SUMMARY of the January 2022 WEATHER ON THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
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Department of Meteorology
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93943
SUMMARY of the January 2022 WEATHER ON THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
General: This past month was very dry with temperatures above normal, more fog than usual and very
light winds. The latest La Niña conditions developed in November 2021 but didn’t really impact our
local area until January 2022. Many may ask, “What is La Niña? How does it affect weather is our
area?” The graphic below shows the typical winter La Niña regime with a ridge of high pressure over
the Gulf of Alaska and trough of low pressure east of the Rockies. Our generous rains during
December 2021 were an exception to this pattern when a plume of tropical moisture was drawn into a
trough of low pressure to the west of California.
Temperature: January 2022 temperatures were well above normal for both daytime highs and
morning lows at our Upper Monterey site. The average high was 63.9°F, 4.0°F above the normal of
59.9°F and morning lows averaged 48.4°F, a full 5°F above average. Warmest readings were 73°F on
15 and 16 Jan with the coolest morning low of 42°F on 01 Jan. No daily records were set during the
month.
Highest temperatures for Jan 2022 in the local area were remarkably consistent with values ranging
from 71°F at Pacific Grove to 75°F at Monterey Peninsula Airport and NPS. The coolest overnight lows
in the area were 31°F at Carmel Valley (01 and 01 Jan) and 32°F at both NPS and Marina. Frost was
observed in Marina on five mornings (normal is six). See Table of Comparative Weather Data for
Stations contributing to this summary as well as the graphic of daily temperatures and precipitation from
Upper Monterey at the end of this summary.
Precipitation: Climatologically, January is the wettest month in our area with Upper Monterey
averaging 3.91” but just 0.10” was recorded this past month with measurable amounts on four days.
This is the third driest January in the last 73 years. Only 2015 (0.00”) and 2014 (0.04”) have been drier.
Marina, with 0.05” for the month, had its second driest January in 35 years, only exceeded by 0.00” in
Jan 2015. Locally, January rain totals were very low, ranging from 0.00” at the Monterey Airport to
0.10” at Seaside and Upper Monterey. Big Sur could only muster 0.07” of rainfall during January after
over 18” of rain during December 2021.
As you might expect, rain-year totals to date at area stations, relative to average, took a beating. At the
end of January, these range from 86% at Salinas to 125% of normal at Upper Monterey and the local
area remains in severe drought conditions.
Wind: Winds were light during January with the highest wind gusts recorded in the local area at just 25
mph at Fort Ord and 23 mph at Marina. Highest average winds for the month were 7.0 mph at Fort Ord
and 4.1 mph at the Monterey Peninsula Airport. Long-term (since 1979) winds at the Airport for
January are 31 mph for peak gust and 5.5 mph for average winds.
Fog: Before April 2018, with 45 years of record, a fog-day was at least one hour of visibility less than
six miles. Since then, a fog-day is one or more hours with visibility less than or equal to 1/4 mile. “Mist
Days” are when visibility between 1/4 and six miles is reported for at least one hour. Long term
statistics for fog describe “mist” days. Mist and fog-days at Monterey Peninsula Airport and Marina fog-
days for the last three months :
Monterey Peninsula Airport Marina
Mist Days (Normal) Fog Days Fog Days (Normal)
(vis.Comparative Weather Data for Stations on/near the Monterey Peninsula & Salinas
January 2022
Following are comparative figures from eleven local observation sites: 1) Upper Monterey,
located in the western hilly section of Monterey (elevation 606 ft); 2) Monterey Peninsula Regional
Airport (KMRY) site (elevation 257’), located in the flat area of eastern Monterey; 3) Naval Postgraduate
School Campus (NPS), Monterey, (elevation 45’); 4) the Ft. Ord site (Ft. Ord) elevation 167’, located
just north of the Marina Municipal Airport. This is the site of the Naval Postgraduate School’s wind
profiler managed by the Department of Meteorology); 5) Marina, located about 2½ miles ESE of
Monterey Bay (elevation 135’); 6) Carmel Valley village vicinity Ford Rd. and Lilac Ln. (elevation 475’);
7) Salinas, vicinity of W. Blanco Rd. within ½ mile of S. Main St.; 8) Carmel, located on Rio Road near
east end; 9) Seaside, vicinity of Paralta and Military Aves.; 10) Pacific Grove, vicinity of Sunset and
Congress Sts.; 11) Big Sur Ranger Station, Highway 1, Big Sur.
Temperatures (°F) Precipitation (inches) Wind (mph)
Location Rain-year Normal /
Avg. Highest Avg. Lowest This month (01 Jul – % of normal Max. Gust / Average
Max. Min. January 31 Jan date(s)
Upper 10.66* / ( 17 )
Monterey 63.9 73 48.4 42 0.10 b 13.36 125% 21st 1.3
Monterey ( 17 )
Airport 65.4 75 43.8 37 0.00 b 8.99 --- 21st 4.1
NPS 8.38# / ( 19 )
64.6 75 40.5 32 0.04 b 10.30 123% 3rd 2.0
Ft. Ord ( 25 )
64.0 73 40.1 33 0.04 b 9.33 --- 30th 7.0
Marina 8.35 & / ( 23 )
63.2 73 39.8 32 0.05 a 9.60 115% 28th ---
Carmel Valley
67.1 73 39.5 31 0.10 9.56 --- --- ---
Salinas 8.00 ∆ /
66.4 74 43.4 35 0.00 6.89 86% --- ---
Carmel
63.9 73 45.0 35 0.06 11.04 --- --- ---
Seaside
64.0 72 42.1 34 0.10 8.81 --- --- ---
Pacific Grove
62.5 71 45.2 37 0.04 11.51 --- --- ---
Big Sur
66.6 73 46.6 34 0.07 26.22 --- --- ---
FOOTNOTES: Observations for precipitation: a = 5 or 6 PM, b = midnight local time
* = NWSCS/Upper Monterey 66-year average
# = 51-year average, & = 38-year average, ∆= 24-year average
Winds from Monterey Peninsula Airport are based on a 24-h period, ending at local midnightYou can also read
