Climate and average weather in Fullerton

In Fullerton, the summers are warm, dry, and clear and the winters are mild and mostly clear.

Best: early April to late November

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Fullerton typically varies from 49°F to 81°F, and is rarely below 43°F or above 89°F. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Fullerton for warm-weather activities is from early April to late November.

Hottest
Aug
81°
Coldest
Jan
49°
Wettest
Feb
3.1 in
Driest
Aug
0.0 in
Rain / yr
12.2 in
31 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
164 ft
33.9°N
Clearest
Aug
14% cloud

Fullerton is city in Orange County, California, United States.

Density
2,423/km²
people per km²
Founded
1887

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

Fullerton 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 April to late November.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from July 1 to October 8, with daily high temperatures above 77°F. The hottest month of the year in Fullerton is August, with an average high of 81°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts 4.1 months, from November 29 to April 3, with daily high temperatures below 67°F. The coldest month of the year in Fullerton is January, with an average low of 49°F and high of 64°F.

Days typically run about 15°F warmer than nights year-round.

40°50°60°70°80°90°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan6449
Feb6550
Mar6653
Apr6955
May7158
Jun7461
Jul7964
Aug8165
Sep8064
Oct7660
Nov7054
Dec6549

Average hourly temperature in Fullerton

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 August afternoons, near 81°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 49°F.

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

Fullerton 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
Jan64° / 49°2.85.2106.8
Feb65° / 50°3.16.110.76.7
Mar66° / 53°1.85.111.77.0
Apr69° / 55°0.72.612.87.9
May71° / 58°0.31.513.78.3
Jun74° / 61°0.10.314.29.1
Jul79° / 64°0.10.4149.0
Aug81° / 65°0.00.113.38.9
Sep80° / 64°0.10.512.28.8
Oct76° / 60°0.61.911.18.8
Nov70° / 54°0.72.410.28.1
Dec65° / 49°1.94.99.86.9

Chance of rain

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

Fullerton gets about 12.2 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from around Nov 21 to Apr 16, peaking in February at about 23% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 16.

February is the wettest month by volume, with 3.1 in over about 6 wet days; August is the driest, with 0.0 in.

0%10%20%30%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainFeb 23 · 23%Aug 16 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan175
Feb216
Mar175
Apr93
May52
Jun10
Jul10
Aug00
Sep21
Oct62
Nov82
Dec165

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Fullerton collects about 12.2 in of rain across 31 wet days — roughly 1.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 3.1 in, while August is the driest at just 0.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 64% of the year’s total.

00.511.522.533.54JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.83.11.80.70.30.10.10.00.10.60.71.9
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan2.85
Feb3.16
Mar1.85
Apr0.73
May0.32
Jun0.10
Jul0.10
Aug0.00
Sep0.11
Oct0.62
Nov0.72
Dec1.95

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Fullerton, 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 18 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around November 4. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 95% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 5 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around May 17. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 41% 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 14 · 97%Feb 24 · 56%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6040
Feb5941
Mar6337
Apr7129
May7624
Jun8713
Jul937
Aug955
Sep919
Oct8218
Nov7327
Dec6436

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 19, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 19, only 9 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.07:025:00
Feb10.76:445:29
Mar11.76:095:54
Apr12.85:276:17
May13.74:556:41
Jun14.24:456:59
Jul14.04:566:59
Aug13.35:186:34
Sep12.25:405:52
Oct11.16:035:11
Nov10.26:314:43
Dec9.86:554:41

Sunny days

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

Fullerton averages about 20 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 13 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.9 months, from around May 31 to Oct 26. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 28 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 14 sunny days — about 50% fewer than the August peak.

05101520253035JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 1628 daysFeb 2613 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan15Mixed
Feb13Mixed
Mar14Mixed
Apr17Bright
May18Bright
Jun23Brilliant
Jul26Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct22Bright
Nov18Bright
Dec16Bright

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 Fullerton, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around June 22 to October 20. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 73% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 21 to June 21, and March is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 8 · 100%Aug 26 · 25%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan94600
Feb94600
Mar881200
Apr841510
May584020
Jun1867150
Jul142525
Aug1266211
Sep533539
Oct3044242
Nov732620
Dec93700

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.

Wind in Fullerton is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeMay 17 · 6 mphNov 13 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Fullerton

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid November, Fullerton is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Fullerton for general outdoor tourist activities is from early April to late November, with a peak score in the last week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 23 · 9.4

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
Jan6.8good
Feb6.7good
Mar7.0good
Apr7.8ideal
May8.3ideal
Jun9.1ideal
Jul9.0ideal
Aug8.9ideal
Sep8.9ideal
Oct8.8ideal
Nov8.1ideal
Dec6.9good

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 Fullerton for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late October, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 25 · 9.1

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 Fullerton, 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 August (highs near 81°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 64°F), pack a light layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Fullerton sees daytime highs around 81°F and nights near 65°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

Sea temperature near Fullerton

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 17 mi away) is warmest in August at about 69°F and coldest in February near 59°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 13 to Sep 28 — about 2.6 months when the water holds above 68°F.

60°65°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan59Cool
Feb59Cool
Mar59Cool
Apr60Cool
May63Cool
Jun65Cool
Jul68Refreshing
Aug69Refreshing
Sep69Refreshing
Oct67Cool
Nov64Cool
Dec60Cool

UV index (midday) in Fullerton 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 Fullerton peaks around July 11 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 11UV 11Dec 16UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Fullerton

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 July 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)
Jan2.50
Feb40
Mar50
Apr73.5
May7.54
Jun8.56
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep74
Oct50
Nov2.50
Dec00

Air quality in Fullerton 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 Fullerton is worst in September — around 49 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 4.0× the cleanest month (May, 12 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateSep 1447 µg/m³May 1713 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan18Moderate
Feb19Moderate
Mar19Moderate
Apr17Moderate
May12Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug32Moderate
Sep49Poor
Oct21Moderate
Nov21Moderate
Dec18Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Fullerton 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
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

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. Fullerton banks about 5,210 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan208
Feb210
Mar291
Apr354
May449
Jun528
Jul668
Aug715
Sep660
Oct558
Nov360
Dec209

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.

Fullerton receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.9 and 8.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 28. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.9 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.0 kWh/m² — roughly 62% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 268.0 kWhDec 162.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.1Moderate
Feb4.0Moderate
Mar5.3Bright
Apr6.6Intense
May7.3Intense
Jun7.9Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug7.3Intense
Sep6.1Intense
Oct4.7Bright
Nov3.6Moderate
Dec3.0Moderate

Where is Fullerton?

Fullerton sits at 33.9°N, 117.9°W, 164 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Anaheim, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Fullerton

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Fullerton has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 384 ft around an average of 197 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,654 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 10,010 ft.

The land around Fullerton is covered by artificial surfaces (83%) within 2 miles, artificial surfaces (76%) within 10 miles, and water (29%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
384 ft
10 miles
1,654 ft
50 miles
10,010 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Anaheim 2.5 mi · Placentia 3.1 mi · Brea 3.7 mi · Buena Park 4.3 mi · La Habra 4.3 mi · La Mirada 6.2 mi · Stanton 6.2 mi · Yorba Linda 6.8 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 Fullerton (33.8703°, -117.9253°, elevation 164 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).