Lancaster, California Weather
Ceanothus blooms again. Day 93 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Lancaster weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 7:23 AM PDT · Open-Meteo
- TodaySep 21Clear——80°57°—
- TuesdaySep 22Clear——87°56°+7°
- WednesdaySep 23Clear——90°64°+3°
- ThursdaySep 24Clear——92°71°+2°
- FridaySep 25Overcast——92°70°0°
- SaturdaySep 26Overcast——91°70°-1°
- SundaySep 27Partly Cloudy——87°66°-4°
Air quality now AQI 51 · Moderate
AQI 51 (Moderate), driven by PM2.5. AQI projected to climb to 82 over the next 6 hours. PM2.5 at 17.5 µg/m³ (AQI 67) with a 0.69 fine-to-coarse ratio and 6 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 8 PM.
What's driving it
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 17.5 µg/m³ (AQI 67) with a 0.69 fine-to-coarse ratio and 6 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.69
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- stagnant smoke
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).
September dries up ditches or breaks down bridges.
- Moonrise
- 4:14 PM
- Moonset
- 1:35 AM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Ceanothus blooms again
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Lancaster at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 69°F (high 80°F, low 57°F), 4°F below the 73°F normal for Sep 21
- Last frost: April 3 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 6 km away)
- Microseason: Sep 21–25
- Planting calendar: September — plant garlic (overwinter); harvest peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash
16-Day Forecast — Lancaster
- Mon80°57°1%
- Tue87°56°0%
- Wed90°64°0%
- Thu92°71°2%
- Fri92°70°1%
- Sat91°70°2%
- Sun87°66°1%
- Mon87°62°3%
- Tue93°67°5%
- Wed96°73°11%
- Thu98°78°4%
- Fri99°78°13%
- Sat97°77°13%
- Sun96°77°13%
- Mon95°76°7%
- Tue91°72°6%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Lancaster
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Lancaster — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Fall planting + final harvests
As of September 21, the season's first frost (typically November 1) is approaching. Pick what frost-tender plants still carry before the next cold front. This city's planting calendar for September: plant garlic (overwinter); harvest peppers, beans, summer squash, and winter squash.
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
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.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| May | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| June | beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| August | beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, winter squash |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| November | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 1.4″ |
| February | 49° | 1.6″ |
| March | 52° | 1.3″ |
| April | 59° | 0.5″ |
| May | 68° | 0.1″ |
| June | 75° | 0.0″ |
| July | 81° | 0.1″ |
| August | 81° | 0.1″ |
| September | 75° | 0.1″ |
| October | 65° | 0.2″ |
| November | 54° | 0.6″ |
| December | 46° | 1.1″ |
Regional context
Similar climates Quartz Hill, CA, Desert View Highlands, CA, Palmdale, CA
Lancaster's climate, from modelled 1991-2020 normals (EC_Earth3P_HR model via Open-Meteo), pairs 47°F Januarys with 81°F Julys — a 35°F swing. About 7 inches of precipitation falls each year.
Lancaster's moisture rides winter storm tracks: February brings 1.6 inches, while June sees only 0.0 inches 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.
By April 3 the frosts ease in Lancaster, opening the season for lettuce, chard, arugula, and mustard greens. Hold Lancaster's tender crops — tomatoes, peppers, basil — until 10-14 days past Lancaster's last frost. Lancaster's window closes around November 1 as Lancaster's overnight lows return below freezing. In about half of years, Lancaster's last freeze comes after April 3.
Similar climates: Quartz Hill, CA, Desert View Highlands, CA, Palmdale, CA, Leona Valley, CA, Elizabeth Lake, CA.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Lancaster?
- Lancaster's last spring frost lands near April 3, and in Lancaster the first fall frost follows around November 1.
- 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 April 3; Lancaster's tomatoes and peppers wait two weeks more.
- 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.
Lancaster sits at 34.7°N; its climate zone is hot-summer Mediterranean (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Lancaster
- 93534
- 93535
- 93536
- 93539
- 93584