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January Weather in Montara California, United States

Daily high temperatures are around 58°F, rarely falling below 52°F or exceeding 66°F.

Daily low temperatures are around 45°F, rarely falling below 38°F or exceeding 52°F.

For reference, on October 2, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Montara typically range from 51°F to 66°F, while on December 29, the coldest day of the year, they range from 44°F to 58°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in January in Montara

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on January. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in January in Montara

Average Hourly Temperature in January in MontaraJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMDecFebcoldcoldcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Valparaíso, Chile (5,880 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Montara (view comparison).

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The month of January in Montara experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 53% throughout the month. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 54% on January 12.

The clearest day of the month is January 26, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 48% of the time.

For reference, on January 12, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 54%, while on August 7, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 91%.

Cloud Cover Categories in January in Montara

Cloud Cover Categories in January in MontaraJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%DecFebAug 791%Aug 791%Jan 147%Jan 147%Jan 3148%Jan 3148%Jan 1146%Jan 1146%Jan 2147%Jan 2147%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Montara, the chance of a wet day over the course of January is essentially constant, remaining around 25% throughout.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 29% on February 21, and its lowest chance is -0% on July 19.

Probability of Precipitation in January in Montara

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during January in Montara is essentially constant, remaining about 3.3 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 7.1 inches or falling below 0.3 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in January in Montara

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of January in Montara, the length of the day is increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 40 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 1 minute, 21 seconds, and weekly increase of 9 minutes, 26 seconds.

The shortest day of the month is January 1, with 9 hours, 38 minutes of daylight and the longest day is January 31, with 10 hours, 18 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in January in Montara

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The latest sunrise of the month in Montara is 7:25 AM on January 6 and the earliest sunrise is 11 minutes earlier at 7:14 AM on January 31.

The earliest sunset is 5:02 PM on January 1 and the latest sunset is 30 minutes later at 5:32 PM on January 31.

Daylight saving time is observed in Montara during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during January, so the entire month is in daylight saving time.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:49 AM and sets 14 hours, 46 minutes later, at 8:34 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:21 AM and sets 9 hours, 34 minutes later, at 4:55 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight in January in Montara

The solar day over the course of January. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in January in Montara

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in January in MontaraJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMDecFeb0010102020203000010102020303030
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of January 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for January 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in January in Montara

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in January in MontaraJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMDecFebDec 123:33 PMDec 123:33 PMDec 264:34 PMDec 264:34 PMJan 113:58 AMJan 113:58 AMJan 259:55 AMJan 259:55 AMFeb 93:00 PMFeb 93:00 PMFeb 244:31 AMFeb 244:31 AM7:13 AM7:13 AM4:30 PM4:30 PM4:34 PM4:34 PM8:21 AM8:21 AM8:00 AM8:00 AM5:30 PM5:30 PM4:25 PM4:25 PM7:42 AM7:42 AM7:18 AM7:18 AM5:38 PM5:38 PM5:22 PM5:22 PM7:10 AM7:10 AM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Jan 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
74%-11:03 AMW10:37 PME4:24 AMS251,594 mi
2
65%-11:24 AMW11:34 PME5:03 AMS251,294 mi
3
50%-11:45 AMW-5:41 AMS250,170 mi
4
46%12:32 AME12:07 PMW-6:21 AMS248,227 mi
5
36%1:32 AMESE12:31 PMWSW-7:02 AMS245,538 mi
6
26%2:35 AMESE1:00 PMWSW-7:47 AMS242,252 mi
7
17%3:42 AMESE1:34 PMWSW-8:38 AMS238,591 mi
8
10%4:51 AMESE2:17 PMSW-9:33 AMS234,841 mi
9
4%6:00 AMSE3:10 PMSW-10:35 AMS231,330 mi
10
1%7:04 AMSE4:16 PMSW-11:40 AMS228,393 mi
11
0%8:00 AMSE5:30 PMWSW-12:45 PMS226,306 mi
12
3%8:47 AMESE6:48 PMWSW-1:47 PMS225,239 mi
13
8%9:25 AMESE8:05 PMWSW-2:45 PMS225,220 mi
14
16%9:57 AMESE9:20 PMW-3:38 PMS226,153 mi
15
26%10:25 AME10:32 PMW-4:27 PMS227,848 mi
16
38%10:52 AME11:42 PMW-5:14 PMS230,076 mi
17
50%11:18 AMENE--6:01 PMS232,608 mi
18
61%-12:51 AMWNW11:46 AMENE6:49 PMS235,253 mi
19
71%-2:01 AMWNW12:17 PMENE7:39 PMS237,868 mi
20
80%-3:10 AMWNW12:53 PMENE8:32 PMS240,366 mi
21
88%-4:17 AMNW1:36 PMNE9:26 PMS242,702 mi
22
94%-5:20 AMNW2:27 PMNE10:21 PMS244,854 mi
23
98%-6:16 AMNW3:24 PMNE11:15 PMS246,810 mi
24
99%-7:03 AMNW4:25 PMENE--
25
100%-7:42 AMWNW5:27 PMENE12:07 AMS248,548 mi
26
100%-8:15 AMWNW6:29 PMENE12:55 AMS250,025 mi
27
98%-8:42 AMWNW7:29 PMENE1:39 AMS251,176 mi
28
94%-9:06 AMWNW8:28 PME2:21 AMS251,912 mi
29
88%-9:28 AMW9:25 PME3:00 AMS252,135 mi
30
81%-9:48 AMW10:23 PME3:39 AMS251,746 mi
31
73%-10:10 AMW11:21 PMESE4:17 AMS250,663 mi

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Montara is essentially constant during January, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on September 16, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time, while on January 28, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in January in Montara

Humidity Comfort Levels in January in MontaraJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%DecFebJan 10%Jan 10%Jan 310%Jan 310%Jan 110%Jan 110%Jan 210%Jan 210%comfortablecomfortabledrydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Montara is essentially constant during January, remaining within 0.2 miles per hour of 10.1 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on May 8, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 11.2 miles per hour, while on October 4, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 8.2 miles per hour.

The lowest daily average wind speed during January is 9.8 miles per hour on January 21.

Average Wind Speed in January in Montara

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Montara throughout January is predominantly from the north, with a peak proportion of 37% on January 3.

Wind Direction in January in Montara

Wind Direction in January in MontaraNWJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%DecFebwestsoutheastnorth
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Montara is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Montara is essentially constant during January, remaining around 54°F throughout.

The lowest average surface water temperature during January is 54°F on January 17.

Average Water Temperature in January in Montara

Average Water Temperature in January in MontaraJan112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313151°F51°F52°F52°F53°F53°F54°F54°F55°F55°F56°F56°F57°F57°F58°F58°FDecFebJan 1754°FJan 1754°FJan 154°FJan 154°FJan 3154°FJan 3154°F
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Montara are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in January in Montara

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in January in MontaraJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%DecFeb93%Jan 1693%Jan 16very coldcoldcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Montara are gradually increasing during January, increasing by 84°F, from 3°F to 87°F, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in January in Montara

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of January, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Montara is gradually increasing during January, rising by 0.6 kWh, from 2.3 kWh to 2.9 kWh, over the course of the month.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in January in Montara

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in January in MontaraJan11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 kWh0.0 kWh0.5 kWh0.5 kWh1.0 kWh1.0 kWh1.5 kWh1.5 kWh2.0 kWh2.0 kWh2.5 kWh2.5 kWh3.0 kWh3.0 kWh3.5 kWh3.5 kWh4.0 kWh4.0 kWh4.5 kWh4.5 kWh5.0 kWh5.0 kWh5.5 kWh5.5 kWhDecFebJan 12.3 kWhJan 12.3 kWhJan 312.9 kWhJan 312.9 kWhJan 112.4 kWhJan 112.4 kWhJan 212.6 kWhJan 212.6 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Montara are 37.542 deg latitude, -122.516 deg longitude, and 98 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Montara contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,493 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 160 feet. Within 10 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,909 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,012 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Montara is covered by water (54%), trees (14%), herbaceous vegetation (14%), and shrubs (11%), within 10 miles by water (62%) and artificial surfaces (15%), and within 50 miles by water (56%) and grassland (13%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Montara, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Montara.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Montara according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Montara is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Montara and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Montara and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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