Summer Weather in Pinnacles National Park United StatesDaily high temperatures increase by 7°F, from 74°F to 81°F, rarely falling below 67°F or exceeding 88°F. The highest daily average high temperature is 81°F on August 1. Daily low temperatures increase by 4°F, from 53°F to 57°F, rarely falling below 49°F or exceeding 63°F. The highest daily average low temperature is 58°F on July 29. For reference, on July 31, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Pinnacles National Park typically range from 58°F to 81°F, while on December 29, the coldest day of the year, they range from 42°F to 60°F. The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average summer temperatures. 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. CloudsThe summer in Pinnacles National Park experiences rapidly decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 24% to 9%. The lowest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 8% on August 6. The clearest day of the summer is August 6, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 92% of the time. For reference, on February 17, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 55%, while on August 6, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 92%. PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Pinnacles National Park, the chance of a wet day over the course of the summer is essentially constant, remaining around 1% throughout. For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 30% on February 21, and its lowest chance is 0% on August 3. RainfallTo show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day. The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the summer in Pinnacles National Park is essentially constant, remaining about 0.1 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 0.8 inches or falling below -0.0 inches. The lowest average 31-day accumulation is 0.0 inches on August 1. SunOver the course of the summer in Pinnacles National Park, the length of the day is rapidly decreasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day decreases by 1 hour, 33 minutes, implying an average daily decrease of 1 minute, 1 second, and weekly decrease of 7 minutes, 8 seconds. The shortest day of the summer is August 31, with 12 hours, 57 minutes of daylight and the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 39 minutes of daylight. The earliest sunrise of the summer in Pinnacles National Park is 5:46 AM on June 12 and the latest sunrise is 50 minutes later at 6:35 AM on August 31. The latest sunset is 8:26 PM on June 28 and the earliest sunset is 54 minutes earlier at 7:33 PM on August 31. Daylight saving time is observed in Pinnacles National Park during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during the summer, so the entire season is in standard time. For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:46 AM and sets 14 hours, 39 minutes later, at 8:26 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:13 AM and sets 9 hours, 40 minutes later, at 4:53 PM. 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. MoonThe figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the summer of 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. HumidityWe 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 Pinnacles National Park is essentially constant during the summer, remaining around 0% throughout. For reference, on October 4, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time. WindThis 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 Pinnacles National Park is decreasing during the summer, decreasing from 8.6 miles per hour to 6.6 miles per hour over the course of the season. For reference, on May 29, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 8.6 miles per hour, while on October 21, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 6.1 miles per hour. The hourly average wind direction in Pinnacles National Park throughout the summer is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 78% on July 23. Water TemperaturePinnacles National Park 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 Pinnacles National Park is increasing during the summer, rising by 5°F, from 54°F to 59°F, over the course of the season. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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). The growing season in Pinnacles National Park typically lasts for 12 months (359 days), from around January 6 to around December 30, rarely starting after February 22, or ending before November 23. The summer in Pinnacles National Park is reliably fully 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 Pinnacles National Park are very rapidly increasing during the summer, increasing by 1,510°F, from 952°F to 2,462°F, over the course of the season. Solar EnergyThis 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 Pinnacles National Park is decreasing during the summer, falling by 1.2 kWh, from 8.2 kWh to 7.0 kWh, over the course of the season. The highest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during the summer is 8.6 kWh on June 25. TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Pinnacles National Park are 36.490 deg latitude, -121.181 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Pinnacles National Park is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 0 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 0 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet). Within 50 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet). The area within 2 miles of Pinnacles National Park is covered by shrubs (96%), within 10 miles by grassland (54%) and shrubs (38%), and within 50 miles by grassland (37%) and shrubs (24%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather in Pinnacles National Park, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. The details of the data sources used for this report can be found on the Soledad page. DisclaimerThe 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. 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