Bishop, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bishop's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 100°F July afternoons, with 4.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.1°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 38°C, 123 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBishop Airport
- Station IDUSW00023157
- Location37.37°N 118.36°W
- Elevation4,102 ft (1,250 m)
- Population3,746
On October 23, the normal high in Bishop is 75°F and the normal low 35°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 Bishop.
- Jan 56° 24°
- Feb 59° 26°
- Mar 67° 31°
- Apr 74° 37°
- May 83° 44°
- Jun 94° 51°
- Jul 100° 57°
- Aug 98° 54°
- Sep 90° 47°
- Oct 78° 37°
- Nov 64° 27°
- Dec 55° 22°
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 Bishop each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 100°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in January (1.14 in), the least in August (0.07 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 | 56°F | 24°F | 39.9°F | 1.14 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 59°F | 26°F | 42.9°F | 0.89 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 67°F | 31°F | 49.2°F | 0.55 | 3 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 37°F | 55.2°F | 0.22 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 83°F | 44°F | 63.5°F | 0.23 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 94°F | 51°F | 72.5°F | 0.13 | 1 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 100°F | 57°F | 78.2°F | 0.18 | 2 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 98°F | 54°F | 76.0°F | 0.07 | 1 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 90°F | 47°F | 68.6°F | 0.11 | 1 | 17 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 78°F | 37°F | 57.5°F | 0.35 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 27°F | 45.6°F | 0.31 | 2 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 55°F | 22°F | 38.3°F | 0.66 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 38°F | 57.3°F | 4.84 | 26 | 104 | 139 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | −5°C | 4.4°C | 29 mm |
| February | 15°C | −3°C | 6.1°C | 23 mm |
| March | 19°C | 0°C | 9.6°C | 14 mm |
| April | 23°C | 3°C | 12.9°C | 6 mm |
| May | 28°C | 7°C | 17.5°C | 6 mm |
| June | 34°C | 11°C | 22.5°C | 3 mm |
| July | 38°C | 14°C | 25.7°C | 5 mm |
| August | 37°C | 12°C | 24.4°C | 2 mm |
| September | 32°C | 8°C | 20.3°C | 3 mm |
| October | 25°C | 3°C | 14.2°C | 9 mm |
| November | 18°C | −3°C | 7.6°C | 8 mm |
| December | 13°C | −5°C | 3.5°C | 17 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023157; 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 Bishop?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. 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 USW00023157.
When is the last frost in Bishop?
In Bishop, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before September 30 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
- April 291 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 166 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 191 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bishop in zone 7a in ZIP code 93514, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bishop's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 8°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023157; 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 Bishop?
In a normal year in Bishop, 104 days a year reach 90°F (29 of them 100°F or more), 139 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 26 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 104a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 29a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 139a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 26a normal year
The highest temperature in Bishop's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1943) is 111°F, on July 10, 2021; the lowest is −8°F, on December 27, 1988.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1969, with 17.09 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 59.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023157; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record BIHthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Bishop, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 35°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 38°F; the driest air comes in December (17°F). March is the windiest month (9.8 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (96%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 48% | 23% | 7.5 mph | 80% | 11% |
| February | 19°F | 40% | 20% | 8.7 mph | 79% | 11% |
| March | 20°F | 31% | 14% | 9.8 mph | 85% | 6% |
| April | 24°F | 27% | 13% | 9.6 mph | 85% | 4% |
| May | 30°F | 25% | 12% | 8.6 mph | 90% | 4% |
| June | 33°F | 22% | 10% | 8.0 mph | 96% | 1% |
| July | 38°F | 25% | 12% | 7.9 mph | 96% | 0% |
| August | 35°F | 26% | 12% | 7.6 mph | 96% | 1% |
| September | 28°F | 28% | 13% | 7.6 mph | 93% | 2% |
| October | 21°F | 35% | 16% | 7.6 mph | 89% | 5% |
| November | 17°F | 43% | 22% | 6.8 mph | 86% | 7% |
| December | 17°F | 48% | 25% | 6.8 mph | 80% | 12% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023157. 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 Bishop?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bishop, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (92%) and December the cloudiest (76%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.8 |
| February | 76% | 3.7 |
| March | 77% | 4.9 |
| April | 79% | 6.2 |
| May | 82% | 7.2 |
| June | 91% | 8.3 |
| July | 89% | 7.8 |
| August | 92% | 7.3 |
| September | 92% | 6.2 |
| October | 89% | 4.6 |
| November | 83% | 3.2 |
| December | 76% | 2.4 |
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 Bishop need?
A normal year in Bishop brings 4,001 heating degree days, 26% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,212 cooling degree days, 34% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,886 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 778 | 0 |
| February | 620 | 0 |
| March | 490 | 0 |
| April | 298 | 4 |
| May | 114 | 67 |
| June | 16 | 239 |
| July | 0 | 409 |
| August | 1 | 342 |
| September | 30 | 138 |
| October | 245 | 12 |
| November | 582 | 0 |
| December | 827 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,001 | 1,212 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023157. 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 Bishop been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 58.0°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.3°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.8°F | +1.5°F | 5.98 |
| 2022 | 58.2°F | +0.9°F | 5.25 |
| 2024 | 58.5°F | +1.3°F | 4.55 |
| 2025 | 58.0°F | +0.7°F | 7.35 |
Over 72 complete years from 1950 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.3°F per century (+0.18°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023157; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bishop's climate compare?
Bishop is warmer than 51 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 14. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.3°F is warmer than 67%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bishop is BWk: cold 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 Bishop share this climate record?
9 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.
- Dixon Lane-MeadowCreek, CA2,963 people · 3 mi W
- West Bishop, CA2,697 people · 6 mi W
- Big Pine, CA1,464 people · 15 mi S
- Chalfant, CA598 people · 9 mi N
- Wilkerson, CA598 people · 7 mi S
- Round Valley, CA523 people · 12 mi W
- Swall Meadows, CA433 people · 18 mi NW
- Mesa, CA358 people · 10 mi W
- Paradise, CA211 people · 15 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.
Questions about Bishop's climate
What is the coldest month in Bishop?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (100°F by day, 57°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Bishop?
January, with 1.14 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.07 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bishop in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bishop in zone 7a in ZIP code 93514, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bishop's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 8°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Bishop?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Bishop in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Dyer, NV25 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Mammoth Lakes, CA38 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Independence, CA40 miles from this station, 62.9°F a year
- Huntington Lake, CA48 miles from this station, 45.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made