30-year climate normals

Monterey County Climate and Weather Averages

Hottest month — August

85.2°

average daily high. The coldest month is December, averaging a low of 37.1°F.

Monterey County gets 11.83" of precipitation a year, and 59% of it falls in Dec, Jan, Feb.

Temperature through the year

Each bar spans the average daily low to the average daily high for that month.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Precip
January	63.3°	38.3°	2.44"
February	65.3°	40.3°	2.54"
March	69.9°	42.3°	1.98"
April	73.9°	44.0°	0.83"
May	78.0°	47.7°	0.35"
June	82.8°	50.9°	0.04"
July	84.9°	53.8°	0.01"
August	85.2°	53.7°	0.01"
September	85.1°	51.5°	0.06"
October	79.9°	46.4°	0.54"
November	69.6°	40.7°	0.98"
December	62.0°	37.1°	2.05"

Rainfall by month

Monterey County has a distinct wet season. 59% of the year's precipitation arrives in Dec, Jan, Feb.

January 2.44"

February 2.54"

March 1.98"

April 0.83"

May 0.35"

June 0.04"

July 0.01"

August 0.01"

September 0.06"

October 0.54"

November 0.98"

December 2.05"

Annual total 11.83"

What this climate costs you

Degree days measure how hard a building has to work to stay comfortable. They are the reason two identical houses have very different power bills, and they are the link between the weather here and what you pay every month.

Cooling degree days How much air conditioning the climate demands 578

Heating degree days How much heating the climate demands 2,288

Approximate annual cooling cost At 33.25¢/kWh, California average $192

Approximate annual electric heating cost Lower where heating is gas rather than electric $266

These are rough planning figures from degree days and the state electricity price, not a bill estimate. House size, insulation and fuel type move them a lot. See the full cost of owning a home in Monterey County, where electricity is one line of eight.

Common questions

What is the weather like in Monterey County?

Monterey County averages a high of 85.2°F in August and a low of 37.1°F in December. Annual precipitation is 11.83 inches, with essentially no snow.

When is the rainy season in Monterey County?

The wettest stretch is Dec, Jan, Feb, which accounts for 59% of the year's precipitation. That is a pronounced wet season rather than rain spread evenly through the year.

How hot does it get in Monterey County?

The average daily high in August, the hottest month, is 85.2°F. That drives 578 cooling degree days a year, which is what your air conditioning has to work against.

Does it snow in Monterey County?

Effectively no. Measurable snowfall is rare in Monterey County.

Sources

Temperature, precipitation and snowfall normals — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 1991–2020 Monthly Climate Normals, station KING CITY, CA US (USC00044555), 10.2 miles from the county centroid.
Heating and cooling degree days — NOAA, same station and period.
Electricity price — US Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A, California residential average.
Wet-season share is the wettest three consecutive months as a percentage of annual precipitation, calculated from the monthly normals.