Fog check
Is the Golden Gate Bridge visible today?
Hour by hour visibility and fog from the National Weather Service, plus HRRR low cloud. Below: two years of fog by month and hour, so you can pick the clearest time.
Now (Oct 29, 8:00 AM): the bridge should be in view.
Rules: NWS forecasts fog, visibility under 1 mile, or HRRR low cloud of 70% or more counts as fog; visibility under 3 miles or low cloud of 30% or more counts as haze or patchy cloud. These are forecasts, not a camera.
The next 36 hours
- clear
- haze or patchy
- fog
- no data
| Time | Visibility (NWS) | Low cloud (HRRR) | Weather (NWS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 8:00 AM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 9:00 AM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 10:00 AM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 11:00 AM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 12:00 PM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 1:00 PM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 2:00 PM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 3:00 PM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 4:00 PM | 10 mi | 0% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 5:00 PM | 10 mi | 2% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 6:00 PM | 10 mi | 3% | no fog or haze |
| Oct 29, 7:00 PM | 10 mi | 2% | no fog or haze |
NWS grid forecast updated Oct 29, 8:17 AM; HRRR and this page fetched Oct 29, 8:41 AM, refreshed every 15 minutes.
What the forecasters say
VFR. Weak offshore flow continues this morning with a gradual shift to weak onshore flow later today and tonight. The marine layer will still struggle to reorganize through the forecast period with a slight chance of MVFR ceilings developing tonight into early Friday morning.
From the NWS San Francisco Bay Area Forecast Discussion, issued Oct 29, 4:48 AM. Full text
How high is the fog? Which viewpoints sit above it
NWS forecast discussions often give the marine layer depth (for example 1,500 feet). Set the slider to that number.
- Hawk Hillabove the fog
- Tower topsabove the fog
- Battery Spencerin or under the fog
- Vista Pointin or under the fog
- Bridge deckin or under the fog
- Fort Pointin or under the fog
Above the fog: Hawk Hill, Tower tops.
Karl the Fog calendar: the clearest month and hour
Share of hours from 2024-10-01 to 2026-09-30 with HRRR low cloud of 70% or more over the Golden Gate, local time. Winter numbers include rain cloud as well as fog.
Oct: low cloud covers the Golden Gate 26.1% of hours, the 3rd clearest month of 12. In daytime your best bet is 7 PM (16.1%); the foggiest is 9 AM (40.3%).
Cross-check: SFO airport measured a cloud base at 1,000 ft or lower in 3.6% of reports that month (it is 18 km south and gets far less fog).
Oct: share of hours with low cloud, by hour
The whole year (tap a month)
- rarely low cloud
- 50%
- almost always
Fog questions
Is the Golden Gate Bridge visible today?
As of Oct 29, 8:41 AM, the bridge should be in view.
What is the best time of year to avoid fog at the Golden Gate Bridge?
In HRRR low-cloud records from 2024-10-01 to 2026-09-30, the clearest months were January (21.6%) and March (24.4%); the foggiest were July (62.2%), August (56.2%), June (56%). Summer fog is thickest in the morning and often thins for a few hours in the afternoon.
Where should I go when the bridge is foggy?
When the fog top is low, Hawk Hill (about 920 ft) and Battery Spencer (about 470 ft) can sit above it, with the towers poking through. When it is deep, go down to Fort Point and look up at the bridge from under it.
What is Karl the Fog?
Karl the Fog is San Francisco's nickname for its summer marine layer: cool, moist air over the Pacific that inland heat pulls through the Golden Gate, often covering the bridge in the morning and evening.