Imperial Beach, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Imperial Beach's normal year runs from 46°F December nights to 75°F August afternoons, with 8.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.8°C, December lows of 8°C, August highs of 24°C, 218 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationImperial Beach Ream Field Naval Air Station
- Station IDUSW00093115
- Location32.57°N 117.12°W
- Elevation24 ft (7 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population25,568
On October 14, the normal high in Imperial Beach is 73°F and the normal low 57°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Imperial Beach.
- Jan 67° 47°
- Feb 65° 48°
- Mar 66° 51°
- Apr 67° 53°
- May 68° 57°
- Jun 70° 60°
- Jul 73° 64°
- Aug 75° 65°
- Sep 75° 62°
- Oct 73° 56°
- Nov 70° 50°
- Dec 66° 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 in Imperial Beach each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 46°F. The most precipitation falls in February (2.10 in), the least in August (0.03 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67°F | 47°F | 57.2°F | 1.69 | – | <1 | <1 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 65°F | 48°F | 56.5°F | 2.10 | – | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 51°F | 58.6°F | 1.85 | – | <1 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 67°F | 53°F | 59.6°F | 0.59 | – | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 68°F | 57°F | 62.4°F | 0.10 | – | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 70°F | 60°F | 65.2°F | 0.08 | – | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 73°F | 64°F | 68.5°F | 0.33 | – | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 75°F | 65°F | 70.1°F | 0.03 | – | <1 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 75°F | 62°F | 68.7°F | 0.14 | – | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 56°F | 64.8°F | 0.42 | – | 1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 70°F | 50°F | 60.2°F | 0.80 | – | <1 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 66°F | 46°F | 56.3°F | 0.45 | – | <1 | <1 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 55°F | 62.3°F | 8.58 | – | 2 | <1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 9°C | 14.0°C | 43 mm |
| February | 19°C | 9°C | 13.6°C | 53 mm |
| March | 19°C | 11°C | 14.8°C | 47 mm |
| April | 19°C | 11°C | 15.3°C | 15 mm |
| May | 20°C | 14°C | 16.9°C | 3 mm |
| June | 21°C | 16°C | 18.4°C | 2 mm |
| July | 23°C | 18°C | 20.3°C | 8 mm |
| August | 24°C | 18°C | 21.2°C | 1 mm |
| September | 24°C | 17°C | 20.4°C | 4 mm |
| October | 23°C | 13°C | 18.2°C | 11 mm |
| November | 21°C | 10°C | 15.7°C | 20 mm |
| December | 19°C | 8°C | 13.5°C | 11 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093115; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Imperial Beach?
Every month's normal high in Imperial Beach falls between 65°F and 85°F.
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 USW00093115.
How hot and how cold does it get in Imperial Beach?
In a normal year in Imperial Beach, 2 days a year reach 90°F and nights almost never fall to freezing.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1945) is 99°F, on November 4, 1976; the lowest is 26°F, on January 7, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 16.66 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093115; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093115. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Imperial Beach?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Imperial Beach, 4.9 kWh per square metre a day. November is the sunniest month (83%) and June the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.3 |
| February | 82% | 4.1 |
| March | 81% | 5.2 |
| April | 81% | 6.1 |
| May | 74% | 6.1 |
| June | 69% | 5.9 |
| July | 75% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 6.1 |
| September | 82% | 5.3 |
| October | 81% | 4.3 |
| November | 83% | 3.4 |
| December | 82% | 2.9 |
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 much heating and cooling does Imperial Beach need?
A normal year in Imperial Beach brings 1,482 heating degree days, 72% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 520 cooling degree days, 43% fewer than the median (908). No month reaches 300 heating degree days. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,519 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 242 | 2 |
| February | 241 | 3 |
| March | 201 | 3 |
| April | 167 | 3 |
| May | 94 | 12 |
| June | 31 | 37 |
| July | 6 | 114 |
| August | 3 | 161 |
| September | 12 | 123 |
| October | 56 | 49 |
| November | 158 | 12 |
| December | 272 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 1,482 | 520 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093115. 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.
How does Imperial Beach's climate compare?
Imperial Beach is warmer than 127 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 35. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.3°F is warmer than 81%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Imperial Beach is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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.
Questions about Imperial Beach's climate
What is the coldest month in Imperial Beach?
December, with a normal high of 66°F and a normal low of 46°F. The warmest is August (75°F by day, 65°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Imperial Beach?
February, with 2.10 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Imperial Beach in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Imperial Beach in zone 10b in ZIP code 91932.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Chula Vista, CA6 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- North Island Naval Air Station, CA11 miles from this station, 63.9°F a year
- San Diego, CA12 miles from this station, 64.7°F a year
- San Diego Seaworld, CA16 miles from this station, 61.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made