Menlo Park in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Menlo Park sees average daytime highs around 58°F and overnight lows near 46°F, with 11.8 in of rain over about 28 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 58°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Menlo Park's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Menlo Park's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
58°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
46°F
Rainfall
11.8 in
28 wet days
Avg wind
5 mph
Travel score
4.2
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Menlo Park in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 58°F.

A typical winter day in Menlo Park reaches about 58°F and drops to 46°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

30°40°50°60°70°DecJanFeb

Menlo Park weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan57° / 45°3.99.49.74.1
Feb59° / 47°4.29.310.64.5
Mar61° / 48°3.29.111.75.3
Apr63° / 49°1.65.612.96.4
May66° / 52°0.83.3147.4
Jun70° / 54°0.20.914.58.5
Jul73° / 56°0.00.214.39.1
Aug74° / 57°0.00.113.49.2
Sep74° / 57°0.10.412.39.2
Oct71° / 54°0.93118.2
Nov63° / 49°2.06106.1
Dec57° / 46°3.79.39.54.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Menlo Park gets around 11.8 in of rain over 28 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 5 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.7 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Menlo Park

In seasonPeak

In winter, Menlo Park overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Menlo Park's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Menlo Park?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.2
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Menlo Park for sightseeing.

What to pack for Menlo Park in Winter

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

In winter, Menlo Park sees daytime highs around 58°F and nights near 46°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 28 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Menlo Park in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 54°F across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 12 mi away) is warmest in August 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.

52°54°56°58°60°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan54Bracing
Feb54Bracing
Mar54Bracing
Apr54Bracing
May54Bracing
Jun55Bracing
Jul57Bracing
Aug59Bracing
Sep59Bracing
Oct58Bracing
Nov56Bracing
Dec55Bracing

UV index in Menlo Park in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Menlo Park 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
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul10Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep6High
Oct5High
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Menlo Park in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

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

Air quality in Menlo Park 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
Location & terrain

Where is Menlo Park?

Menlo Park sits at 37.5°N, 122.2°W, 72 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Palo Alto, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Menlo Park

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Menlo Park has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 177 ft around an average of 72 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,949 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,449 ft.

The land around Menlo Park is covered by trees (61%) and artificial surfaces (36%) within 2 miles, trees (39%), water (26%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 10 miles, and water (38%), trees (25%) and grassland (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
177 ft
10 miles
2,949 ft
50 miles
4,449 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Palo Alto 2.5 mi · East Palo Alto 2.5 mi · Redwood City 3.7 mi · San Carlos 5.6 mi · Los Altos 6.2 mi · Belmont 6.8 mi · Mountain View 7.5 mi · Foster City 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 Menlo Park (37.4538°, -122.1822°, elevation 72 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.