Climate and average weather in Alameda

In Alameda, the summers are warm, dry, and clear and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: early May to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Alameda typically varies from 44°F to 76°F, and is rarely below 36°F or above 87°F. September is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Alameda for warm-weather activities is from early May to late October.

Hottest
Sep
76°
Coldest
Jan
44°
Wettest
Feb
3.8 in
Driest
Jul
0.0 in
Rain / yr
18.7 in
55 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
33 ft
37.8°N
Clearest
Jul
19% cloud

Alameda is city in Alameda County, California, United States.

Density
1,322/km²
people per km²
Founded
1872

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Alameda weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early May to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Alameda, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.6 months, from June 4 to October 21, with daily high temperatures above 71°F. The hottest month of the year in Alameda is September, with an average high of 76°F and low of 55°F.

The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from November 28 to February 24, with daily high temperatures below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Alameda is January, with an average low of 44°F and high of 57°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 21°F) in September.

40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5744
Feb6045
Mar6247
Apr6649
May6952
Jun7354
Jul7556
Aug7656
Sep7655
Oct7253
Nov6347
Dec5744

Average hourly temperature in Alameda

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on September afternoons, near 76°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 44°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Alameda weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan57° / 44°3.79.49.74.2
Feb60° / 45°3.89.110.54.8
Mar62° / 47°2.98.811.75.7
Apr66° / 49°1.34.912.96.9
May69° / 52°0.73.2147.8
Jun73° / 54°0.10.914.69.0
Jul75° / 56°0.00.214.39.4
Aug76° / 56°0.00.113.59.4
Sep76° / 55°0.10.412.39.3
Oct72° / 53°0.82.9118.4
Nov63° / 47°1.85.7106.3
Dec57° / 44°3.49.39.44.2

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Alameda gets about 18.7 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.6 months, from around Nov 3 to Apr 20, peaking in February at about 35% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 5.

February is the wettest month by volume, with 3.8 in over about 9 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.0 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetFeb 20 · 35%Aug 5 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan309
Feb339
Mar289
Apr175
May103
Jun31
Jul10
Aug10
Sep20
Oct93
Nov206
Dec309

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Alameda collects about 18.7 in of rain across 55 wet days — roughly 1.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 3.8 in, while July is the driest at just 0.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 58% of the year’s total.

00.511.522.533.544.5JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.73.82.91.30.70.10.00.00.10.81.83.4
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan3.79
Feb3.89
Mar2.99
Apr1.35
May0.73
Jun0.11
Jul0.00
Aug0.00
Sep0.10
Oct0.83
Nov1.86
Dec3.49

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Alameda, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 5 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around November 1. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 93% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 2 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around May 4. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 31 · 94%Jan 9 · 42%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4357
Feb4555
Mar5050
Apr6238
May7129
Jun8515
Jul937
Aug928
Sep919
Oct7723
Nov5842
Dec4852

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.77:295:08
Feb10.57:075:40
Mar11.76:286:10
Apr12.95:406:38
May14.05:047:06
Jun14.64:517:27
Jul14.35:037:26
Aug13.55:296:57
Sep12.35:566:11
Oct11.06:245:24
Nov10.06:564:52
Dec9.47:234:47

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Alameda averages about 17 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 27 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.4 months, from around May 20 to Oct 29. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 26 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 10 sunny days — about 63% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 3127 daysFeb 179 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr13Mixed
May17Bright
Jun23Brilliant
Jul27Brilliant
Aug27Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct20Bright
Nov14Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Alameda, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in September, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 2% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan9910
Feb9910
Mar9910
Apr9820
May9640
Jun90100
Jul71290
Aug61381
Sep72272
Oct87121
Nov9460
Dec9640

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Alameda is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.5 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 2. The windiest month is June, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Sep 3 to Mar 20, with November the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeJun 3 · 8 mphNov 7 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr7calm
May8light breeze
Jun8light breeze
Jul7calm
Aug7calm
Sep6calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Alameda

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Alameda throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid May, Alameda is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Alameda for general outdoor tourist activities is from early May to late October, with a peak score in the second week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 10 · 9.5

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan4.2fair
Feb4.8fair
Mar5.7good
Apr6.9good
May7.8ideal
Jun8.9ideal
Jul9.4ideal
Aug9.4ideal
Sep9.3ideal
Oct8.4ideal
Nov6.3good
Dec4.2fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Alameda for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 2 · 8.2

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Alameda, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around September (highs near 76°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 57°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In September, Alameda sees daytime highs around 76°F and nights near 55°F. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

Sea temperature near Alameda

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 21 mi away) is warmest in September at about 58°F and coldest in April near 53°F.

The water stays below 68°F all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

52°54°56°58°60°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan53Bracing
Feb53Bracing
Mar54Bracing
Apr53Bracing
May53Bracing
Jun54Bracing
Jul56Bracing
Aug58Bracing
Sep58Bracing
Oct57Bracing
Nov55Bracing
Dec54Bracing

UV index (midday) in Alameda by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Alameda peaks around June 23 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 10Dec 15UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul10Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep6High
Oct5High
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Alameda

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb30
Mar50
Apr6.52
May84.5
Jun8.56
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep61.5
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Alameda by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Alameda is worst in August — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (June, 10 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateAug 1824 µg/m³Jun 1110 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb18Moderate
Mar16Moderate
Apr12Moderate
May10Good
Jun10Good
Jul11Good
Aug25Moderate
Sep17Moderate
Oct20Moderate
Nov18Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Alameda is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan980
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec980

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Alameda banks about 3,176 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan14
Feb73
Mar150
Apr215
May320
Jun405
Jul469
Aug492
Sep471
Oct385
Nov164
Dec18

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Alameda receives about 5.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.2 and 7.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 25 to Sep 29. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.2 kWh/m² — roughly 72% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 217.9 kWhDec 152.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.4Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.7Bright
Apr6.2Intense
May7.1Intense
Jun7.8Intense
Jul7.7Intense
Aug6.9Intense
Sep5.8Bright
Oct4.2Bright
Nov2.8Moderate
Dec2.2Moderate

Where is Alameda?

Alameda sits at 37.8°N, 122.3°W, 33 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Oakland, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Alameda

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Alameda.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Alameda has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 121 ft around an average of 16 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,906 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,452 ft.

The land around Alameda is covered by artificial surfaces (59%) and water (31%) within 2 miles, water (43%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 10 miles, and water (32%), grassland (25%) and trees (23%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
121 ft
10 miles
1,906 ft
50 miles
4,452 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Oakland 2.5 mi · San Leandro 6.8 mi · Berkeley 6.8 mi · Bayview-Hunters Point 7.5 mi · Albany 8.1 mi · Chinatown 8.1 mi · Moraga 8.7 mi · Orinda 8.7 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Alameda (37.771°, -122.2609°, elevation 33 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).