Pacific Palisades in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Pacific Palisades sees average daytime highs around 63°F and overnight lows near 49°F, with 8.5 in of rain over about 16 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 63°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
63°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
49°F
Rainfall
8.5 in
16 wet days
Avg wind
5 mph
Travel score
6.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Pacific Palisades in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 63°F.

A typical winter day in Pacific Palisades reaches about 63°F and drops to 49°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

40°50°60°70°80°DecJanFeb

Pacific Palisades 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
Jan63° / 49°3.25.5106.5
Feb64° / 49°3.35.910.76.4
Mar65° / 51°2.24.811.77.0
Apr68° / 53°0.72.112.87.9
May71° / 56°0.31.413.78.4
Jun74° / 60°0.10.214.29.2
Jul79° / 64°0.10.5149.0
Aug81° / 65°0.00.113.38.9
Sep79° / 64°0.10.512.29.0
Oct75° / 59°0.61.811.19.0
Nov69° / 53°0.72.310.28.1
Dec63° / 48°2.14.69.86.7

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 50% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Pacific Palisades gets around 8.5 in of rain over 16 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%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 54 min in early December to 11 h 12 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 3.4 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Pacific Palisades?

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.

6.5
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
1.9
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Pacific Palisades for sightseeing.

What to pack for Pacific Palisades in Winter

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

In winter, Pacific Palisades sees daytime highs around 63°F and nights near 49°F. Little to plan around — just the basics. About 16 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Pacific Palisades in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 59°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 13 mi away) is warmest in August at about 68°F and coldest in February near 59°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Aug 6 to Sep 13 — about 1.3 months when the water holds above 68°F.

60°65°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan59Bracing
Feb59Bracing
Mar59Bracing
Apr59Cool
May62Cool
Jun65Cool
Jul67Cool
Aug68Refreshing
Sep68Refreshing
Oct66Cool
Nov63Cool
Dec60Cool

UV index in Pacific Palisades in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Pacific Palisades peaks around June 23 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 11Dec 16UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7Very high
May7Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Pacific Palisades 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 Pacific Palisades is worst in November — around 37 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.7× the cleanest month (May, 14 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateModerateNov 1736 µg/m³May 2114 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan26Moderate
Feb24Moderate
Mar22Moderate
Apr20Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul24Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep32Moderate
Oct24Moderate
Nov37Poor
Dec27Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Pacific Palisades?

Pacific Palisades sits at 34.0°N, 118.5°W, 328 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Santa Monica, 3.1 mi away.

Topography around Pacific Palisades

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Pacific Palisades has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,706 ft around an average of 427 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,776 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,213 ft.

The land around Pacific Palisades is covered by trees (53%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 2 miles, water (32%), trees (30%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 10 miles, and water (38%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
1,706 ft
10 miles
2,776 ft
50 miles
9,213 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Santa Monica 3.1 mi · Sawtelle 4.3 mi · Venice 5.6 mi · Beverly Hills 7.5 mi · Culver City 7.5 mi · Encino 8.1 mi · Sherman Oaks 8.1 mi · Woodland Hills 9.3 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 Pacific Palisades (34.0481°, -118.5265°, elevation 328 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.