Pismo Beach, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pismo Beach's normal year runs from 44°F December nights to 71°F August afternoons, with 17.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.1°C, December lows of 7°C, August highs of 22°C, 454 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPismo Beach
- Station IDUSC00046943
- Location35.16°N 120.68°W
- Elevation39 ft (12 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population7,984
On October 23, the normal high in Pismo Beach is 73°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 Pismo Beach.
- Jan 65° 44°
- Feb 65° 44°
- Mar 68° 46°
- Apr 70° 48°
- May 72° 50°
- Jun 71° 51°
- Jul 70° 54°
- Aug 71° 55°
- Sep 72° 54°
- Oct 73° 53°
- Nov 69° 46°
- Dec 65° 44°
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 Pismo Beach each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 71°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 44°F. The most precipitation falls in February (4.00 in), the least in July (0.02 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 | 65°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 3.48 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 10 h |
| February | 65°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 4.00 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 68°F | 46°F | 56.9°F | 2.98 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 48°F | 59.0°F | 1.00 | 5 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 60.9°F | 0.46 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 71°F | 51°F | 61.0°F | 0.15 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 70°F | 54°F | 62.1°F | 0.02 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 71°F | 55°F | 63.1°F | 0.02 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 72°F | 54°F | 62.7°F | 0.08 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 53°F | 62.5°F | 0.79 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 69°F | 46°F | 57.7°F | 1.81 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 65°F | 44°F | 54.3°F | 3.08 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 49°F | 59.1°F | 17.87 | 57 | 4 | 2 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 7°C | 12.5°C | 88 mm |
| February | 18°C | 7°C | 12.5°C | 102 mm |
| March | 20°C | 8°C | 13.8°C | 76 mm |
| April | 21°C | 9°C | 15.0°C | 25 mm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.1°C | 12 mm |
| June | 21°C | 11°C | 16.1°C | 4 mm |
| July | 21°C | 12°C | 16.7°C | 1 mm |
| August | 22°C | 13°C | 17.3°C | 1 mm |
| September | 22°C | 12°C | 17.1°C | 2 mm |
| October | 23°C | 11°C | 16.9°C | 20 mm |
| November | 21°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 46 mm |
| December | 18°C | 7°C | 12.4°C | 78 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046943; 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 Pismo Beach?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. 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 USC00046943.
When is the last frost in Pismo Beach?
In Pismo Beach, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 1 in half of years and after March 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before January 4 in half of years and before December 8 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 54% of years here (NOAA).
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- February 11 year in 10 after March 13; 9 in 10 after December 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- January 41 year in 10 before December 8; 9 in 10 before February 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 362 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pismo Beach in zone 10a in ZIP code 93449.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00046943; 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 Pismo Beach?
In a normal year in Pismo Beach, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 2 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 57 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 2a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 57a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 103°F, on September 3, 1982; the lowest is 21°F, on December 3, 1986.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1969, with 27.45 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00046943; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00046943. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pismo Beach?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pismo Beach, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (95%) and December the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 2.9 |
| February | 81% | 3.8 |
| March | 84% | 5.2 |
| April | 87% | 6.6 |
| May | 91% | 7.7 |
| June | 95% | 8.3 |
| July | 94% | 8.0 |
| August | 95% | 7.3 |
| September | 95% | 6.2 |
| October | 91% | 4.6 |
| November | 86% | 3.3 |
| December | 80% | 2.6 |
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 Pismo Beach need?
A normal year in Pismo Beach brings 2,262 heating degree days, 58% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 119 cooling degree days, 87% fewer than the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,364 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 327 | 1 |
| February | 293 | 1 |
| March | 258 | 5 |
| April | 194 | 12 |
| May | 144 | 17 |
| June | 132 | 11 |
| July | 99 | 9 |
| August | 71 | 12 |
| September | 84 | 17 |
| October | 106 | 29 |
| November | 224 | 5 |
| December | 331 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 2,262 | 119 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046943. 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 Pismo Beach's climate compare?
Pismo Beach is warmer than 76 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 122. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.1°F is warmer than 72%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pismo Beach 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 Pismo Beach share this climate record?
7 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.
- Arroyo Grande, CA18,249 people · 6 mi SE
- Grover Beach, CA12,534 people · 4 mi SE
- Oceano, CA7,098 people · 6 mi SE
- Callender, CA2,764 people · 10 mi SE
- Avila Beach, CA1,365 people · 3 mi NW
- Blacklake, CA1,122 people · 11 mi SE
- Los Berros, CA172 people · 10 mi SE
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 Pismo Beach's climate
What is the coldest month in Pismo Beach?
December, with a normal high of 65°F and a normal low of 44°F. The warmest is August (71°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Pismo Beach?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Pismo Beach?
February, with 4.00 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.02 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pismo Beach in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pismo Beach in zone 10a in ZIP code 93449.
How late can frost come in Pismo Beach?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 1; in one year in ten it comes after March 13. Waiting until March 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Pismo Beach in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- San Luis Obispo, CA6 miles from this station, 59.7°F a year
- San Luis Obispo Poly, CA10 miles from this station, 60.5°F a year
- Morro Bay, CA17 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Santa Maria, CA22 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