Monterey Peninsul, 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 Monterey Peninsul's primary NOAA station, MONTEREY PENINSUL AP.
The climate verdict for Monterey Peninsul
Dryness leads the climate profile for Monterey Peninsul, California, with 16.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 57°F. It scores 76/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 69% of them.
- 57°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 76/100
- comfort score, above 69% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.2"
- annual precipitation
- 355 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Monterey Peninsul: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00023259 · Monterey Peninsul, CA 57°F mean · 16.2" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-NARROW · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 57°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,597
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Watsonville
- PRCP-DRY 16.2"
- SWING-NARROW 10°F
- COMF-TOP 76/100
- LOAD-HEAT 2,877 HDD
- STN-1 USW00023259
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Watsonville 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.
- Hot San Francisco D…, CA 58°F
- Near Watsonville Wtr…, CA 58°F
- Monterey Penins… (this station) 57°F
- Cold Watsonville, CA 57°F
- Near Pacifica, CA 57°F
Climate Living Index · Monterey Peninsul
Monterey Peninsul: 76/100 · grade B
Monterey Peninsul publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Monterey Peninsul, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 76/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 355 days/year | 100/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 57.3°F · 10.2° from 67.5°F | 67/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 16.2 in · 18.8 from 35 in | 33/100 · F |
Monterey Peninsul · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Monterey Peninsul is a temperate Köppen climate: Csb
Coldest-month mean 52.1°F and warmest-month mean 62.5°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
- 62.5°F
- Coldest month
- 52.1°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 Monterey Peninsul sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Monterey Peninsul's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 67th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 80%
- Monterey Peninsul's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 99%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Monterey Peninsul is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Monterey Peninsul compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Monterey Peninsul's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
76 Top 31% score exceeds 69% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62°F (16°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 3.5" | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 62°F (17°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 3.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 63°F (17°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.8" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 1.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| May | 65°F (19°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 0.5" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 68°F (20°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 0.1" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| July | 69°F (21°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 70°F (21°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 0.1" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| October | 70°F (21°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 0.9" | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| November | 65°F (18°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.4" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 62°F (16°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.8" | 0.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Monterey Peninsul: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 42°F near December 19 and 71°F near September 8.
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 42°F around December 19.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is February 26, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 7 at 4%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 69 wet dates a year.
The widest day
November 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Monterey Peninsul.
Where Monterey Peninsul Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Monterey Peninsul 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
9.7 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
4.1 days with precipitation
1.7 days with precipitation
1.2 days with precipitation
1.7 days with precipitation
1.6 days with precipitation
4.3 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
Monterey Peninsul's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 58% 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 10.4°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- January, 3.5"
- Driest month
- August, 0.0"
- Wettest three months
- January, February, December (58% 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.
How Monterey Peninsul's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 69 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 16.2" between them, or roughly 0.23 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
December 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
January 2
50% probability date
Growing Season
355 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
2,877
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
76
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CA closest to Monterey Peninsul 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 (57°F here).
- Ash Grove, MO 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Asheville, NC 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Bentonville, AR 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Boonville, IN 57°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Akron, CO 16.2" · 0.0" off
- Kahului, HI 16.2" · 0.0" off
- Melrose, NM 16.2" · 0.0" off
- Taylor, ND 16.2" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Monterey Peninsul's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Monterey Peninsul, at 2,877 degree days versus 76 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 10.4°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
Monterey Peninsul has a long frost-free window of roughly 355 days, but the dry annual profile is a separate constraint. Growing-season length says when freezes are unlikely, not whether rainfall is sufficient.
The calendar stays thermally compact and dry. August and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar, only 10.4°F apart, while the annual precipitation total remains below PlainClimate's dry threshold. The annual average is 57°F. The monthly rows show whether that limited precipitation is spread through the year or concentrated in a shorter interval.
Monterey Peninsul's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.2 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Monterey Peninsul'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 Monterey Peninsul, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Monterey Peninsul's climate
How much rain does Monterey Peninsul get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Monterey Peninsul? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Monterey Peninsul's primary station: MONTEREY PENINSUL AP (USW00023259). 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 Monterey Peninsul; 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 Monterey Peninsul 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.