Best times to fly
Best times to fly into San Francisco (SFO)
San Francisco often has a smooth marine layer in the morning, then a strong westerly sea breeze builds through the afternoon that can make arrivals bumpier and gustier. Mornings are usually the calmest.
Calmest
Morning
Bumpiest
Afternoons (wind)
These are the general seasonal patterns pilots rely on, and our own live observations below are confirming and sharpening them for San Francisco over time. For a specific flight, check the live forecast.
What our live data shows
Average bumpiness by local hour at San Francisco, from our own observations.
Sample size: 63 observations across 21 hours.
We just started measuring San Francisco, with 63 observations so far. This picture fills in and gets more reliable every day as we collect more.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best time of day to fly into San Francisco?
- The calmest window at San Francisco is usually morning. Afternoons, especially in the warm season, tend to be the bumpiest.
- Why is San Francisco bumpier in the afternoon?
- As the sun heats the ground through the day, rising air columns and, in the warm months, thunderstorms stir up the lower atmosphere. That is what pilots and passengers feel as bumps around San Francisco, and it is why afternoons (wind) tend to be the most active window.
- Is turbulence at San Francisco dangerous?
- No. Turbulence at San Francisco is routine and expected. Modern airliners are engineered for far more than they ever encounter, and the crew works to find the smoothest ride. Bumps like these are a routine part of flying that pilots handle every day, and the aircraft is built to handle far more.
Want the full picture? Read our guide: Is turbulence dangerous?
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