Bakersfield, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bakersfield's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 98°F July afternoons, with 6.4 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.1 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.0°C, December lows of 4°C, July highs of 37°C, 162 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBakersfield Airport
- Station IDUSW00023155
- Location35.43°N 119.05°W
- Elevation489 ft (149 m)
- From the center6 miles
- Population417,468
On October 23, the normal high in Bakersfield is 77°F and the normal low 53°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 7%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bakersfield.
- Jan 59° 41°
- Feb 64° 43°
- Mar 70° 47°
- Apr 76° 51°
- May 84° 58°
- Jun 92° 65°
- Jul 98° 71°
- Aug 97° 70°
- Sep 91° 65°
- Oct 80° 55°
- Nov 67° 45°
- Dec 59° 40°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Bakersfield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 98°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in January (1.19 in), the least in July (0.00 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59°F | 41°F | 49.5°F | 1.19 | 6 | <1 | 4 | 10 h |
| February | 64°F | 43°F | 53.8°F | 1.18 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 70°F | 47°F | 58.6°F | 1.15 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 76°F | 51°F | 63.3°F | 0.60 | 4 | 3 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 58°F | 71.1°F | 0.25 | 2 | 9 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 92°F | 65°F | 78.7°F | 0.05 | <1 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 98°F | 71°F | 84.8°F | 0.00 | <1 | 29 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 97°F | 70°F | 83.4°F | 0.00 | <1 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 91°F | 65°F | 78.2°F | 0.05 | 1 | 19 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 80°F | 55°F | 67.7°F | 0.28 | 2 | 4 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 67°F | 45°F | 56.3°F | 0.51 | 4 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 40°F | 49.2°F | 1.10 | 6 | <1 | 5 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 54°F | 66.2°F | 6.36 | 38 | 112 | 10 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 5°C | 9.7°C | 30 mm |
| February | 18°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 30 mm |
| March | 21°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 29 mm |
| April | 24°C | 10°C | 17.4°C | 15 mm |
| May | 29°C | 14°C | 21.7°C | 6 mm |
| June | 34°C | 18°C | 25.9°C | 1 mm |
| July | 37°C | 22°C | 29.3°C | 0 mm |
| August | 36°C | 21°C | 28.6°C | 0 mm |
| September | 33°C | 18°C | 25.7°C | 1 mm |
| October | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 7 mm |
| November | 19°C | 7°C | 13.5°C | 13 mm |
| December | 15°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 28 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023155; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Bakersfield?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (2).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023155.
When is the last frost in Bakersfield?
In Bakersfield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 17 in half of years and after February 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 15 in half of years and before November 30 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 90% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 171 year in 10 after February 18; 9 in 10 after December 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 151 year in 10 before November 30; 9 in 10 before January 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 334 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 2 in half of springs and before December 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bakersfield in zone 9b across its 10 ZIP code areas (9b in 93306, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bakersfield's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 28°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023155; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Bakersfield ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Bakersfield's 10 ZIP code areas are all in zone 9b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Bakersfield?
In a normal year in Bakersfield, 112 days a year reach 90°F (36 of them 100°F or more), 10 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 38 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 112a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 36a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 10a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 38a normal year
The highest temperature in Bakersfield's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 118°F, on July 28, 1908; the lowest is 13°F, on December 24, 1905.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1998, with 13.32 in; the snowiest season is 1932–33, with 4.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023155; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record BFLthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Bakersfield, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 51°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 52°F; the driest air comes in December (38°F). May is the windiest month (7.4 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (98%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 69% | 51% | 5.0 mph | 63% | 25% |
| February | 42°F | 63% | 43% | 5.5 mph | 63% | 23% |
| March | 42°F | 52% | 32% | 6.4 mph | 72% | 15% |
| April | 43°F | 43% | 26% | 7.1 mph | 79% | 11% |
| May | 47°F | 38% | 25% | 7.4 mph | 88% | 6% |
| June | 50°F | 33% | 22% | 7.1 mph | 96% | 1% |
| July | 52°F | 34% | 21% | 6.7 mph | 98% | 0% |
| August | 51°F | 35% | 22% | 6.1 mph | 96% | 1% |
| September | 47°F | 40% | 26% | 5.5 mph | 91% | 4% |
| October | 42°F | 51% | 34% | 4.8 mph | 83% | 8% |
| November | 38°F | 63% | 44% | 4.6 mph | 72% | 18% |
| December | 38°F | 71% | 53% | 4.6 mph | 63% | 26% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023155. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Bakersfield?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bakersfield, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (98%) and January the cloudiest (74%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 11th (with 9 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.7 |
| February | 81% | 3.8 |
| March | 85% | 5.2 |
| April | 88% | 6.6 |
| May | 93% | 7.8 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 97% | 8.1 |
| August | 98% | 7.5 |
| September | 97% | 6.3 |
| October | 92% | 4.7 |
| November | 85% | 3.3 |
| December | 77% | 2.5 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Bakersfield need?
A normal year in Bakersfield brings 1,958 heating degree days, 64% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,425 cooling degree days, 2.7 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,145 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 481 | 0 |
| February | 316 | 1 |
| March | 211 | 13 |
| April | 113 | 62 |
| May | 26 | 214 |
| June | 2 | 413 |
| July | 0 | 614 |
| August | 0 | 572 |
| September | 1 | 397 |
| October | 49 | 133 |
| November | 269 | 6 |
| December | 490 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 1,958 | 2,425 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023155. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Bakersfield been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 66.9°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 66.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67.9°F | +1.7°F | 5.58 |
| 2022 | 67.5°F | +1.3°F | 4.21 |
| 2023 | 66.1°F | −0.1°F | 9.95 |
| 2024 | 68.1°F | +1.9°F | 7.46 |
| 2025 | 66.9°F | +0.7°F | 7.40 |
Over 82 complete years from 1938 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.6°F per century (+0.26°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023155; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bakersfield's climate compare?
Bakersfield is warmer than 200 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 22. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 66.2°F is warmer than 90%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bakersfield is BWh: hot desert. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Questions about Bakersfield's climate
What is the coldest month in Bakersfield?
December, with a normal high of 59°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is July (98°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Bakersfield?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.1 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Bakersfield?
January, with 1.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bakersfield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bakersfield in zone 9b across its 10 ZIP code areas (9b in 93306, the largest). By the same method at Bakersfield's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 28°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Bakersfield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 17; in one year in ten it comes after February 18. Waiting until February 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Bakersfield in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Oildale, CA1 miles from this station, 65.1°F a year
- Shafter, CA6 miles from this station, 62.9°F a year
- Wasco, CA20 miles from this station, 66.0°F a year
- Buttonwillow, CA24 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made