Having a good set of local webcams handy in your bookmarks is an invaluable tool, especially for short distance jaunts around (and getting in and out of) SF. We’ve got water on three sides, totally maritime weather and so many microclimates it’s perfectly normal to enjoy a 70 degree sunny afternoon here in the Castro while others freeze their huevos off in fog, wind and cold at Ocean Beach — making it seem like a different city in a different part of California altogether. Also, you never, ever know what to expect when you hit the bridge for a trip to Oakland (which is partly why I *never* go to Oakland and wish we would just pave the bay).

But I found three great pages of California webcams — San Francisco and the Bay Area are about halfway down the page in the first link; SFGate has a fat handful of cams as well. KRON has a great (though small) collection of cams, plus a San Francisco seismograph cam. I know I’ll be visiting these when I’m away from home and missing the fog and tremors…

Links: Webcams of the Greater Bay Area, SFGate Live Views (nice autorefresh), KRON Live Cameras

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1. He Is A Camera: Justin.tv Hits San Francisco
2. High-Def SF
3. Wikimapia San Francisco
4. A Viennese in San Francisco
5. Concord is NOT San Francisco