Palomar Mountain Obsy, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Palomar Mountain Obsy's normal year runs from 36°F February nights to 84°F August afternoons, with 30.4 inches of precipitation and 26 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.9°C, February lows of 2°C, August highs of 29°C, 772 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPalomar Mountain Obsy
- Station IDUSC00046657
- Location33.38°N 116.84°W
- Elevation5,550 ft (1,692 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Palomar Mountain Obsy is 67°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 8%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Palomar Mountain Obsy.
- Jan 51° 37°
- Feb 51° 36°
- Mar 56° 39°
- Apr 61° 42°
- May 69° 48°
- Jun 79° 57°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 84° 65°
- Sep 79° 60°
- Oct 69° 51°
- Nov 58° 43°
- Dec 51° 37°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Palomar Mountain Obsy each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; February the coldest, with normal lows of 36°F. The most precipitation falls in February (7.34 in), the least in June (0.17 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 37°F | 44.2°F | 5.93 | 6.2 | 7 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 51°F | 36°F | 43.6°F | 7.34 | 10.6 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| March | 56°F | 39°F | 47.3°F | 4.61 | 3.1 | 6 | <1 | 8 | 12 h |
| April | 61°F | 42°F | 51.5°F | 2.00 | 3.5 | 4 | <1 | 6 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 48°F | 58.8°F | 0.89 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 57°F | 67.8°F | 0.17 | 0.0 | <1 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 74.1°F | 0.29 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 84°F | 65°F | 74.5°F | 0.68 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 79°F | 60°F | 69.4°F | 0.48 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 51°F | 59.9°F | 1.21 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 43°F | 50.3°F | 2.25 | 0.4 | 3 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 51°F | 37°F | 43.7°F | 4.56 | 2.4 | 6 | <1 | 10 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 48°F | 57.1°F | 30.41 | 26.2 | 42 | 10 | 49 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 3°C | 6.8°C | 151 mm | 16 cm |
| February | 11°C | 2°C | 6.4°C | 186 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 13°C | 4°C | 8.5°C | 117 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 16°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 51 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 12 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 10°C | 15.5°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 6°C | 10.2°C | 57 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 10°C | 3°C | 6.5°C | 116 mm | 6 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046657; 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.
Which months are mildest at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, June 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 USC00046657.
When is the last frost at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
In Palomar Mountain Obsy, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 18 in half of years and before October 27 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 291 year in 10 after May 29; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 181 year in 10 before October 27; 9 in 10 before December 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 201 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 243 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before December 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Palomar Mountain Obsy in zone 9a in ZIP code 92060, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°F (17 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 USC00046657; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
In a normal year in Palomar Mountain Obsy, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 49 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 42 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 49a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 42a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1938) is 104°F, on June 25, 1939; the lowest is 8°F, on January 4, 1949.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 61.65 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 120.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00046657; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00046657. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Palomar Mountain Obsy, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (96%) and February the cloudiest (84%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 84% | 4.3 |
| March | 88% | 5.7 |
| April | 90% | 7.0 |
| May | 93% | 7.9 |
| June | 96% | 8.4 |
| July | 93% | 7.8 |
| August | 94% | 7.3 |
| September | 94% | 6.3 |
| October | 92% | 5.0 |
| November | 89% | 3.7 |
| December | 85% | 3.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Palomar Mountain Obsy record?
A normal year at Palomar Mountain Obsy brings 3,835 heating degree days, 29% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 981 cooling degree days, 8% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,690 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 643 | 0 |
| February | 601 | 0 |
| March | 548 | 1 |
| April | 407 | 3 |
| May | 233 | 43 |
| June | 63 | 145 |
| July | 3 | 285 |
| August | 2 | 295 |
| September | 37 | 169 |
| October | 194 | 38 |
| November | 442 | 3 |
| December | 662 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,835 | 981 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046657. 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.
Have recent years at Palomar Mountain Obsy been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 58.0°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.1°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 58.0°F | +0.9°F | 19.87 | – |
| 2023 | 54.6°F | −2.5°F | 61.65 | – |
| 2024 | 58.0°F | +0.9°F | 25.34 | – |
| 2025 | 58.0°F | +0.9°F | 24.87 | 46.0 |
Over 51 complete years from 1943 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.4°F per century (+0.25°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00046657; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Palomar Mountain Obsy's climate compare?
Palomar Mountain Obsy is warmer than 50 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 168. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.1°F is warmer than 67%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Palomar Mountain Obsy is Csa: temperate, dry-summer, hot 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 Palomar Mountain Obsy share this climate record?
2 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.
- Lake Riverside, CA1,445 people · 10 mi N
- Aguanga, CA756 people · 5 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.
Questions about Palomar Mountain Obsy's climate
What is the coldest month at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
February, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 36°F. The warmest is August (84°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
Yes: 26 inches in a normal year, falling on 7 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (10.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
February, with 7.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Palomar Mountain Obsy in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Palomar Mountain Obsy in zone 9a in ZIP code 92060, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come at Palomar Mountain Obsy?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Henshaw Dam, CA11 miles from this station, 57.5°F a year
- Valley Center, CA16 miles from this station, 62.7°F a year
- Fallbrook, CA21 miles from this station, 65.1°F a year
- San Pasqual Animal Park, CA22 miles from this station, 65.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made