San Francisco: A Rare Winter Wonderland

Muni runs in the pouring rain or blazing sunshine and, on a few rare occasions, even some light snow. Surprising as it may be, San Francisco has seen snowfall more than a few times in the past 140 years. 

The most recent of San Francisco's significant snowfalls was on Feb. 5, 1976 — a day that many readers may remember. About an inch of snow fell and the city's highest peaks were dusted with white.

A Muni 33 Ashbury trolley bus marches up Clayton Street with a snow-capped Twin Peaks in the background on February 5, 1976.

This shot, taken by Muni photographer Lester Teal, catches a 33 Ashbury trolley bus climbing up Clayton Street near Deming Street. In icy conditions, many of our city's hills would be impassable by any vehicle (sleds and skis not included), so the temperatures must have stayed warm enough to keep the roads drive-able that cold February day.

As Peter Hartlaub described it in his 2012 SF Chronicle article, the snowfall of ‘76 was a blast for locals. But it wasn’t the only time in the 19th or 20th century that the Bay Area was hit with a flurry of flakes.

A group poses on Market at Post Street in this photo from Dec. 31, 1882 (photographer unknown). Note the two cars in the background — likely horse-drawn streetcars halted by the treacherous, snowy conditions.

Compared to the 1976 shot above, this 1882 view on Market Street looks like a regular east coast winter. According to this great article by historian Mark McLaughlin, San Francisco saw snowfall of various depths recorded four times within the 1880s. While San Franciscans may have started to get used to the unusually cold winters, public transit, which was largely served by horse-drawn streetcars and cable cars, probably ground to a halt in the 3.5-inch snowfall reported in 1882.

These days, we’re lucky to get enough rain. But each year as we get into the heart of winter, we can still hope to witness one of those rare frosty days that turns drops into flakes to glaze the hills of San Francisco.

Check out more SF transit history at the SFMTA Photo Archive and by following us on Twitter and Instagram.