California has a Mediterranean-like climate and the summers are usually dry and warm, while its winters are mild and wet. Nevertheless, the climate varies widely and depends on elevation, latitude, and proximity to the coast. Hence, the Mediterranean climate is mostly present in the coastal regions, including the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Hence, the winter months there are warmer while the summer months are substantially cooler.
What’s the Coldest Month in California?
The hottest month of the year in the Golden State is July when the average temperature is 22°C (72°F). On the other hand, the coldest month in the country is January with an average temperature of 13°C (55°F). So, during the coldest month of the year, the climate is also the wettest with an average of 79mm of rain. The second coldest month of the year in California is February with average lows around 9.4°C (49°F). In Los Angeles County, the coldest month is December when the average temperature overnight is 48.3°F.
When Is the Best Time to Visit California?
The Pacific Ocean touches all 1,000 miles of California and as a result, the country experiences a Mediterranean type of climate. During the summer, the ocean provides cool breezes, while it keeps the temperature warmer in winter. We must mention that this all depends on which place we are talking about in California. So, we took Los Angeles as a reference as the most populous city in the country.
Hence, Los Angeles has sunny and hot summers and mild with average lows in the mid-forties winters. It can snow, but mainly in the surrounding San Gabriel Mountains during the winter months, as also the majority of the scarce rainfall of 381mm (15″). On average, it rains or snows consistently 3 times per month. Consequently, these times of the year are the slowest with tourists.
If you want to visit California, the best month to do so is during spring, from March to May. It’s then when the average temperatures are in the low 10°C (50°F) to low 26.7°C (80°F). Likewise, the air quality in spring is the best of all the seasons. Hence, you can explore many places and enjoy walking around. Besides spring, autumn is the other season when the weather is good for exploring the country. However, if you want to visit the beaches in California, September is the best month as the average sea temperature is 20°C (68°F).
On the other hand, the worst time to visit Sunny California would probably be summer from June to August. This is a period of the year when the weather is too hot and the temperature rises to 26.7°C (80°F). That’s also when the ocean is too crowded as everyone wants to escape the heat. During the summer months, there is a lot of smoke, which makes the environment very unhealthy. Nevertheless, July, September, and August are the busiest months for tourism in Southern California.
It’s also important to note that California is prone to earthquakes and resultant tsunamis. For instance, about 10,000 earthquakes occur in South California, but most of them are too small to notice. Los Angeles, for example, is one of the most polluted cities in the United States and it faces issues of poor air quality during the smog season from May to October.
