California weather in November

November splits California wide open: Palm Springs runs 79° afternoons while South Lake Tahoe tops out near 51°.

Based on 12 weather stations. Twelve stations from Death Valley to the Sierra — California holds most of the country’s climates inside one border, and no state needs its regions kept apart more than this one.

Southern California

Highs 69–74°, nights 44–55°, and 0.7–1.3 in of rain in a typical November.

Place	Highs / lows	Wet days	The short version
Los Angeles	73° / 53°	2	Sweatshirt weather arrives, and the daylight quits before dinner.
Anaheim	74° / 51°	2	Shirtsleeves at noon, a fleece by the time you leave.
San Diego	71° / 55°	2	Mild, quiet, and the first storms testing the door.
Santa Barbara	69° / 44°	2	Mild, low-slung light, and the first rain of the season.

Central Coast

Highs 65–67°, nights 43–46°, and 1.4–2.1 in of rain in a typical November.

Place	Highs / lows	Wet days	The short version
Monterey	65° / 46°	4	Off-season starts, and so does the serious rain.
Santa Cruz	67° / 43°	4	Wet weeks begin, and the forest above town smells alive.

Bay Area & Wine Country

Highs 64–65°, nights 40–51°, and 2.0–2.6 in of rain in a typical November.

Place	Highs / lows	Wet days	The short version
San Francisco	64° / 51°	5	The rains come back and the days shut down early.
Napa	65° / 40°	4	Harvest is done, the storms are back, everyone exhales.

The Deserts

Highs 77–79°, nights 51–53°, and 0.1–0.2 in of rain in a typical November.

Place	Highs / lows	Wet days	The short version
Palm Springs	79° / 53°	1	Warm sun, cold stars, and the town filling back up.
Death Valley	77° / 51°	0	Blue days, cool nights, the park at its kindest.

The Sierra

Highs 51–56°, nights 23–33°, and 1.9–4.0 in of rain in a typical November.

Place	Highs / lows	Wet days	The short version
Yosemite Valley	56° / 33°	4	Bare trees, wet stone, and hardly anyone else around.
South Lake Tahoe	51° / 23°	8	The waiting month — cold, damp, and hoping for storms.

Each place above has its own page for the full story — what the month feels like, what to pack, and whether the timing is right.

Where to go in November, across the whole country ›