Carmel Valley, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Carmel Valley's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 81°F September afternoons, with 17.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.6°C, December lows of 4°C, September highs of 27°C, 456 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCarmel Valley
- Station IDUSC00041534
- Location36.48°N 121.72°W
- Elevation480 ft (146 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Carmel Valley is 77°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carmel Valley.
- Jan 63° 40°
- Feb 64° 41°
- Mar 67° 42°
- Apr 69° 43°
- May 71° 46°
- Jun 76° 48°
- Jul 79° 51°
- Aug 80° 51°
- Sep 81° 51°
- Oct 78° 48°
- Nov 69° 42°
- Dec 63° 40°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Carmel Valley each month?
September is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in January (3.94 in), the least in July (0.03 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63°F | 40°F | 51.6°F | 3.94 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 10 h |
| February | 64°F | 41°F | 52.3°F | 3.51 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 67°F | 42°F | 54.2°F | 2.80 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 43°F | 55.8°F | 1.36 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 71°F | 46°F | 58.6°F | 0.54 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 76°F | 48°F | 62.1°F | 0.14 | 1 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 51°F | 64.7°F | 0.03 | <1 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 80°F | 51°F | 65.1°F | 0.06 | <1 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 51°F | 65.7°F | 0.05 | 1 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 78°F | 48°F | 62.7°F | 0.78 | 3 | 4 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 69°F | 42°F | 55.6°F | 1.74 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 63°F | 40°F | 51.0°F | 2.99 | 12 | <1 | 5 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 45°F | 58.3°F | 17.94 | 66 | 20 | 12 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 100 mm |
| February | 18°C | 5°C | 11.3°C | 89 mm |
| March | 19°C | 5°C | 12.3°C | 71 mm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.2°C | 35 mm |
| May | 22°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 14 mm |
| June | 24°C | 9°C | 16.7°C | 4 mm |
| July | 26°C | 11°C | 18.2°C | 1 mm |
| August | 26°C | 10°C | 18.4°C | 2 mm |
| September | 27°C | 10°C | 18.7°C | 1 mm |
| October | 26°C | 9°C | 17.1°C | 20 mm |
| November | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 44 mm |
| December | 17°C | 4°C | 10.6°C | 76 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041534; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Carmel Valley?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (0).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041534.
When is the last frost at Carmel Valley?
In Carmel Valley, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 20 in half of years and after March 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 8 in half of years and before November 14 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- February 201 year in 10 after March 27; 9 in 10 after January 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 81 year in 10 before November 14; 9 in 10 before January 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 294 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 361 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 3 in half of springs and before December 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carmel Valley in zone 10a in ZIP code 93923, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (18 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00041534; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Carmel Valley?
In a normal year in Carmel Valley, 20 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 12 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 66 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 20a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 12a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 66a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1959) is 113°F, on September 6, 2020; the lowest is 20°F, on January 13, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 30.63 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 2.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00041534; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00041534. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Carmel Valley?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Carmel Valley, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (92%) and December the cloudiest (78%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 2.7 |
| February | 79% | 3.6 |
| March | 82% | 4.9 |
| April | 84% | 6.2 |
| May | 88% | 7.3 |
| June | 92% | 8.1 |
| July | 91% | 7.6 |
| August | 90% | 6.9 |
| September | 91% | 5.8 |
| October | 89% | 4.4 |
| November | 85% | 3.1 |
| December | 78% | 2.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Carmel Valley record?
A normal year at Carmel Valley brings 2,730 heating degree days, 49% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 292 cooling degree days, 68% fewer than the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,207 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 417 | 0 |
| February | 356 | 0 |
| March | 336 | 1 |
| April | 283 | 6 |
| May | 211 | 13 |
| June | 116 | 30 |
| July | 55 | 47 |
| August | 52 | 56 |
| September | 62 | 82 |
| October | 121 | 51 |
| November | 288 | 6 |
| December | 432 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,730 | 292 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041534. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Carmel Valley been warmer than normal?
2021 averaged 58.7°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.3°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.7°F | +0.4°F | 18.70 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00041534. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Carmel Valley's climate compare?
Carmel Valley is warmer than 67 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 123. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.3°F is warmer than 70%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Carmel Valley is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Carmel Valley share this climate record?
Carmel Valley Village has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Carmel Valley Village, CA4,435 people · 1 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Carmel Valley's climate
What is the coldest month at Carmel Valley?
December, with a normal high of 63°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is September (81°F by day, 51°F at night).
What is the rainiest month at Carmel Valley?
January, with 3.94 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carmel Valley in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carmel Valley in zone 10a in ZIP code 93923, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come at Carmel Valley?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 20; in one year in ten it comes after March 27. Waiting until March 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Monterey, CA10 miles from this station, 57.3°F a year
- Salinas, CA14 miles from this station, 58.1°F a year
- Big Sur Station, CA16 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Paicines (4 mi W), CA26 miles from this station, 56.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made