Pinnacles National Monument, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Pinnacles National Monument's normal year runs from 33°F December nights to 96°F July afternoons, with 16.6 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.1 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.3°C, December lows of 1°C, July highs of 36°C, 421 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPinnacles National Monument
- Station IDUSC00046926
- Location36.48°N 121.18°W
- Elevation1,307 ft (398 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Pinnacles National Monument is 80°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pinnacles National Monument.
- Jan 63° 34°
- Feb 64° 36°
- Mar 68° 38°
- Apr 72° 39°
- May 80° 43°
- Jun 89° 47°
- Jul 96° 50°
- Aug 96° 50°
- Sep 92° 48°
- Oct 83° 43°
- Nov 70° 37°
- Dec 62° 33°
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 Pinnacles National Monument each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 96°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in January (3.46 in), the least in August (0.02 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63°F | 34°F | 48.3°F | 3.46 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| February | 64°F | 36°F | 49.6°F | 3.45 | 11 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 68°F | 38°F | 52.6°F | 2.80 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 39°F | 55.8°F | 0.96 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 80°F | 43°F | 61.5°F | 0.57 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 89°F | 47°F | 67.7°F | 0.13 | 1 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 96°F | 50°F | 73.2°F | 0.04 | <1 | 26 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 96°F | 50°F | 73.0°F | 0.02 | <1 | 26 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 92°F | 48°F | 69.9°F | 0.06 | 1 | 19 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 83°F | 43°F | 62.6°F | 0.73 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 70°F | 37°F | 53.5°F | 1.27 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 62°F | 33°F | 47.7°F | 3.08 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 42°F | 59.6°F | 16.57 | 67 | 102 | 67 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 1°C | 9.1°C | 88 mm |
| February | 18°C | 2°C | 9.8°C | 88 mm |
| March | 20°C | 3°C | 11.4°C | 71 mm |
| April | 22°C | 4°C | 13.2°C | 24 mm |
| May | 27°C | 6°C | 16.4°C | 14 mm |
| June | 32°C | 8°C | 19.8°C | 3 mm |
| July | 36°C | 10°C | 22.9°C | 1 mm |
| August | 35°C | 10°C | 22.8°C | 1 mm |
| September | 33°C | 9°C | 21.1°C | 2 mm |
| October | 28°C | 6°C | 17.0°C | 19 mm |
| November | 21°C | 3°C | 11.9°C | 32 mm |
| December | 17°C | 1°C | 8.7°C | 78 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046926; 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 Pinnacles National Monument?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00046926.
When is the last frost at Pinnacles National Monument?
In Pinnacles National Monument, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 3 in half of years and before October 7 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 231 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after March 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 31 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 189 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 252 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 12 in half of springs and before November 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pinnacles National Monument in zone 9b in ZIP code 93960, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00046926; 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 at Pinnacles National Monument?
In a normal year in Pinnacles National Monument, 102 days a year reach 90°F (31 of them 100°F or more), 67 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 67 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 102a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 67a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 67a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1937) is 116°F, on July 15, 1972; the lowest is 10°F, on January 2, 1960.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 35.80 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 7.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00046926; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00046926. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Pinnacles National Monument?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Pinnacles National Monument, 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Pinnacles National Monument record?
A normal year at Pinnacles National Monument brings 2,857 heating degree days, 47% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 920 cooling degree days, 1% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,934 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 518 | 0 |
| February | 430 | 0 |
| March | 385 | 1 |
| April | 281 | 7 |
| May | 151 | 44 |
| June | 45 | 126 |
| July | 5 | 257 |
| August | 4 | 254 |
| September | 26 | 173 |
| October | 129 | 55 |
| November | 347 | 4 |
| December | 536 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,857 | 920 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046926. 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 Pinnacles National Monument been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 59.7°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.6°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 57.6°F | −2.0°F | 20.06 |
| 2024 | 60.1°F | +0.5°F | 20.61 |
| 2025 | 59.7°F | +0.1°F | – |
Over 43 complete years from 1937 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00046926; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pinnacles National Monument's climate compare?
Pinnacles National Monument is warmer than 87 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 115. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.6°F is warmer than 74%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pinnacles National Monument 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 Pinnacles National Monument share this climate record?
Soledad has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Soledad, CA26,345 people · 8 mi SW
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 Pinnacles National Monument's climate
What is the coldest month at Pinnacles National Monument?
December, with a normal high of 62°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is July (96°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Pinnacles National Monument?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.1 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Pinnacles National Monument?
January, with 3.46 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.02 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pinnacles National Monument in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pinnacles National Monument in zone 9b in ZIP code 93960, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Pinnacles National Monument?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Paicines (4 mi W), CA19 miles from this station, 56.5°F a year
- King City, CA19 miles from this station, 60.3°F a year
- Salinas, CA27 miles from this station, 58.1°F a year
- Hollister, CA29 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made