Big Sur weather in March

In March, Big Sur sees average daytime highs of 56°F and overnight lows near 46°F, with 3.4 in of precipitation across 8.3 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 56°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 06 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Big Sur's 9th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Big Sur's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 56°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 46°; 4th coldest
Precipitation: 3.4 in; 8.3 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 42 min; 6:25 AM – 6:08 PM
Cloud cover: 51%; 9th clearest
Wind: 9 mph; 5th windiest
Solar energy: 5.19 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.1; out of 10

Big Sur is region in Monterey County, California, United States.

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

← February Big Sur year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 56°F through the month.

A typical March day in Big Sur reaches about 56°F in the afternoon and slips back to 46°F overnight — a 10°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 50°F and 63°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs on par with February and on par with April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	55	55	55	55	55	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56
Avg low (°F)	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	47	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	46
2	55	46
3	55	46
4	55	46
5	55	46
6	56	46
7	56	46
8	56	46
9	56	46
10	56	46
11	56	46
12	56	46
13	56	46
14	56	46
15	56	47
16	56	47
17	56	47
18	56	46
19	56	46
20	56	46
21	56	46
22	56	46
23	56	46
24	56	46
25	56	46
26	56	46
27	56	46
28	56	46
29	56	46
30	56	46
31	56	46

Big Sur weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 9th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	55° / 46°	5.1	9.3	9.8	3.7
Feb	55° / 46°	4.8	9.3	10.6	3.6
Mar	56° / 46°	3.4	8.3	11.7	4.1
Apr	57° / 47°	1.7	5.7	12.9	4.7
May	59° / 49°	0.7	2.6	13.9	5.8
Jun	63° / 51°	0.1	0.4	14.4	7.4
Jul	66° / 54°	0.0	0.1	14.2	8.3
Aug	67° / 55°	0.1	0.3	13.4	8.5
Sep	67° / 55°	0.1	0.6	12.2	8.4
Oct	65° / 53°	0.9	2.4	11.1	7.6
Nov	59° / 49°	2.2	6.1	10.1	5.3
Dec	55° / 46°	4.5	9.2	9.6	3.8

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 46%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	51	51	51	51	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	51	51	51	51	51	52	52	54	54	55	56	57	58	58	59	60	61	62	62	62
Cloudier (%)	49	49	49	49	50	50	50	50	50	50	50	49	49	49	49	49	48	48	46	46	45	44	43	42	42	41	40	39	38	38	38

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	51	49
15	51	49
16	51	49
17	52	48
18	52	48
19	54	46
20	54	46
21	55	45
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	62	38

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Big Sur gets around 3.4 in of rain and snow over 8.3 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 27% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	35	34	33	32	32	31	30	29	28	27	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	34
3	33
4	32
5	32
6	31
7	30
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	26
12	26
13	25
14	25
15	25
16	25
17	25
18	25
19	25
20	25
21	25
22	25
23	25
24	25
25	25
26	25
27	24
28	24
29	24
30	24
31	24

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 9 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 8 mph on the calmest days to 9 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	9	light breeze
2	9	light breeze
3	9	light breeze
4	8	light breeze
5	8	light breeze
6	8	light breeze
7	8	light breeze
8	8	light breeze
9	8	light breeze
10	8	light breeze
11	8	light breeze
12	8	light breeze
13	8	light breeze
14	8	light breeze
15	9	light breeze
16	9	light breeze
17	9	light breeze
18	9	light breeze
19	9	light breeze
20	9	light breeze
21	9	light breeze
22	9	light breeze
23	9	light breeze
24	9	light breeze
25	9	light breeze
26	9	light breeze
27	9	light breeze
28	9	light breeze
29	9	light breeze
30	9	light breeze
31	9	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 06 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:46 AM to 6:03 AM, and sunset from 5:54 PM to 6:21 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3
Sunrise (AM)	6:46	6:45	6:44	6:42	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:36	6:34	6:33	6:31	6:30	6:28	6:27	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:18	6:17	6:15	6:14	6:12	6:11	6:09	6:08	6:06	6:05	6:03
Sunset (PM)	5:54	5:55	5:56	5:57	5:58	5:59	6:00	6:01	6:02	6:03	6:04	6:05	6:06	6:07	6:07	6:08	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:21

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.1	6:46	5:54
2	11.2	6:45	5:55
3	11.2	6:44	5:56
4	11.2	6:42	5:57
5	11.3	6:41	5:58
6	11.3	6:40	5:59
7	11.4	6:38	6:00
8	11.4	6:37	6:01
9	11.4	6:36	6:02
10	11.5	6:34	6:03
11	11.5	6:33	6:04
12	11.6	6:31	6:05
13	11.6	6:30	6:06
14	11.6	6:28	6:07
15	11.7	6:27	6:07
16	11.7	6:25	6:08
17	11.8	6:24	6:09
18	11.8	6:23	6:10
19	11.8	6:21	6:11
20	11.9	6:20	6:12
21	11.9	6:18	6:13
22	12.0	6:17	6:14
23	12.0	6:15	6:14
24	12.0	6:14	6:15
25	12.1	6:12	6:16
26	12.1	6:11	6:17
27	12.1	6:09	6:18
28	12.2	6:08	6:19
29	12.2	6:06	6:20
30	12.3	6:05	6:21
31	12.3	6:03	6:21

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 5.19 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.59 kWh/m² to a high of 8.18 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 5.19 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.4	Bright
2	4.4	Bright
3	4.5	Bright
4	4.5	Bright
5	4.6	Bright
6	4.7	Bright
7	4.7	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.9	Bright
11	4.9	Bright
12	5.0	Bright
13	5.0	Bright
14	5.1	Bright
15	5.1	Bright
16	5.2	Bright
17	5.2	Bright
18	5.3	Bright
19	5.3	Bright
20	5.4	Bright
21	5.4	Bright
22	5.5	Bright
23	5.5	Bright
24	5.6	Bright
25	5.6	Bright
26	5.7	Bright
27	5.7	Bright
28	5.8	Bright
29	5.8	Bright
30	5.9	Bright
31	5.9	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Big Sur

In seasonPeak

In March, Big Sur sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Big Sur's rainy season runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is March a good time to visit Big Sur?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

4.1

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

10th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Big Sur for sightseeing.

What to pack for Big Sur in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Big Sur sees daytime highs around 56°F and nights near 46°F. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Big Sur in March

The nearest coast averages about 55°F in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 8 mi away) is warmest in September at about 59°F and coldest in April near 54°F.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°F)	55	55	55	54	54	55	57	58	59	58	57	56
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°F)	Comfort
Jan	55	Bracing
Feb	55	Bracing
Mar	55	Bracing
Apr	54	Bracing
May	54	Bracing
Jun	55	Bracing
Jul	57	Bracing
Aug	58	Bracing
Sep	59	Bracing
Oct	58	Bracing
Nov	57	Bracing
Dec	56	Bracing

UV index in Big Sur in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Big Sur peaks around June 22 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 12 at about 2 (moderate).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	3	4	5	7	8	11	10	10	7	5	3	2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	3	Moderate
Feb	4	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	7	High
May	8	Very high
Jun	11	Extreme
Jul	10	Extreme
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	7	High
Oct	5	High
Nov	3	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Air quality in Big Sur in March

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where March falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Big Sur is worst in September — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 7.0× the cleanest month (December, 4 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	4	5	5	5	5	5	16	25	27	6	4	4
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	4	Good
Feb	5	Good
Mar	5	Good
Apr	5	Good
May	5	Good
Jun	5	Good
Jul	16	Moderate
Aug	25	Moderate
Sep	27	Moderate
Oct	6	Good
Nov	4	Good
Dec	4	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Big Sur?

Big Sur sits at 36.3°N, 121.8°W, 0 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Monterey, 24 mi away.

Topography around Big Sur

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Big Sur has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,455 ft around an average of 1,145 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,918 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,758 ft.

The land around Big Sur is covered by trees (77%) within 2 miles, water (45%) and trees (43%) within 10 miles, and water (40%), grassland (27%) and trees (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

3,455 ft

trees 77%

10 miles

4,918 ft

water 45%

50 miles

5,758 ft

water 40%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← February Big Sur year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Monterey 24 mi · Seaside 24 mi · Pacific Grove 25 mi · Marina 29 mi · Soledad 29 mi · Salinas 29 mi · Greenfield 32 mi · Prunedale 36 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

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 Big Sur (36.2702°, -121.8075°, elevation 0 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).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	46
2	55	46
3	55	46
4	55	46
5	55	46
6	56	46
7	56	46
8	56	46
9	56	46
10	56	46
11	56	46
12	56	46
13	56	46
14	56	46
15	56	47
16	56	47
17	56	47
18	56	46
19	56	46
20	56	46
21	56	46
22	56	46
23	56	46
24	56	46
25	56	46
26	56	46
27	56	46
28	56	46
29	56	46
30	56	46
31	56	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	51	49
15	51	49
16	51	49
17	52	48
18	52	48
19	54	46
20	54	46
21	55	45
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	34
3	33
4	32
5	32
6	31
7	30
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	26
12	26
13	25
14	25
15	25
16	25
17	25
18	25
19	25
20	25
21	25
22	25
23	25
24	25
25	25
26	25
27	24
28	24
29	24
30	24
31	24

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	46
2	55	46
3	55	46
4	55	46
5	55	46
6	56	46
7	56	46
8	56	46
9	56	46
10	56	46
11	56	46
12	56	46
13	56	46
14	56	46
15	56	47
16	56	47
17	56	47
18	56	46
19	56	46
20	56	46
21	56	46
22	56	46
23	56	46
24	56	46
25	56	46
26	56	46
27	56	46
28	56	46
29	56	46
30	56	46
31	56	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	51	49
15	51	49
16	51	49
17	52	48
18	52	48
19	54	46
20	54	46
21	55	45
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	34
3	33
4	32
5	32
6	31
7	30
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	26
12	26
13	25
14	25
15	25
16	25
17	25
18	25
19	25
20	25
21	25
22	25
23	25
24	25
25	25
26	25
27	24
28	24
29	24
30	24
31	24

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	46
2	55	46
3	55	46
4	55	46
5	55	46
6	56	46
7	56	46
8	56	46
9	56	46
10	56	46
11	56	46
12	56	46
13	56	46
14	56	46
15	56	47
16	56	47
17	56	47
18	56	46
19	56	46
20	56	46
21	56	46
22	56	46
23	56	46
24	56	46
25	56	46
26	56	46
27	56	46
28	56	46
29	56	46
30	56	46
31	56	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	51	49
4	51	49
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	51	49
13	51	49
14	51	49
15	51	49
16	51	49
17	52	48
18	52	48
19	54	46
20	54	46
21	55	45
22	56	44
23	57	43
24	58	42
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	61	39
29	62	38
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	34
3	33
4	32
5	32
6	31
7	30
8	29
9	28
10	27
11	26
12	26
13	25
14	25
15	25
16	25
17	25
18	25
19	25
20	25
21	25
22	25
23	25
24	25
25	25
26	25
27	24
28	24
29	24
30	24
31	24

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100