and I need the summer,” said Pereira, who moved to the city three years ago. “I’ll drive to Palo Alto and go ‘ahhh.'”

But one resident noted the cool summers make the city more habitable.

“There are no extremes here,” said Matthew Tuguero, who’s never used air conditioning in San Francisco in his 13 years living in the city. Tuguero appreciates the lack of heat: “We get it for a day.”

The Chronicle also posted the map to Reddit to get San Franciscans opinions on the topic.

Many users said Berkeley and Oakland have a more desirable climate, but Null said those cities didn’t have complete enough data for his analysis, missing key measurements such as sky cover. (Chronicle senior meteorologist Greg Porter, who lives in Richmond, described the East Bay climate as “gorgeous.”)

One user noted the index doesn’t account for San Francisco’s intricate microclimates, which are most extreme in summer.

Null’s index might not reflect your climate preferences, but the Chronicle developed a quiz to help readers find a California city that aligns with their version of an ideal climate. You should give it a try. Another great source to help you find places with your preferred weather is myperfectweather.com.

This article originally published at San Francisco ranked as the second most ‘ideal’ climate in the country. This city topped the list.