Climate and average weather in Lake Elsinore

In Lake Elsinore, the summers are hot, dry, and clear and the winters are mild and mostly clear.

Best: mid March to late June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Lake Elsinore typically varies from 42°F to 91°F, and is rarely below 34°F or above 99°F. August is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Lake Elsinore for warm-weather activities are from mid March to late June and late September to early December.

Hottest
Aug
91°
Coldest
Dec
42°
Wettest
Feb
4.1 in
Driest
Aug
0.1 in
Rain / yr
16.6 in
41 wet days
Daylight
9.8–14.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,296 ft
33.7°N
Clearest
Aug
12% cloud

Lake Elsinore is city in Riverside County, California, United States.

Density
551/km²
people per km²
Founded
1888

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

Lake Elsinore 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 mid March to late June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.5 months, from June 19 to October 1, with daily high temperatures above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in Lake Elsinore is August, with an average high of 91°F and low of 67°F.

The cool season lasts 4.2 months, from November 24 to March 30, with daily high temperatures below 68°F. The coldest month of the year in Lake Elsinore is December, with an average low of 42°F and high of 63°F.

Days typically run about 22°F warmer than nights year-round.

40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan6442
Feb6444
Mar6747
Apr7150
May7655
Jun8360
Jul8966
Aug9167
Sep8764
Oct8056
Nov7047
Dec6342

How hot and cold Lake Elsinore really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Lake Elsinore feels like about 91°F (around August 23). About 46 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan64644042
Feb64644244
Mar67674547
Apr71714950
May76765555
Jun83836160
Jul89896666
Aug91916767
Sep87876464
Oct80805656
Nov70704647
Dec63633942

Average hourly temperature in Lake Elsinore

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 91°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 42°F.

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

Lake Elsinore 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° / 42°3.26.4106.5
Feb64° / 44°4.17.110.76.4
Mar67° / 47°2.56.311.77.0
Apr71° / 50°1.24.412.87.9
May76° / 55°0.62.513.78.7
Jun83° / 60°0.10.714.27.8
Jul89° / 66°0.10.9145.5
Aug91° / 67°0.10.613.25.0
Sep87° / 64°0.21.112.26.1
Oct80° / 56°0.82.811.28.3
Nov70° / 47°1.23.310.38.0
Dec63° / 42°2.45.29.86.5

Chance of rain

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

Lake Elsinore gets about 16.6 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 5.4 months, from around Nov 21 to May 2, peaking in February at about 28% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 22.

February is the wettest month by volume, with 4.1 in over about 7 wet days; August is the driest, with 0.1 in.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetFeb 21 · 28%Jun 22 · 1%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan206
Feb257
Mar216
Apr144
May83
Jun21
Jul31
Aug21
Sep41
Oct93
Nov113
Dec175

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Lake Elsinore collects about 16.6 in of rain across 41 wet days — roughly 1.4 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 4.1 in, while August is the driest at just 0.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 59% of the year’s total.

012345JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.24.12.51.20.60.10.10.10.20.81.22.4
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan3.26
Feb4.17
Mar2.56
Apr1.24
May0.63
Jun0.11
Jul0.11
Aug0.11
Sep0.21
Oct0.83
Nov1.23
Dec2.45

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Lake Elsinore, 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 16 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around November 6. 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 7 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around May 15. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% 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 15 · 96%Feb 23 · 55%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6040
Feb5743
Mar6139
Apr7030
May7723
Jun9010
Jul919
Aug955
Sep928
Oct8416
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 8, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.06:594:58
Feb10.76:415:27
Mar11.76:075:51
Apr12.85:246:15
May13.74:536:38
Jun14.24:436:56
Jul14.04:546:56
Aug13.25:166:31
Sep12.25:375:50
Oct11.26:005:09
Nov10.36:284:41
Dec9.86:524:39

Sunny days

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

Lake Elsinore averages about 20 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 12 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around May 20 to Oct 28. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 13 sunny days — about 51% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 1928 daysFeb 2612 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan15Mixed
Feb12Mixed
Mar14Mixed
Apr17Bright
May20Bright
Jun25Brilliant
Jul26Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep26Brilliant
Oct23Bright
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 Lake Elsinore, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.3 months, from around June 22 to September 28. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 32% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 29 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 5 · 100%Jul 30 · 59%humiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar99100
Apr96400
May811710
Jun553860
Jul2147266
Aug2242307
Sep4536163
Oct821621
Nov98200
Dec100000

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 Lake Elsinore is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeApr 19 · 4 mphAug 25 · 3 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar4calm
Apr4calm
May4calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Best time to visit Lake Elsinore

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late March, Lake Elsinore 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 times of year to visit Lake Elsinore for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid March to late June and again from late September to early December, with a peak score in the last week of May.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 28 · 8.8

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
Jan6.5good
Feb6.4good
Mar6.9good
Apr7.9ideal
May8.6ideal
Jun7.8ideal
Jul5.6good
Aug5.0fair
Sep6.2good
Oct8.2ideal
Nov8.0ideal
Dec6.5good

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 Lake Elsinore for hot-weather activities is from mid May to late October, with a peak score in the third week of June.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 21 · 9.2

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 Lake Elsinore, 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 91°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 63°F), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Lake Elsinore sees daytime highs around 91°F and nights near 67°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

Sea temperature near Lake Elsinore

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 27 mi away) is warmest in August at about 70°F and coldest in January near 59°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 6 to Oct 6 — about 3.1 months when the water holds above 68°F.

60°65°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan59Cool
Feb59Cool
Mar60Cool
Apr61Cool
May63Cool
Jun66Cool
Jul69Refreshing
Aug70Refreshing
Sep70Refreshing
Oct67Cool
Nov64Cool
Dec61Cool

UV index (midday) in Lake Elsinore 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 Lake Elsinore peaks around July 12 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 12UV 11Dec 17UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Lake Elsinore

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)
Jan30
Feb4.50
Mar5.50
Apr73.5
May85
Jun8.56
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep74
Oct5.50
Nov30
Dec00

Air quality in Lake Elsinore 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 Lake Elsinore is worst in September — around 40 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 5.4× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodSep 1437 µg/m³Dec 207 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar11Good
Apr10Good
May8Good
Jun19Moderate
Jul12Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep40Poor
Oct10Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Lake Elsinore 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
Jan970
Feb990
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec970

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. Lake Elsinore banks about 5,283 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan88
Feb112
Mar215
Apr321
May486
Jun653
Jul854
Aug901
Sep765
Oct545
Nov266
Dec77

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.

Lake Elsinore receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.0 and 8.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 29. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.0 kWh/m² — roughly 63% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 228.3 kWhDec 173.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.2Moderate
Feb4.0Bright
Mar5.5Bright
Apr6.7Intense
May7.5Intense
Jun8.2Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug7.3Intense
Sep6.2Intense
Oct4.9Bright
Nov3.6Moderate
Dec3.0Moderate

Where is Lake Elsinore?

Lake Elsinore sits at 33.7°N, 117.3°W, 1,296 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Wildomar, 5.6 mi away.

Topography around Lake Elsinore

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Lake Elsinore has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 682 ft around an average of 1,329 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,560 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 11,424 ft.

The land around Lake Elsinore is covered by grassland (29%), water (28%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 2 miles, grassland (28%), shrubs (25%) and trees (24%) within 10 miles, and shrubs (25%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
682 ft
10 miles
3,560 ft
50 miles
11,424 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Wildomar 5.6 mi · Sun City 8.1 mi · Perris 9.9 mi · Murrieta 9.9 mi · Menifee 11 mi · Mead Valley 12 mi · Temecula 16 mi · Rancho Santa Margarita 16 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 Lake Elsinore (33.6681°, -117.3273°, elevation 1,296 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).