Barstow, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Barstow's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 105°F July afternoons, with 3.8 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.2 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.9°C, December lows of 2°C, July highs of 41°C, 96 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBarstow Daggett Airport
- Station IDUSW00023161
- Location34.85°N 116.79°W
- Elevation1,917 ft (584 m)
- Population24,897
On October 23, the normal high in Barstow is 80°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 4%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Barstow.
- Jan 61° 36°
- Feb 66° 40°
- Mar 73° 46°
- Apr 80° 51°
- May 89° 60°
- Jun 99° 68°
- Jul 105° 74°
- Aug 104° 73°
- Sep 96° 66°
- Oct 83° 54°
- Nov 70° 43°
- Dec 60° 35°
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 Barstow each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 105°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in February (0.70 in), the least in June (0.03 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 | 61°F | 36°F | 48.8°F | 0.57 | 4 | <1 | 7 | 10 h |
| February | 66°F | 40°F | 52.8°F | 0.70 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 73°F | 46°F | 59.1°F | 0.43 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 80°F | 51°F | 65.4°F | 0.22 | 2 | 5 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 89°F | 60°F | 74.2°F | 0.05 | 1 | 17 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 99°F | 68°F | 83.6°F | 0.03 | <1 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 105°F | 74°F | 89.6°F | 0.28 | 2 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 104°F | 73°F | 88.5°F | 0.20 | 1 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 96°F | 66°F | 81.1°F | 0.17 | 1 | 26 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 83°F | 54°F | 68.8°F | 0.24 | 1 | 8 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 70°F | 43°F | 56.1°F | 0.32 | 2 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 60°F | 35°F | 47.4°F | 0.56 | 3 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 82°F | 54°F | 67.9°F | 3.77 | 22 | 145 | 24 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 2°C | 9.3°C | 14 mm |
| February | 19°C | 5°C | 11.6°C | 18 mm |
| March | 23°C | 8°C | 15.1°C | 11 mm |
| April | 26°C | 11°C | 18.6°C | 6 mm |
| May | 32°C | 15°C | 23.4°C | 1 mm |
| June | 37°C | 20°C | 28.7°C | 1 mm |
| July | 41°C | 23°C | 32.0°C | 7 mm |
| August | 40°C | 23°C | 31.4°C | 5 mm |
| September | 36°C | 19°C | 27.3°C | 4 mm |
| October | 28°C | 12°C | 20.4°C | 6 mm |
| November | 21°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 8 mm |
| December | 16°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 14 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023161; 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 Barstow?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October and November. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (1).
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 USW00023161.
When is the last frost in Barstow?
In Barstow, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 19 in half of years and after March 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 26 in half of years and before November 10 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- February 191 year in 10 after March 11; 9 in 10 after January 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 261 year in 10 before November 10; 9 in 10 before December 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 279 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 317 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 28 in half of springs and before December 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Barstow in zone 9a in ZIP code 92311, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Barstow's NOAA station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°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 USW00023161; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Barstow?
In a normal year in Barstow, 145 days a year reach 90°F (88 of them 100°F or more), 24 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 22 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 145a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 88a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 24a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1943) is 118°F, on June 30, 1994; the lowest is 7°F, on December 23, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 9.38 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 14.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023161; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00023161. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Barstow, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 42°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 44°F; the driest air comes in November (24°F). April is the windiest month (14.6 mph on average), and September has the most clear or nearly clear hours (94%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 44% | 25% | 8.5 mph | 75% | 14% |
| February | 29°F | 41% | 23% | 10.5 mph | 73% | 13% |
| March | 30°F | 33% | 17% | 13.1 mph | 83% | 7% |
| April | 33°F | 27% | 14% | 14.6 mph | 85% | 5% |
| May | 37°F | 24% | 12% | 14.2 mph | 88% | 4% |
| June | 39°F | 19% | 10% | 12.9 mph | 94% | 1% |
| July | 44°F | 22% | 14% | 11.1 mph | 91% | 1% |
| August | 44°F | 24% | 14% | 10.2 mph | 91% | 2% |
| September | 36°F | 26% | 14% | 9.8 mph | 94% | 1% |
| October | 29°F | 30% | 17% | 8.7 mph | 87% | 5% |
| November | 24°F | 38% | 22% | 7.9 mph | 82% | 7% |
| December | 24°F | 44% | 27% | 7.2 mph | 75% | 13% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023161. 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 Barstow?
Over a year 93% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Barstow, 5.9 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (86%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.4 |
| February | 87% | 4.4 |
| March | 90% | 5.8 |
| April | 93% | 7.2 |
| May | 95% | 8.1 |
| June | 97% | 8.6 |
| July | 93% | 7.8 |
| August | 94% | 7.3 |
| September | 95% | 6.3 |
| October | 94% | 5.0 |
| November | 91% | 3.7 |
| December | 86% | 3.0 |
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 Barstow need?
A normal year in Barstow brings 2,019 heating degree days, 62% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,130 cooling degree days, 3.4 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 6,868 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 502 | 0 |
| February | 343 | 1 |
| March | 204 | 21 |
| April | 83 | 95 |
| May | 18 | 303 |
| June | 1 | 560 |
| July | 0 | 763 |
| August | 0 | 728 |
| September | 1 | 485 |
| October | 45 | 163 |
| November | 278 | 10 |
| December | 544 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,019 | 3,130 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023161. 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 Barstow been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 69.6°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 67.9°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69.9°F | +2.0°F | 1.68 |
| 2022 | 69.4°F | +1.5°F | 2.14 |
| 2023 | 67.0°F | −0.9°F | 3.00 |
| 2024 | 70.2°F | +2.3°F | 3.52 |
| 2025 | 69.6°F | +1.7°F | 4.59 |
Over 76 complete years from 1945 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.6°F per century (+0.25°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023161; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Barstow's climate compare?
Barstow is warmer than 207 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 67.9°F is warmer than 93%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Barstow 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.
Which places near Barstow share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Fort Irwin, CA8,791 people · 28 mi N
- Lenwood, CA3,708 people · 18 mi W
- Yermo, CA846 people · 4 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Barstow's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Barstow. This page uses Barstow Daggett Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barstow station USC00040521 | 14 mi W | 2,220 ft | 65.7°F | 35°F | 102°F | 5.0 | 0 | February 22 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Barstow's climate
What is the coldest month in Barstow?
December, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (105°F by day, 74°F at night).
Does it snow in Barstow?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.2 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Barstow?
February, with 0.70 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Barstow in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Barstow in zone 9a in ZIP code 92311, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Barstow's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come in Barstow?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 19; in one year in ten it comes after March 11. Waiting until March 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Barstow in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Victorville, CA37 miles from this station, 61.9°F a year
- Johnson Valley, CA37 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Hesperia, CA40 miles from this station, 63.6°F a year
- Big Bear Lake, CA43 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made