Watsonville Water Works, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Watsonville Water Works's normal year runs from 39°F December nights to 74°F September afternoons, with 22.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.2°C, December lows of 4°C, September highs of 23°C, 576 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWatsonville Water Works
- Station IDUSC00049473
- Location36.93°N 121.77°W
- Elevation95 ft (29 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Watsonville Water Works is 73°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Watsonville Water Works.
- Jan 62° 40°
- Feb 63° 42°
- Mar 65° 43°
- Apr 68° 45°
- May 69° 49°
- Jun 71° 52°
- Jul 71° 54°
- Aug 72° 55°
- Sep 74° 53°
- Oct 74° 49°
- Nov 68° 43°
- Dec 62° 39°
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 Watsonville Water Works each month?
September is the warmest month, with normal highs of 74°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 39°F. The most precipitation falls in December (4.51 in), the least in July (0.01 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62°F | 40°F | 51.0°F | 4.43 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 63°F | 42°F | 52.4°F | 4.49 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 43°F | 54.3°F | 3.59 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 45°F | 56.4°F | 1.62 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 69°F | 49°F | 59.0°F | 0.58 | 3 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 71°F | 52°F | 61.4°F | 0.14 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 71°F | 54°F | 62.6°F | 0.01 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 72°F | 55°F | 63.4°F | 0.03 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 0.06 | 1 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 49°F | 61.2°F | 0.96 | 3 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 68°F | 43°F | 55.5°F | 2.25 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 62°F | 39°F | 50.6°F | 4.51 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 47°F | 57.6°F | 22.67 | 64 | 7 | 8 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 4°C | 10.6°C | 113 mm |
| February | 17°C | 5°C | 11.3°C | 114 mm |
| March | 18°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 91 mm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 41 mm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.0°C | 15 mm |
| June | 22°C | 11°C | 16.3°C | 4 mm |
| July | 22°C | 12°C | 17.0°C | 0 mm |
| August | 22°C | 13°C | 17.4°C | 1 mm |
| September | 23°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 2 mm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 16.2°C | 24 mm |
| November | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 57 mm |
| December | 17°C | 4°C | 10.3°C | 115 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049473; 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 Watsonville Water Works?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (1).
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 USC00049473.
When is the last frost at Watsonville Water Works?
In Watsonville Water Works, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 28 in half of years and after March 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 13 in half of years and before November 25 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 281 year in 10 after March 3; 9 in 10 after December 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 131 year in 10 before November 25; 9 in 10 before January 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 324 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 2 in half of springs and before December 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Watsonville Water Works in zone 9b in ZIP code 95019, 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 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (26 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00049473; 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 Watsonville Water Works?
In a normal year in Watsonville Water Works, 7 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 8 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 64 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 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
- 64a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1908) is 110°F, on September 3, 2017; the lowest is 12°F, on December 22, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 48.35 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00049473; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00049473. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Watsonville Water Works?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Watsonville Water Works, 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 Watsonville Water Works record?
A normal year at Watsonville Water Works brings 2,830 heating degree days, 47% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 138 cooling degree days, 85% 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 2,937 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 436 | 0 |
| February | 352 | 0 |
| March | 334 | 1 |
| April | 263 | 5 |
| May | 196 | 9 |
| June | 122 | 14 |
| July | 91 | 17 |
| August | 72 | 24 |
| September | 82 | 37 |
| October | 145 | 27 |
| November | 289 | 4 |
| December | 448 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,830 | 138 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049473. 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 Watsonville Water Works been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 58.0°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.6°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.4°F | −0.2°F | 24.85 |
| 2022 | 57.5°F | −0.1°F | 19.44 |
| 2023 | 57.0°F | −0.6°F | 26.85 |
| 2024 | 57.9°F | +0.3°F | 24.51 |
| 2025 | 58.0°F | +0.4°F | 18.26 |
Over 74 complete years from 1910 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.9°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00049473; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Watsonville Water Works's climate compare?
Watsonville Water Works is warmer than 55 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 148. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.6°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Watsonville Water Works 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 Watsonville Water Works 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.
- Prunedale, CA19,286 people · 10 mi SE
- Interlaken, CA8,191 people · 2 mi NE
- Las Lomas, CA3,223 people · 5 mi SE
- Aromas, CA2,846 people · 9 mi SE
- Pajaro, CA2,480 people · 3 mi SE
- Elkhorn, CA1,201 people · 9 mi S
- Moss Landing, CA34 people · 9 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 Watsonville Water Works's climate
What is the coldest month at Watsonville Water Works?
December, with a normal high of 62°F and a normal low of 39°F. The warmest is September (74°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow at Watsonville Water Works?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month at Watsonville Water Works?
December, with 4.51 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Watsonville Water Works in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Watsonville Water Works in zone 9b in ZIP code 95019, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come at Watsonville Water Works?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 28; in one year in ten it comes after March 3. Waiting until March 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Watsonville, CA1 miles from this station, 57.2°F a year
- Gilroy, CA12 miles from this station, 60.2°F a year
- Santa Cruz, CA13 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Hollister, CA20 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