California

San Ardo, California Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Priest Valley, 26.5 km from San Ardo

The warmest month is August, with an average high of 96°F; the coldest is December, with an average low of 30°F. A normal year brings 20.8 in of precipitation.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Paso Robles (PRB), since 1948. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at San Ardo through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 25

Normal high
88°F
Normal low
45°F
Record high
105°Fin 2009
Record low
34°Fin 1948
Chance of a wet day
4%
Daylight
12 h 02 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
January59°F30°F83°F (1976)12°F (2007)4.94 in9.719.36310
February60°F33°F84°F (2022)18°F (1971)4.19 in10.714.85140
March65°F34°F95°F (2026)20°F (1971)3.69 in8.013.54850
April71°F35°F99°F (1989)27°F (1953)1.34 in5.110.63641
May79°F41°F108°F (2000)30°F (1974)0.67 in2.23.319026
June89°F46°F115°F (2000)36°F (1988)0.06 in0.50.348117
July96°F51°F115°F (1961)41°F (1948)0.09 in0.30.04265
August96°F51°F114°F (1998)40°F (1968)0.02 in0.20.03269
September91°F47°F117°F (2020)34°F (1948)0.05 in0.60.233146
October79°F39°F108°F (2024)20°F (1971)0.88 in2.44.520921
November66°F32°F98°F (1966)18°F (1958)1.42 in5.016.54730
December58°F30°F83°F (1958)8°F (1990)3.45 in9.421.26510
Year76°F39°F20.80 in541043,603845

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.

20.8 in in a normal year, most in January.

Chance of a wet day

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

Frost and the growing season

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

The last spring freeze typically comes around May 8 and the first fall freeze around October 22, a growing season of about 165 days.

Median at 36°F
last May 31, first October 3
Median at 32°F
last May 8, first October 22
Median at 28°F
last April 15, first November 5

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

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

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

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January42°F78%99%1%0%0%0%0%
February43°F80%99%1%0%0%0%0%
March45°F79%100%0%0%0%0%0%
April45°F74%99%1%0%0%0%0%
May46°F67%98%2%0%0%0%0%
June46°F57%98%2%0%0%0%0%
July48°F51%95%4%1%0%0%0%
August48°F51%96%3%0%0%0%0%
September47°F53%96%4%0%0%0%0%
October44°F58%97%3%0%0%0%0%
November42°F68%99%1%0%0%0%0%
December40°F75%98%2%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 August, with the sky 11 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is January, at 54 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 June, averaging 8.9 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 16, with 14 h 37 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 19, with 9 h 42 min.

Hours of daylight at San Ardo 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 Monterey 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 Monterey County: 72.1°F (+1.8 °F against 1991-2020), the 3rd warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in Monterey County: 0.05 in (+0.03 in against 1991-2020), the 15th wettest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Monterey County: 61.9°F (+2.5 °F against 1991-2020), the 2nd warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Monterey County: 12.45 in (-1.91 in against 1991-2020), the 66th driest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
73.9°F in 2020
Coolest August
65.0°F in 1907
Wettest August
0.20 in in 1976
Driest August
0.00 in in 1898

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in Monterey 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 San Ardo 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 1948. 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 USC00047150 (Priest Valley), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USW00093209, 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.