California

Montara, California Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Pacifica 4 Sse, 6.8 km from Montara

The warmest month is September, with an average high of 72°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of 45°F. A normal year brings 31.9 in of precipitation.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Half Moon Bay (HAF), since 1939. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Montara through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.020406080100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 24

Normal high
72°F
Normal low
53°F
Record high
91°Fin 1954
Record low
40°Fin 2004
Chance of a wet day
7%
Daylight
12 h 04 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January58°F45°F76°F (2009)27°F (1949)6.14 in10.80.34120
February60°F46°F79°F (2026)22°F (2003)6.48 in11.90.13350
March61°F46°F83°F (2004)28°F (2007)4.45 in9.70.03502
April64°F48°F84°F (2000)31°F (2008)2.36 in6.30.02803
May67°F49°F82°F (2011)33°F (2008)1.00 in4.30.02219
June69°F51°F89°F (2019)36°F (2007)0.25 in1.70.016711
July69°F52°F81°F (1970)40°F (1982)0.01 in0.30.014012
August71°F53°F88°F (1968)41°F (1975)0.08 in1.30.010820
September72°F53°F92°F (2019)35°F (2007)0.11 in1.60.09429
October70°F52°F94°F (2003)33°F (1946)1.50 in3.50.014628
November64°F50°F87°F (1966)30°F (2020)2.86 in6.70.02485
December59°F46°F79°F (1958)19°F (1990)6.64 in10.60.23880
Year65°F49°F31.88 in6912,891120

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

31.9 in in a normal year, most in December.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Montara, in percent.010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Pacifica 4 Sse. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

A freeze (32°F or colder) happens in only 20 percent of years at Pacifica 4 Sse, so there is no typical freeze season.

Median at 36°F
last January 25, first January 4
Median at 32°F
last January 11, first January 10

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Montara.

Days with a mean dew point of 65°F or more are rare here in every month.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January46°F84%98%2%0%0%0%0%
February47°F83%98%2%0%0%0%0%
March48°F84%99%1%0%0%0%0%
April48°F84%99%1%0%0%0%0%
May50°F85%95%5%0%0%0%0%
June52°F85%91%9%0%0%0%0%
July54°F86%69%31%0%0%0%0%
August55°F86%43%56%1%0%0%0%
September55°F83%52%45%3%0%0%0%
October52°F80%75%25%1%0%0%0%
November49°F80%91%9%0%0%0%0%
December46°F81%95%5%0%0%0%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is October, with the sky 47 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is February, at 61 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is April, averaging 11.2 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 16, with 14 h 46 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 16, with 9 h 34 min.

Hours of daylight at Montara through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How San Mateo County is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in San Mateo County: 65.0°F (+0.5 °F against 1991-2020), the 17th warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in San Mateo County: 0.03 in (-0.02 in against 1991-2020), the 40th wettest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in San Mateo County: 59.2°F (+2.1 °F against 1991-2020), the 3rd warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in San Mateo County: 15.30 in (-3.38 in against 1991-2020), the 56th driest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
68.0°F in 2020
Coolest August
58.5°F in 1911
Wettest August
0.41 in in 1976
Driest August
0.00 in in 1895

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in San Mateo County against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1895 to 2025.-6-4-20+2+4+61900192019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

California climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Montara in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1939. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Nearby

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USC00046599 (Pacifica 4 Sse), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USC00043714, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-24. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.