Monterey, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Monterey's normal year runs from 43°F December nights to 70°F August afternoons, with 16.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.1°C, December lows of 6°C, August highs of 21°C, 412 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMonterey Peninsul Airport
- Station IDUSW00023259
- Location36.59°N 121.85°W
- Elevation165 ft (50 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population29,015
On October 23, the normal high in Monterey is 69°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Monterey.
- Jan 62° 43°
- Feb 62° 45°
- Mar 63° 46°
- Apr 63° 47°
- May 65° 50°
- Jun 68° 52°
- Jul 69° 54°
- Aug 70° 55°
- Sep 71° 54°
- Oct 70° 51°
- Nov 65° 46°
- Dec 62° 43°
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 Monterey each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 70°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 43°F. The most precipitation falls in January (3.49 in), the least in July (0.02 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62°F | 43°F | 52.5°F | 3.49 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 62°F | 45°F | 53.6°F | 3.03 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 46°F | 54.2°F | 2.80 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 47°F | 55.3°F | 1.03 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 65°F | 50°F | 57.7°F | 0.51 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 68°F | 52°F | 60.1°F | 0.13 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 69°F | 54°F | 61.6°F | 0.02 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 70°F | 55°F | 62.5°F | 0.02 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 71°F | 54°F | 62.4°F | 0.07 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 51°F | 60.3°F | 0.86 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 46°F | 55.5°F | 1.45 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 62°F | 43°F | 52.1°F | 2.83 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 49°F | 57.3°F | 16.24 | 69 | 2 | 2 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 6°C | 11.4°C | 89 mm |
| February | 17°C | 7°C | 12.0°C | 77 mm |
| March | 17°C | 8°C | 12.3°C | 71 mm |
| April | 17°C | 9°C | 12.9°C | 26 mm |
| May | 19°C | 10°C | 14.3°C | 13 mm |
| June | 20°C | 11°C | 15.6°C | 3 mm |
| July | 21°C | 12°C | 16.4°C | 1 mm |
| August | 21°C | 13°C | 16.9°C | 1 mm |
| September | 22°C | 12°C | 16.9°C | 2 mm |
| October | 21°C | 10°C | 15.7°C | 22 mm |
| November | 18°C | 8°C | 13.1°C | 37 mm |
| December | 16°C | 6°C | 11.2°C | 72 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023259; 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 Monterey?
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 (1).
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 USW00023259.
When is the last frost in Monterey?
In Monterey, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 2 in half of years and after January 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 23 in half of years and before December 1 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 53% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 21 year in 10 after January 20; 9 in 10 after December 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 231 year in 10 before December 1; 9 in 10 before January 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 363 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Monterey in zone 10a across its 2 ZIP code areas (10a in 93940, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Monterey's NOAA station is in zone 10a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 32°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023259; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Monterey ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Monterey's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 10a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Monterey?
In a normal year in Monterey, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 2 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 69 days bring measurable precipitation.
- 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
- 2a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 69a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1968) is 103°F, on September 1, 2017; the lowest is 25°F, on January 13, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 26.33 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023259; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00023259. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Monterey?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Monterey, 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 much heating and cooling does Monterey need?
A normal year in Monterey brings 2,877 heating degree days, 46% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 76 cooling degree days, 92% 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 2,757 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 389 | 0 |
| February | 318 | 0 |
| March | 335 | 1 |
| April | 292 | 2 |
| May | 230 | 3 |
| June | 154 | 5 |
| July | 114 | 7 |
| August | 93 | 16 |
| September | 102 | 22 |
| October | 163 | 17 |
| November | 287 | 3 |
| December | 398 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,877 | 76 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023259. 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.
Has Monterey been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.6°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.3°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.7°F | +1.4°F | 15.31 |
| 2022 | 57.8°F | +0.5°F | 12.01 |
| 2023 | 56.3°F | −1.0°F | 19.05 |
| 2025 | 57.6°F | +0.3°F | 14.55 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023259. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Monterey's climate compare?
Monterey is warmer than 51 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 114. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.3°F is warmer than 67%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Monterey 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 Monterey share this climate record?
7 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.
- Seaside, CA31,524 people · 3 mi NE
- Marina, CA23,047 people · 7 mi NE
- Pacific Grove, CA14,851 people · 5 mi NW
- Del Monte Forest, CA3,576 people · 6 mi W
- Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA3,124 people · 5 mi SW
- Del Rey Oaks, CA1,553 people · 1 mi E
- Sand City, CA328 people · 2 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.
What do Monterey's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Monterey. This page uses Monterey Peninsul Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey Weather Office USC00045802 | 2 mi E | 122 ft | 56.0°F | 43°F | 66°F | 17.1 | 0 | January 3 |
| Monterey station USC00045795 | 1 mi SW | 260 ft | 56.8°F | 45°F | 67°F | 20.4 | 0 | January 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Monterey's climate
What is the coldest month in Monterey?
December, with a normal high of 62°F and a normal low of 43°F. The warmest is August (70°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Monterey?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Monterey's NOAA station; Monterey's own co-op station Monterey Weather Office records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Monterey?
January, with 3.49 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.02 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Monterey in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Monterey in zone 10a across its 2 ZIP code areas (10a in 93940, the largest). By the same method at Monterey's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 32°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 10a.
How late can frost come in Monterey?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 2; in one year in ten it comes after January 20. Waiting until January 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Monterey in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Carmel Valley, CA10 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Salinas, CA14 miles from this station, 58.1°F a year
- Big Sur Station, CA24 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Watsonville Water Works, CA24 miles from this station, 57.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made