Hearst Castle, CA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Hearst Castle's primary NOAA station, HEARST CASTLE.
The climate verdict for Hearst Castle
A compact 16.7°F seasonal swing gives Hearst Castle, California a steadier-than-extreme annual shape. NOAA reports an annual average of 60°F. It scores 88/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 89% of them.
- 60°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 88/100
- comfort score, above 89% of station-mapped location scores
- 29.3"
- precipitation, annual total
Hearst Castle: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00043882 · Hearst Castle, CA 60°F mean · 29.3" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-NARROW · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 60°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,146
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Livermore
- PRCP-MID 29.3"
- SWING-NARROW 17°F
- COMF-TOP 88/100
- LOAD-HEAT 2,618 HDD
- STN-1 USC00043882
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Livermore Muni, CA ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every CA station list.
- Hearst Castle (this station) 60°F
- Cold Livermore, CA 60°F
- Hot Healdsburg, CA 60°F
- Near Calistoga, CA 60°F
- Near Ojai, CA 60°F
Climate Living Index · Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle: 87/100 · grade A
Hearst Castle publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Hearst Castle, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 88/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 0.0 inches/year | 90/100 · A |
| Precipitation balance | 29.3 in · 5.7 from 35 in | 80/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 59.9°F · 7.6° from 67.5°F | 76/100 · B |
Hearst Castle · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Hearst Castle is a temperate Köppen climate: Csb
Coldest-month mean 52.4°F and warmest-month mean 69.1°F place this station in temperate, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Csb). Class Csb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Csb
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 69.1°F
- Coldest month
- 52.4°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Hearst Castle sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Hearst Castle's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 25% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Hearst Castle sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 39th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 98%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Hearst Castle is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Hearst Castle compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Hearst Castle's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
88 Top 11% score exceeds 89% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F (15°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 6.0" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 60°F (15°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 6.2" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 62°F (17°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 65°F (18°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 0.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| July | 75°F (24°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 0.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| August | 77°F (25°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 0.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.1 |
| October | 74°F (23°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.1 |
| November | 66°F (19°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 59°F (15°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 6.0" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Hearst Castle: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 45°F near February 7 and 79°F near September 5.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 45°F around February 7.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is February 22, when 31% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 1 at 1%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 49 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 12 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 19°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Hearst Castle.
Where Hearst Castle Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 19°F.
Hearst Castle earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
7.6 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
2.4 days with precipitation
0.3 days with precipitation
0.2 days with precipitation
0.2 days with precipitation
0.5 days with precipitation
3.3 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
Hearst Castle's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 62% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 1%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows an unusually narrow 16.7°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- February, 6.2"
- Driest month
- August, 0.0"
- Wettest three months
- February, December, January (62% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
When it rains in Hearst Castle, it arrives in quantity
29.3" of precipitation falls across only about 49 wet days here, averaging 0.60 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 49 a year, 13% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.60 inches
- Most wet days
- February, about 9
- Fewest wet days
- July, about 0
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Hearst Castle's record shows no measurable snowfall
This station measured snowfall across the 1991-2020 period and recorded none: the annual normal is 0.0 inches. That is a measured zero rather than missing data, which is a meaningful distinction here , most stations in the database simply do not report snow at all, and those pages say nothing about it.
A thirty-year normal of zero describes the typical year at this station. It is not a claim that snow has never fallen in the area.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
February 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
February 13
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
2,618
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
780
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
September
Coldest Month
February
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CA closest to Hearst Castle on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (60°F here).
- Barnsdall, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Cullman, AL 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Fairview, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Gainesville, GA 60°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (29.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Antigo, WI 29.4" · 0.0" off
- Crofton, NE 29.3" · 0.0" off
- Wadena, MN 29.3" · 0.0" off
- Putnam, OK 29.4" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Hearst Castle's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Hearst Castle, at 2,618 degree days versus 780 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 16.7°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Hearst Castle. That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
Temperature varies within a narrow 16.7°F band across the normal year. September and February mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar. The annual average is 60°F. Monthly rows still matter, but they refine a steady profile rather than reveal two climatic extremes.
Hearst Castle's 29.3 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Recorded annual snowfall is negligible. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Hearst Castle's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Hearst Castle, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Hearst Castle's climate
How much rain does Hearst Castle get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Hearst Castle? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Hearst Castle's primary station: HEARST CASTLE (USC00043882). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Hearst Castle; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Hearst Castle comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.