Hearst Castle, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Hearst Castle's normal year runs from 45°F February nights to 78°F September afternoons, with 29.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.5°C, February lows of 7°C, September highs of 26°C, 745 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHearst Castle
- Station IDUSC00043882
- Location35.68°N 121.17°W
- Elevation1,526 ft (465 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Hearst Castle is 73°F and the normal low 55°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 11%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Hearst Castle.
- Jan 60° 47°
- Feb 60° 45°
- Mar 62° 47°
- Apr 65° 47°
- May 69° 52°
- Jun 73° 55°
- Jul 75° 57°
- Aug 77° 58°
- Sep 78° 60°
- Oct 74° 56°
- Nov 66° 50°
- Dec 59° 46°
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 Hearst Castle each month?
September is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; February the coldest, with normal lows of 45°F. The most precipitation falls in February (6.15 in), the least in August (0.01 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 47°F | 53.2°F | 5.96 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 10 h |
| February | 60°F | 45°F | 52.4°F | 6.15 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 47°F | 54.6°F | 4.80 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 47°F | 56.2°F | 2.00 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 52°F | 60.5°F | 0.71 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 73°F | 55°F | 63.9°F | 0.06 | <1 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 75°F | 57°F | 66.1°F | 0.08 | <1 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 77°F | 58°F | 67.8°F | 0.01 | <1 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 78°F | 60°F | 69.1°F | 0.07 | 1 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 56°F | 65.1°F | 1.11 | 3 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 66°F | 50°F | 58.0°F | 2.34 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 46°F | 52.4°F | 6.05 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 52°F | 59.9°F | 29.34 | 49 | 15 | 1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 8°C | 11.8°C | 151 mm |
| February | 15°C | 7°C | 11.3°C | 156 mm |
| March | 17°C | 8°C | 12.6°C | 122 mm |
| April | 18°C | 9°C | 13.4°C | 51 mm |
| May | 21°C | 11°C | 15.8°C | 18 mm |
| June | 23°C | 13°C | 17.7°C | 2 mm |
| July | 24°C | 14°C | 18.9°C | 2 mm |
| August | 25°C | 15°C | 19.9°C | 0 mm |
| September | 26°C | 16°C | 20.6°C | 2 mm |
| October | 23°C | 13°C | 18.4°C | 28 mm |
| November | 19°C | 10°C | 14.4°C | 59 mm |
| December | 15°C | 8°C | 11.3°C | 154 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00043882; 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 Hearst Castle?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in 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 USC00043882.
When is the last frost at Hearst Castle?
A night at 32°F or colder comes in only 40% of years in Hearst Castle (NOAA). NOAA's median date of the last spring frost is February 13 and of the first autumn frost February 1.
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 365 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hearst Castle in zone 10a in ZIP code 93452, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00043882; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Hearst Castle?
In a normal year in Hearst Castle, 15 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 1 night falls to 32°F or colder and 49 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 1a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 49a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00043882.
How sunny is it at Hearst Castle?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Hearst Castle, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (83%) and August the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 2.8 |
| February | 79% | 3.7 |
| March | 81% | 4.9 |
| April | 83% | 6.1 |
| May | 81% | 6.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.9 |
| July | 72% | 6.0 |
| August | 72% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 5.1 |
| October | 81% | 4.1 |
| November | 82% | 3.1 |
| December | 78% | 2.5 |
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 Hearst Castle record?
A normal year at Hearst Castle brings 2,618 heating degree days, 51% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 780 cooling degree days, 14% 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 3,841 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 373 | 5 |
| February | 356 | 4 |
| March | 330 | 8 |
| April | 285 | 19 |
| May | 200 | 59 |
| June | 122 | 89 |
| July | 93 | 126 |
| August | 64 | 151 |
| September | 52 | 175 |
| October | 109 | 114 |
| November | 239 | 28 |
| December | 395 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 2,618 | 780 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00043882. 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 Hearst Castle been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 61.1°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.9°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60.4°F | +0.5°F | 30.18 |
| 2022 | 63.3°F | +3.4°F | 21.31 |
| 2023 | 59.4°F | −0.5°F | 45.78 |
| 2024 | 61.7°F | +1.8°F | 28.01 |
| 2025 | 61.1°F | +1.2°F | 26.89 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00043882. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Hearst Castle's climate compare?
Hearst Castle is warmer than 93 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 167. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.9°F is warmer than 75%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Hearst Castle 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 Hearst Castle share this climate record?
4 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Cambria, CA6,038 people · 10 mi SE
- San Simeon, CA301 people · 5 mi S
- Oak Shores, CA153 people · 12 mi NE
- Lockwood, CA142 people · 18 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 Hearst Castle's climate
What is the coldest month at Hearst Castle?
February, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 45°F. The warmest is September (78°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow at Hearst Castle?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month at Hearst Castle?
February, with 6.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Hearst Castle in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Hearst Castle in zone 10a in ZIP code 93452, the nearest ZIP area.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Morro Bay, CA29 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Paso Robles, CA30 miles from this station, 60.0°F a year
- King City, CA36 miles from this station, 60.3°F a year
- San Luis Obispo Poly, CA39 miles from this station, 60.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made