Lancaster, California Weather
August begins in scorching stillness. Day 43 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Lancaster weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayAug 2Clear——103°75°—
- MondayAug 3Clear——102°77°-1°
- TuesdayAug 4Clear——104°74°+2°
- WednesdayAug 5Clear——105°75°+1°
- ThursdayAug 6Clear——107°76°+2°
- FridayAug 7Clear——108°77°+1°
- SaturdayAug 8Clear——108°78°0°
AQI 49 (Good), driven by PM2.5. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points). PM2.5 at 12.0 µg/m³, PM10 at 20.7 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 12.0 µg/m³, PM10 at 20.7 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.58
- Wind
- calm
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- background
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
- Moonrise
- 9:37 PM
- Moonset
- 10:02 AM
- In sign
- ♓︎ Pisces
August begins in scorching stillness
Lancaster at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 15°F above the seasonal normal for this latitude
- Last frost: March 15 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Aug 1–5
- Planting window: Sow fall peas. Start kale and collard seedlings for fall.
ZIP codes: 93534, 93535, 93536
16-Day Forecast — Lancaster
- Sun103°75°0%
- Mon102°77°0%
- Tue104°74°0%
- Wed105°75°0%
- Thu107°76°0%
- Fri108°77°0%
- Sat108°78°1%
- Sun103°74°2%
- Mon99°70°1%
- Tue98°67°1%
- Wed97°69°0%
- Thu100°69°6%
- Fri101°71°6%
- Sat99°71°6%
- Sun103°73°6%
- Mon102°73°10%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Lancaster
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of August 2, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
Sun & seasons in Lancaster
Lancaster sits in Los Angeles County, where the year’s longest day runs 14h 29m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 50m — a swing of +4h 40m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Los Angeles, the state’s largest city, lies about 42 miles to the SSW. The nearest town Lancaster tracks is Palmdale, roughly 8 miles to the SSE.
Air quality in Lancaster’s county has trended cleaner since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2023 (median AQI 67). See the full air-quality history for Lancaster.
Microseason · August 1–5
August begins in scorching stillness
Calm days dominate early August; temperatures peak; the entire ecosystem is in survival mode.
Day 214 of 365 · Wedge 43 of 72
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| January | — | — |
| February | — | — |
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | — |
| May | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| July | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| August | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| September | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| October | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | winter squash, tomatoes (last) |
| November | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | — |
| December | — | — |
A year in weather
Lancaster's warmest month is July (~81°F mean) and its coldest is December (~46°F). Rainfall peaks in February (1.6 inches) and bottoms out in June (0.0 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 1.4″ | 8 |
| February | 49° | 1.6″ | 8 |
| March | 52° | 1.3″ | 9 |
| April | 59° | 0.5″ | 5 |
| May | 68° | 0.1″ | 2 |
| June | 75° | 0.0″ | 0 |
| July | 81° | 0.1″ | 1 |
| August | 81° | 0.1″ | 1 |
| September | 75° | 0.1″ | 1 |
| October | 65° | 0.2″ | 2 |
| November | 54° | 0.6″ | 4 |
| December | 46° | 1.1″ | 7 |
Regional context
Lancaster's climate, from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 station normals, pairs 47°F Januarys with 81°F Julys — a 35°F swing. About 7 inches of precipitation falls over roughly 48 days a year.
Lancaster's moisture rides winter storm tracks: February brings 1.6 inches over 8.3 wet days, while June sees only 0.0 inches across 0.4 days in the dry warm season. That groups Lancaster with places like Quartz Hill, CA, Desert View Highlands, CA and Palmdale, CA on the same cool-season storm track.
Lancaster rarely sees a hard freeze — its coldest month sits near 46°F — so planting spans most of the calendar. Heat peaks in July around 81°F, which confines cool-season crops to the shoulders of summer. Within Lancaster, low or inland lots lose 3-5°F overnight versus Lancaster's coastal ground.
Similar climates: Quartz Hill, CA, Desert View Highlands, CA, Palmdale, CA, Leona Valley, CA, Elizabeth Lake, CA.
Naturalist notes
By late May, California poppies reach peak bloom across the high desert, carpeting open spaces with orange petals that close during afternoon heat.
Red-winged blackbirds begin their territorial displays in March, with males perched on tall grasses showing their distinctive shoulder patches.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Lancaster?
- Lancaster's last spring frost lands near mid-March, and in Lancaster the first fall frost follows around mid-December.
- What is the rainy season in Lancaster?
- Lancaster sees its heaviest rain in February (around 1.6 inches), part of roughly 7 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in Lancaster?
- Lancaster peaks in July, when the mean runs near 81°F.
- What is the coldest month in Lancaster?
- December is Lancaster's coldest month, averaging about 46°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Lancaster?
- In Lancaster, sow peas and hardy greens around mid-March; Lancaster's tomatoes and peppers wait two weeks more.
- How many rainy days does Lancaster get?
- Lancaster averages about 48 days with measurable rain or snow each year.
- What hardiness zone is Lancaster?
- Because Lancaster bottoms near 46°F in December, that winter low sets Lancaster's USDA zone — verify by ZIP.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Lancaster?
- Lancaster's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Lancaster?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Lancaster in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Lancaster?
- Current conditions for Lancaster and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Lancaster forecast updated?
- The Lancaster forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Lancaster?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Lancaster are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Lancaster?
- The next few days in Lancaster's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Climate
Set in a hot-summer Mediterranean zone, Lancaster, California swings from 47°F in the heart of winter to 81°F at midsummer — a 34°F arc.
Lancaster sees close to 7 inches of precipitation annually, falling across some 48 wet days.
Lancaster's 34°F range, set by its 34.7°N position, drives frost timing and what thrives in Lancaster.
ZIP codes in Lancaster
- 93535
- 93534
- 93536
- 93539
- 93584