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Best Time for the Pacific Coast Highway
Sweet spot: February, March, January — computed from NASA POWER climate normals across the route's overnight towns, balancing temperature, rainfall and daylight.
Coastal fog ('May Gray / June Gloom') burns off by afternoon — plan beach stops after lunch.
Winter storms can close Highway 1 around Big Sur with slides — check Caltrans before the day's drive.
| Month | Temp | Rain | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -0.2–25.5°C | 87 mm | 9.8 h | ❄ |
| February | 1.6–25.1°C | 83 mm | 10.7 h | ❄ |
| March | 2.8–27.0°C | 65 mm | 11.7 h | ❄ |
| April | 3.6–31.9°C | 31 mm | 12.9 h | |
| May | 6.3–33.3°C | 13 mm | 13.9 h | |
| June | 8.3–36.4°C | 4 mm | 14.4 h | |
| July | 10.6–36.1°C | 2 mm | 14.2 h | |
| August | 10.8–36.0°C | 1 mm | 13.4 h | |
| September | 10.0–39.6°C | 4 mm | 12.2 h | |
| October | 7.0–35.4°C | 22 mm | 11.0 h | |
| November | 2.3–29.8°C | 41 mm | 10.1 h | ❄ |
| December | 1.0–24.2°C | 93 mm | 9.6 h | ❄ |