Climate and average weather in West Carson

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

Best: mid April to late November

Over the course of the year, the temperature in West Carson typically varies from 51°F to 78°F, and is rarely below 45°F or above 85°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 West Carson for warm-weather activities is from mid April to late November.

Hottest
Aug
78°
Coldest
Jan
51°
Wettest
Feb
2.9 in
Driest
Aug
0.0 in
Rain / yr
11.5 in
29 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
43 ft
33.8°N
Clearest
Aug
16% cloud

West Carson is census designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States.

Density
3,677/km²
people per km²

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

West Carson 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 April to late November.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in West Carson, 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 2 to October 9, with daily high temperatures above 75°F. The hottest month of the year in West Carson is August, with an average high of 78°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts 4.2 months, from November 29 to April 6, with daily high temperatures below 66°F. The coldest month of the year in West Carson is January, with an average low of 51°F and high of 63°F.

Days typically run about 12°F warmer than nights year-round.

40°50°60°70°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan6351
Feb6352
Mar6553
Apr6755
May6958
Jun7261
Jul7664
Aug7865
Sep7764
Oct7461
Nov6855
Dec6351

Average hourly temperature in West Carson

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 78°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 51°F.

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

West Carson 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
Jan63° / 51°2.75.3106.4
Feb63° / 52°2.95.710.76.4
Mar65° / 53°1.74.711.76.9
Apr67° / 55°0.62.212.87.7
May69° / 58°0.31.113.78.2
Jun72° / 61°0.10.214.28.9
Jul76° / 64°0.10.3149.3
Aug78° / 65°0.00.113.39.2
Sep77° / 64°0.10.512.29.2
Oct74° / 61°0.51.711.18.9
Nov68° / 55°0.72.610.27.9
Dec63° / 51°1.94.69.86.7

Chance of rain

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

West Carson gets about 11.5 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 18 to Apr 12, peaking in February at about 22% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 14.

February is the wettest month by volume, with 2.9 in over about 6 wet days; August is the driest, with 0.0 in.

0%10%20%30%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainFeb 22 · 22%Aug 14 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan175
Feb206
Mar155
Apr72
May41
Jun10
Jul10
Aug00
Sep21
Oct52
Nov83
Dec155

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, West Carson collects about 11.5 in of rain across 29 wet days — roughly 1.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. February is the wettest month with 2.9 in, while August is the driest at just 0.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 65% of the year’s total.

00.511.522.533.5JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.72.91.70.60.30.10.10.00.10.50.71.9
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan2.75
Feb2.96
Mar1.75
Apr0.62
May0.31
Jun0.10
Jul0.10
Aug0.00
Sep0.11
Oct0.52
Nov0.73
Dec1.95

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In West Carson, 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 12 and lasts for 5.9 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 6.1 months, ending around May 11. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 39% 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 · 96%Feb 21 · 59%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6139
Feb6139
Mar6634
Apr7525
May8020
Jun8911
Jul937
Aug955
Sep928
Oct8515
Nov7525
Dec6634

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 21, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 20, 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)
Jan10.07:035:02
Feb10.76:455:30
Mar11.76:115:55
Apr12.85:286:19
May13.74:576:42
Jun14.24:467:00
Jul14.04:577:00
Aug13.35:196:35
Sep12.25:415:54
Oct11.16:045:12
Nov10.26:324:45
Dec9.86:564:42

Sunny days

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

West Carson averages about 20 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 14 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around May 30 to Oct 29. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 14 sunny days — about 47% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 1428 daysFeb 2614 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan15Mixed
Feb13Mixed
Mar15Mixed
Apr18Bright
May19Bright
Jun23Brilliant
Jul26Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
Oct22Bright
Nov19Bright
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 West Carson, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around June 24 to October 21. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 69% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 22 to June 23, and April 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 15 · 100%Aug 28 · 29%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan94600
Feb94600
Mar891100
Apr871300
May633610
Jun2267110
Jul249454
Aug131617
Sep536527
Oct3146221
Nov722620
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 West Carson is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeApr 18 · 7 mphNov 15 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr7calm
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit West Carson

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid November, West Carson 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 West Carson for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid April to late November, with a peak score in the first week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 4 · 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
Jan6.5good
Feb6.4good
Mar6.9good
Apr7.7ideal
May8.2ideal
Jun8.9ideal
Jul9.3ideal
Aug9.2ideal
Sep9.2ideal
Oct8.9ideal
Nov7.9ideal
Dec6.7good

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

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 25 · 8.6

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 West Carson, 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 78°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 63°F), pack a light layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, West Carson sees daytime highs around 78°F and nights near 65°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes.

Sea temperature near West Carson

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 68°F and coldest in February near 59°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Aug 4 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 (midday) in West Carson 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 West Carson 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

Average hourly UV index in West Carson

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 June 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
Apr6.53
May7.54
Jun8.56
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep73.5
Oct50
Nov20
Dec00

Air quality in West Carson 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 West Carson 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
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

West Carson 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. West Carson banks about 4,953 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)
Jan213
Feb209
Mar279
Apr333
May419
Jun490
Jul619
Aug664
Sep619
Oct536
Nov356
Dec217

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.

West Carson receives about 5.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.9 and 8.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 27. 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 268.1 kWhDec 162.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.1Moderate
Feb4.0Bright
Mar5.4Bright
Apr6.8Intense
May7.4Intense
Jun7.9Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug7.3Intense
Sep6.2Intense
Oct4.8Bright
Nov3.6Moderate
Dec3.0Moderate

Where is West Carson?

West Carson sits at 33.8°N, 118.3°W, 43 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Carson, 0.6 mi away.

Topography around West Carson

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around West Carson has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 98 ft around an average of 52 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,499 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 10,010 ft.

The land around West Carson is covered by artificial surfaces (92%) within 2 miles, artificial surfaces (63%) and water (26%) within 10 miles, and water (46%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
98 ft
10 miles
1,499 ft
50 miles
10,010 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Carson 0.6 mi · Lomita 2.5 mi · Torrance 3.1 mi · Wilmington 3.1 mi · Gardena 5.0 mi · Lawndale 5.6 mi · Redondo Beach 5.6 mi · San Pedro 6.2 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 West Carson (33.8217°, -118.2926°, elevation 43 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).