Pacifica, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pacifica's normal year runs from 45°F January nights to 72°F September afternoons, with 31.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.1°C, January lows of 7°C, September highs of 22°C, 810 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPacifica (4 mi SSE)
- Station IDUSC00046599
- Location37.59°N 122.47°W
- Elevation475 ft (145 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population37,056
On October 22, the normal high in Pacifica is 69°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pacifica.
- Jan 58° 45°
- Feb 60° 46°
- Mar 61° 46°
- Apr 64° 48°
- May 67° 49°
- Jun 69° 51°
- Jul 69° 52°
- Aug 71° 53°
- Sep 72° 53°
- Oct 70° 52°
- Nov 64° 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 in Pacifica each month?
September is the warmest month, with normal highs of 72°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 45°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.64 in), the least in July (0.01 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 | 58°F | 45°F | 51.7°F | 6.14 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 60°F | 46°F | 53.1°F | 6.48 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 46°F | 53.8°F | 4.45 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 48°F | 55.7°F | 2.36 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 67°F | 49°F | 58.2°F | 1.00 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 69°F | 51°F | 59.8°F | 0.25 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 69°F | 52°F | 60.8°F | 0.01 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 71°F | 53°F | 62.2°F | 0.08 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 72°F | 53°F | 62.9°F | 0.11 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 52°F | 61.2°F | 1.50 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 50°F | 56.9°F | 2.86 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 59°F | 46°F | 52.5°F | 6.64 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 49°F | 57.4°F | 31.88 | 69 | 2 | 1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 7°C | 10.9°C | 156 mm |
| February | 16°C | 8°C | 11.7°C | 165 mm |
| March | 16°C | 8°C | 12.1°C | 113 mm |
| April | 18°C | 9°C | 13.2°C | 60 mm |
| May | 19°C | 10°C | 14.6°C | 25 mm |
| June | 20°C | 10°C | 15.4°C | 6 mm |
| July | 21°C | 11°C | 16.0°C | 0 mm |
| August | 22°C | 12°C | 16.8°C | 2 mm |
| September | 22°C | 12°C | 17.2°C | 3 mm |
| October | 21°C | 11°C | 16.2°C | 38 mm |
| November | 18°C | 10°C | 13.8°C | 73 mm |
| December | 15°C | 8°C | 11.4°C | 169 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046599; 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 Pacifica?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. 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 USC00046599.
When is the last frost in Pacifica?
A night at 32°F or colder comes in only 20% of years in Pacifica (NOAA). NOAA's median date of the last spring frost is January 11 and of the first autumn frost January 10.
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 Pacifica in zone 10a in ZIP code 94044.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00046599; 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 in Pacifica?
In a normal year in Pacifica, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 1 night falls 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
- 1a 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
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00046599.
How sunny is Pacifica?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pacifica, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.5 |
| February | 77% | 3.4 |
| March | 79% | 4.6 |
| April | 82% | 6.0 |
| May | 81% | 6.7 |
| June | 84% | 7.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.5 |
| August | 77% | 5.8 |
| September | 82% | 5.1 |
| October | 83% | 4.0 |
| November | 81% | 2.8 |
| December | 74% | 2.1 |
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 Pacifica need?
A normal year in Pacifica brings 2,891 heating degree days, 46% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 120 cooling degree days, 87% 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 2,794 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 412 | 0 |
| February | 335 | 0 |
| March | 350 | 2 |
| April | 280 | 3 |
| May | 221 | 9 |
| June | 167 | 11 |
| July | 140 | 12 |
| August | 108 | 20 |
| September | 94 | 29 |
| October | 146 | 28 |
| November | 248 | 5 |
| December | 388 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,891 | 120 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046599. 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 Pacifica's climate compare?
Pacifica is warmer than 53 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 170. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.4°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pacifica 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 Pacifica share this climate record?
6 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.
- South San Francisco, CAalso near: San Francisco (8 mi, 57.7°F a year); San Francisco Oceanside (9 mi, 56.1°F a year)64,660 people · 7 mi NE
- San Bruno, CA42,035 people · 3 mi NE
- Burlingame, CA30,885 people · 6 mi E
- Millbrae, CA23,321 people · 4 mi E
- Hillsborough, CA11,171 people · 7 mi E
- Montara, CA2,897 people · 3 mi S
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 Pacifica's climate
What is the coldest month in Pacifica?
January, with a normal high of 58°F and a normal low of 45°F. The warmest is September (72°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Pacifica?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Pacifica?
December, with 6.64 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pacifica in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pacifica in zone 10a in ZIP code 94044.
Nearby and next
- Pacifica in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Half Moon Bay, CA8 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- San Francisco Oceanside, CA9 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- San Francisco, CA12 miles from this station, 57.7°F a year
- Redwood City, CA15 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made