Monterey weather in March

In March, Monterey sees average daytime highs of 54°F and overnight lows near 51°F, with 3.3 in of rain across 9.2 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 54°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 Monterey's 9th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Monterey's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 54°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 51°; 3rd coldest
Rainfall: 3.3 in; 9.2 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 42 min; 6:26 AM – 6:09 PM
Cloud cover: 52%; 9th clearest
Wind: 10 mph; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 4.96 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.4; out of 10

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

Density: 893/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1770

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

← February Monterey 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 54°F through the month.

A typical March day in Monterey reaches about 54°F in the afternoon and slips back to 51°F overnight — a 3°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 51°F and 57°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)	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54
Avg low (°F)	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	54	51
2	54	51
3	54	51
4	54	51
5	54	51
6	54	51
7	54	51
8	54	51
9	54	51
10	54	51
11	54	51
12	54	51
13	54	51
14	54	51
15	54	51
16	54	51
17	54	51
18	54	51
19	54	51
20	54	51
21	54	51
22	54	51
23	54	51
24	54	51
25	54	51
26	54	51
27	54	51
28	54	51
29	54	51
30	54	51
31	54	51

Monterey weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 11th-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° / 51°	4.5	10	9.8	3.6
Feb	54° / 51°	4.5	9.9	10.6	3.3
Mar	54° / 51°	3.3	9.2	11.7	3.4
Apr	54° / 51°	1.5	5.8	12.9	3.6
May	54° / 52°	0.6	3.3	13.9	4.0
Jun	55° / 53°	0.2	1.3	14.5	4.6
Jul	57° / 55°	0.0	0.1	14.2	5.2
Aug	59° / 56°	0.1	0.3	13.4	5.8
Sep	60° / 57°	0.1	0.7	12.2	6.2
Oct	60° / 56°	0.9	2.7	11.1	6.0
Nov	57° / 54°	2.1	5.8	10	4.7
Dec	55° / 52°	4.0	9.6	9.5	3.7

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 16% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 45%.

	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 (%)	54	54	54	53	53	53	52	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	54	54	55	55	55	56	57	58	59	60	60	61	62	62
Cloudier (%)	46	46	46	47	47	47	48	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	46	46	45	45	45	44	43	42	41	40	40	39	38	38

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	54	46
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	52	48
8	53	47
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	54	46
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	56	44
24	57	43
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	60	40
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Monterey gets around 3.3 in of rain over 9.2 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 29% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days. 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	35	34	34	33	32	32	31	30	30	29	29	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	27	27	27	26	25	25	24

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

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 10 mph on the calmest days to 11 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)	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
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	11	light breeze
2	10	light breeze
3	10	light breeze
4	10	light breeze
5	10	light breeze
6	10	light breeze
7	10	light breeze
8	10	light breeze
9	10	light breeze
10	10	light breeze
11	10	light breeze
12	10	light breeze
13	10	light breeze
14	10	light breeze
15	10	light breeze
16	10	light breeze
17	10	light breeze
18	10	light breeze
19	10	light breeze
20	10	light breeze
21	10	light breeze
22	10	light breeze
23	10	light breeze
24	11	light breeze
25	11	light breeze
26	11	light breeze
27	11	light breeze
28	11	light breeze
29	11	light breeze
30	11	light breeze
31	11	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 6:47 AM to 6:03 AM, and sunset from 5:55 PM to 6:22 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)	6:47	6:46	6:44	6:43	6:42	6:40	6:39	6:38	6:36	6:35	6:33	6:32	6:30	6:29	6:27	6:26	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)	5:55	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	6:08	6:09	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:17	6:17	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:22

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.1	6:47	5:55
2	11.2	6:46	5:55
3	11.2	6:44	5:56
4	11.2	6:43	5:57
5	11.3	6:42	5:58
6	11.3	6:40	5:59
7	11.4	6:39	6:00
8	11.4	6:38	6:01
9	11.4	6:36	6:02
10	11.5	6:35	6:03
11	11.5	6:33	6:04
12	11.6	6:32	6:05
13	11.6	6:30	6:06
14	11.6	6:29	6:07
15	11.7	6:27	6:08
16	11.7	6:26	6:09
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	6:15
24	12.0	6:14	6:16
25	12.1	6:12	6:17
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	6:22

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.96 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 2.49 kWh/m² to a high of 7.79 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 4.96 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)	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	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	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7
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	4.2	Bright
2	4.3	Bright
3	4.3	Bright
4	4.4	Bright
5	4.4	Bright
6	4.5	Bright
7	4.5	Bright
8	4.6	Bright
9	4.6	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.8	Bright
13	4.8	Bright
14	4.8	Bright
15	4.9	Bright
16	4.9	Bright
17	5.0	Bright
18	5.0	Bright
19	5.1	Bright
20	5.1	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.2	Bright
23	5.3	Bright
24	5.3	Bright
25	5.4	Bright
26	5.5	Bright
27	5.5	Bright
28	5.6	Bright
29	5.6	Bright
30	5.7	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Monterey

In seasonPeak

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

Monterey'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 March a good time to visit Monterey?

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

3.4

Sightseeing

11th-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Monterey.

What to pack for Monterey in March

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

In March, Monterey sees daytime highs around 54°F and nights near 51°F. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Monterey 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 offshore is warmest in September at about 58°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	58	58	57	55
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	58	Bracing
Oct	58	Bracing
Nov	57	Bracing
Dec	55	Bracing

UV index in Monterey 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 Monterey peaks around June 23 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 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	10	10	10	6	5	2	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	10	Extreme
Jul	10	Extreme
Aug	10	Very high
Sep	6	High
Oct	5	High
Nov	2	Moderate
Dec	2	Moderate

Air quality in Monterey 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 Monterey is worst in August — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.9× the cleanest month (June, 6 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)	7	9	8	7	7	6	6	17	11	10	9	6
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	7	Good
Feb	9	Good
Mar	8	Good
Apr	7	Good
May	7	Good
Jun	6	Good
Jul	6	Good
Aug	17	Moderate
Sep	11	Good
Oct	10	Good
Nov	9	Good
Dec	6	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Monterey?

Monterey sits at 36.6°N, 121.9°W, 26 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Pacific Grove, 1.9 mi away.

Topography around Monterey

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Monterey has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 843 ft around an average of 197 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,805 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,883 ft.

The land around Monterey is covered by trees (37%), artificial surfaces (31%) and water (27%) within 2 miles, water (51%) and trees (28%) within 10 miles, and water (35%), trees (29%) and grassland (25%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

843 ft

trees 37%

10 miles

2,805 ft

water 51%

50 miles

5,883 ft

water 35%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

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

March weather nearby: Pacific Grove 1.9 mi · Seaside 2.5 mi · Marina 7.5 mi · Salinas 14 mi · Prunedale 17 mi · Watsonville 23 mi · Big Sur 24 mi · Santa Cruz 27 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 Monterey (36.6002°, -121.8947°, elevation 26 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	54	51
2	54	51
3	54	51
4	54	51
5	54	51
6	54	51
7	54	51
8	54	51
9	54	51
10	54	51
11	54	51
12	54	51
13	54	51
14	54	51
15	54	51
16	54	51
17	54	51
18	54	51
19	54	51
20	54	51
21	54	51
22	54	51
23	54	51
24	54	51
25	54	51
26	54	51
27	54	51
28	54	51
29	54	51
30	54	51
31	54	51

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	54	46
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	52	48
8	53	47
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	54	46
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	56	44
24	57	43
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	60	40
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	35
3	34
4	34
5	33
6	32
7	32
8	31
9	30
10	30
11	29
12	29
13	28
14	28
15	28
16	28
17	29
18	29
19	29
20	29
21	29
22	29
23	28
24	28
25	27
26	27
27	27
28	26
29	25
30	25
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	54	51
2	54	51
3	54	51
4	54	51
5	54	51
6	54	51
7	54	51
8	54	51
9	54	51
10	54	51
11	54	51
12	54	51
13	54	51
14	54	51
15	54	51
16	54	51
17	54	51
18	54	51
19	54	51
20	54	51
21	54	51
22	54	51
23	54	51
24	54	51
25	54	51
26	54	51
27	54	51
28	54	51
29	54	51
30	54	51
31	54	51

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	54	46
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	52	48
8	53	47
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	54	46
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	56	44
24	57	43
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	60	40
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	35
3	34
4	34
5	33
6	32
7	32
8	31
9	30
10	30
11	29
12	29
13	28
14	28
15	28
16	28
17	29
18	29
19	29
20	29
21	29
22	29
23	28
24	28
25	27
26	27
27	27
28	26
29	25
30	25
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	54	51
2	54	51
3	54	51
4	54	51
5	54	51
6	54	51
7	54	51
8	54	51
9	54	51
10	54	51
11	54	51
12	54	51
13	54	51
14	54	51
15	54	51
16	54	51
17	54	51
18	54	51
19	54	51
20	54	51
21	54	51
22	54	51
23	54	51
24	54	51
25	54	51
26	54	51
27	54	51
28	54	51
29	54	51
30	54	51
31	54	51

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	54	46
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	53	47
6	53	47
7	52	48
8	53	47
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	53	47
14	53	47
15	53	47
16	53	47
17	53	47
18	54	46
19	54	46
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	56	44
24	57	43
25	58	42
26	59	41
27	60	40
28	60	40
29	61	39
30	62	38
31	62	38

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