Lancaster climate
Lancaster is warmest in August, with average highs of 35 °C, and coldest in December, when nights average 4.1 °C. February is the wettest month (49 mm) and June the driest (1.2 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Lancaster averages 193 mm of rain, 176 days above 25 °C and 10 days below freezing.
United States · 719 m elevation · population 161,103 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month August 35 °C
- Coldest month December 4.1 °C
- Driest month June 1 mm
- Wettest month February 49 mm
- Least cloud August 12 % cloud
- Hottest on record September 43 °C
- Coldest on record December -5.5 °C
What to expectLancaster through the year
Lancaster has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 14 °C in December to 35 °C in August, a swing of 19 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 176 days a year reach 25 °C, 120 of them reach 30 °C, 10 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 43 °C, in September.
Rain is strongly seasonal. February averages 49 mm against 1 mm in June — 41 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14.6 °C | 40 mm | 46 % |
| February | 16.0 °C | 49 mm | 46 % |
| March | 19.3 °C | 33 mm | 41 % |
| April | 22.9 °C | 12 mm | 31 % |
| May | 27.3 °C | 4 mm | 25 % |
| June | 32.1 °C | 1 mm | 14 % |
| July | 35.0 °C | 4 mm | 16 % |
| August | 35.1 °C | 1 mm | 12 % |
| September | 32.0 °C | 3 mm | 12 % |
| October | 25.7 °C | 8 mm | 20 % |
| November | 19.0 °C | 10 mm | 31 % |
| December | 13.9 °C | 30 mm | 41 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14.6 °C | 4.6 °C | 8.7 °C | 24.7 °C | -4.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| February | 16.0 °C | 5.1 °C | 9.7 °C | 28.3 °C | -4.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| March | 19.3 °C | 6.8 °C | 12.2 °C | 30.8 °C | -2.2 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 22.9 °C | 8.9 °C | 15.2 °C | 34.1 °C | -0.8 °C | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| May | 27.3 °C | 12.4 °C | 19.4 °C | 38.2 °C | 3.6 °C | 22 | 9 | 0 |
| June | 32.1 °C | 16.2 °C | 23.9 °C | 42.4 °C | 6.1 °C | 28 | 22 | 0 |
| July | 35.0 °C | 19.6 °C | 27.3 °C | 42.4 °C | 12.7 °C | 31 | 29 | 0 |
| August | 35.1 °C | 19.7 °C | 27.3 °C | 42.1 °C | 12.3 °C | 31 | 30 | 0 |
| September | 32.0 °C | 17.3 °C | 24.3 °C | 43.1 °C | 8.0 °C | 28 | 23 | 0 |
| October | 25.7 °C | 12.8 °C | 18.6 °C | 36.4 °C | -2.3 °C | 19 | 6 | 0 |
| November | 19.0 °C | 7.8 °C | 12.5 °C | 29.5 °C | -1.3 °C | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| December | 13.9 °C | 4.1 °C | 8.1 °C | 23.9 °C | -5.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40 mm | 5 | 10 h/day | 46 % | 56 % | 18 km/h |
| February | 49 mm | 5 | 11 h/day | 46 % | 57 % | 20 km/h |
| March | 33 mm | 4 | 12 h/day | 41 % | 54 % | 21 km/h |
| April | 12 mm | 2 | 13 h/day | 31 % | 45 % | 23 km/h |
| May | 4 mm | 1 | 14 h/day | 25 % | 42 % | 22 km/h |
| June | 1 mm | 0 | 14 h/day | 14 % | 37 % | 22 km/h |
| July | 4 mm | 1 | 14 h/day | 16 % | 37 % | 20 km/h |
| August | 1 mm | 0 | 13 h/day | 12 % | 35 % | 20 km/h |
| September | 3 mm | 1 | 12 h/day | 12 % | 37 % | 19 km/h |
| October | 8 mm | 1 | 11 h/day | 20 % | 40 % | 19 km/h |
| November | 10 mm | 2 | 10 h/day | 31 % | 45 % | 18 km/h |
| December | 30 mm | 4 | 9.8 h/day | 41 % | 53 % | 18 km/h |
How Lancaster compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | 35 °C | 4.1 °C | 193 mm | 176 |
| Palmdale · United States | 34 °C | 4.3 °C | 338 mm | 168 |
| Santa Clarita · United States | 33 °C | 5.2 °C | 342 mm | 178 |
| Glendale · United States | 32 °C | 6.7 °C | 395 mm | 176 |
| Los Angeles · United States | 32 °C | 7.0 °C | 347 mm | 189 |
| Pomona · United States | 32 °C | 6.4 °C | 411 mm | 176 |
Where Lancaster ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The driest places in North America in October | 3rd of 50 | 8.0 mm |
| The driest places in North America in June | 5th of 50 | 1.2 mm |
| The driest places in North America in November | 6th of 50 | 9.7 mm |
| The driest places in North America year-round | 6th of 50 | 16 mm |
| The driest places in North America in May | 12th of 50 | 3.6 mm |
| The driest places in North America in September | 12th of 50 | 2.9 mm |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Lancaster.
QuestionsCommon questions about Lancaster’s climate
When is the best time to visit Lancaster?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and June the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Lancaster get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 35 °C. About 120 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 43 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 4.1 °C in December, the coldest month. A normal year has 10 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Lancaster?
February, averaging 49 mm over 5 days with rain. The driest month is June with 1 mm. The year as a whole averages 193 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Lancaster rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 34.698°, -118.137° , 719 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.