Oceanside, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Oceanside's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 78°F August afternoons, with 11.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.1°C, December lows of 4°C, August highs of 26°C, 301 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOceanside Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00053121
- Location33.22°N 117.35°W
- Elevation28 ft (9 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population170,941
On October 23, the normal high in Oceanside is 74°F and the normal low 51°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Oceanside.
- Jan 67° 41°
- Feb 66° 42°
- Mar 66° 46°
- Apr 69° 48°
- May 70° 54°
- Jun 73° 58°
- Jul 77° 62°
- Aug 78° 62°
- Sep 78° 59°
- Oct 75° 53°
- Nov 71° 44°
- Dec 66° 40°
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 Oceanside each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in February (2.90 in), the least in August (0.04 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 | 67°F | 41°F | 53.6°F | 2.37 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 66°F | 42°F | 54.1°F | 2.90 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 46°F | 56.2°F | 1.68 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 69°F | 48°F | 58.3°F | 0.87 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 70°F | 54°F | 62.1°F | 0.30 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 73°F | 58°F | 65.5°F | 0.11 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 77°F | 62°F | 69.3°F | 0.05 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 78°F | 62°F | 70.2°F | 0.04 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 78°F | 59°F | 68.5°F | 0.13 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 53°F | 63.8°F | 0.64 | 5 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 71°F | 44°F | 57.4°F | 0.79 | 6 | 1 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 66°F | 40°F | 52.9°F | 1.98 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 51°F | 61.0°F | 11.86 | 54 | 5 | 8 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 5°C | 12.0°C | 60 mm |
| February | 19°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 74 mm |
| March | 19°C | 8°C | 13.4°C | 43 mm |
| April | 21°C | 9°C | 14.6°C | 22 mm |
| May | 21°C | 12°C | 16.7°C | 8 mm |
| June | 23°C | 15°C | 18.6°C | 3 mm |
| July | 25°C | 17°C | 20.7°C | 1 mm |
| August | 26°C | 17°C | 21.2°C | 1 mm |
| September | 25°C | 15°C | 20.3°C | 3 mm |
| October | 24°C | 11°C | 17.7°C | 16 mm |
| November | 22°C | 7°C | 14.1°C | 20 mm |
| December | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 50 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053121; 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 Oceanside?
Every month's normal high in Oceanside 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 USW00053121.
When is the last frost in Oceanside?
In Oceanside, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 23 in half of years and after February 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 11 in half of years and before November 21 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 91% 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 231 year in 10 after February 22; 9 in 10 after December 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 111 year in 10 before November 21; 9 in 10 before January 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 325 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after December 31 in half of springs and before December 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oceanside in zone 10a across its 4 ZIP code areas (10a in 92057, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Oceanside's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 29°F (20 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00053121; 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 Oceanside ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Oceanside's 4 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 Oceanside?
In a normal year in Oceanside, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 8 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 54 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 8a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 54a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1999) is 106°F, on October 24, 2017; the lowest is 25°F, on January 15, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 23.77 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00053121; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00053121. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Oceanside?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Oceanside, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (92%) and February the cloudiest (83%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 58th (with 22 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.3 |
| February | 83% | 4.1 |
| March | 85% | 5.4 |
| April | 86% | 6.5 |
| May | 83% | 6.9 |
| June | 85% | 7.3 |
| July | 89% | 7.4 |
| August | 92% | 7.0 |
| September | 91% | 6.0 |
| October | 88% | 4.6 |
| November | 87% | 3.6 |
| December | 83% | 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 Oceanside need?
A normal year in Oceanside brings 1,960 heating degree days, 64% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 509 cooling degree days, 44% fewer than the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,072 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 354 | 0 |
| February | 307 | 1 |
| March | 273 | 2 |
| April | 205 | 3 |
| May | 99 | 9 |
| June | 25 | 38 |
| July | 2 | 136 |
| August | 1 | 163 |
| September | 10 | 115 |
| October | 75 | 38 |
| November | 234 | 5 |
| December | 374 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 1,960 | 509 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053121. 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 Oceanside been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 61.8°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 61.0°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.0°F | at normal | 10.12 |
| 2022 | 62.1°F | +1.1°F | 6.15 |
| 2023 | 61.1°F | +0.1°F | 20.57 |
| 2024 | 61.8°F | +0.8°F | 13.30 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00053121. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Oceanside's climate compare?
Oceanside is warmer than 104 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 60. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.0°F is warmer than 77%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Oceanside 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.
What do Oceanside's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Oceanside. This page uses Oceanside Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceanside Marina USC00046377 | 5 mi W | 10 ft | 60.9°F | 47°F | 70°F | 10.3 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Oceanside's climate
What is the coldest month in Oceanside?
December, with a normal high of 66°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is August (78°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Oceanside?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Oceanside's NOAA station; Oceanside's own co-op station Oceanside Marina records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Oceanside?
February, with 2.90 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Oceanside in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Oceanside in zone 10a across its 4 ZIP code areas (10a in 92057, the largest). By the same method at Oceanside's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 29°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Oceanside?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 23; in one year in ten it comes after February 22. Waiting until February 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oceanside in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Oceanside Marina, CA2 miles from this station, 60.9°F a year
- Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Air Station, CA6 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Vista, CA7 miles from this station, 62.7°F a year
- Carlsbad, CA7 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made