Cachuma Lake, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Cachuma Lake's normal year runs from 33°F December nights to 93°F August afternoons, with 21.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.6°C, December lows of 1°C, August highs of 34°C, 537 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCachuma Lake
- Station IDUSC00041253
- Location34.58°N 119.98°W
- Elevation789 ft (241 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Cachuma Lake is 83°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 9%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cachuma Lake.
- Jan 67° 34°
- Feb 68° 35°
- Mar 71° 38°
- Apr 76° 39°
- May 80° 43°
- Jun 86° 45°
- Jul 92° 48°
- Aug 93° 49°
- Sep 91° 47°
- Oct 84° 43°
- Nov 75° 38°
- Dec 67° 33°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Cachuma Lake each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in February (5.29 in), the least in August (0.00 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67°F | 34°F | 50.7°F | 4.89 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 10 h |
| February | 68°F | 35°F | 51.8°F | 5.29 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h |
| March | 71°F | 38°F | 54.5°F | 3.61 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 76°F | 39°F | 57.5°F | 1.31 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 43°F | 61.3°F | 0.54 | 2 | 5 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 45°F | 65.8°F | 0.06 | <1 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 92°F | 48°F | 69.9°F | 0.01 | <1 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 93°F | 49°F | 70.9°F | 0.00 | <1 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 91°F | 47°F | 68.6°F | 0.08 | 1 | 16 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 84°F | 43°F | 63.6°F | 0.80 | 3 | 10 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 75°F | 38°F | 56.4°F | 1.24 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 67°F | 33°F | 50.1°F | 3.30 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 79°F | 41°F | 60.1°F | 21.13 | 45 | 86 | 19 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°C | 1°C | 10.4°C | 124 mm |
| February | 20°C | 2°C | 11.0°C | 134 mm |
| March | 22°C | 3°C | 12.5°C | 92 mm |
| April | 24°C | 4°C | 14.2°C | 33 mm |
| May | 27°C | 6°C | 16.3°C | 14 mm |
| June | 30°C | 7°C | 18.8°C | 2 mm |
| July | 33°C | 9°C | 21.1°C | 0 mm |
| August | 34°C | 9°C | 21.6°C | 0 mm |
| September | 33°C | 8°C | 20.3°C | 2 mm |
| October | 29°C | 6°C | 17.6°C | 20 mm |
| November | 24°C | 3°C | 13.6°C | 31 mm |
| December | 19°C | 1°C | 10.1°C | 84 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041253; 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.
Which months are mildest at Cachuma Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, April, May, October, November and December. Of those, May 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 USC00041253.
When is the last frost at Cachuma Lake?
In Cachuma Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 11 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 8 in half of years and before October 14 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 111 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after March 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 81 year in 10 before October 14; 9 in 10 before November 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 209 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 271 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 27 in half of springs and before November 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cachuma Lake in zone 10a in ZIP code 93117, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (28 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 USC00041253; 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 at Cachuma Lake?
In a normal year in Cachuma Lake, 86 days a year reach 90°F (19 of them 100°F or more), 19 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 45 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 86a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 19a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 45a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1952) is 120°F, on September 7, 2020; the lowest is 16°F, on December 22, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1995, with 43.80 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00041253; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00041253. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Cachuma Lake?
Over a year 88% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Cachuma Lake, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (93%) and February the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 3.1 |
| February | 81% | 4.0 |
| March | 83% | 5.2 |
| April | 87% | 6.6 |
| May | 88% | 7.5 |
| June | 89% | 7.9 |
| July | 91% | 7.7 |
| August | 93% | 7.2 |
| September | 92% | 6.1 |
| October | 89% | 4.6 |
| November | 87% | 3.5 |
| December | 82% | 2.8 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Cachuma Lake record?
A normal year at Cachuma Lake brings 2,432 heating degree days, 55% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 657 cooling degree days, 28% fewer than the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,910 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 443 | 0 |
| February | 372 | 1 |
| March | 327 | 2 |
| April | 234 | 9 |
| May | 143 | 29 |
| June | 49 | 72 |
| July | 7 | 160 |
| August | 4 | 185 |
| September | 21 | 131 |
| October | 100 | 58 |
| November | 269 | 11 |
| December | 462 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,432 | 657 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041253. 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.
Have recent years at Cachuma Lake been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 62.5°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 60.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63.1°F | +3.0°F | 19.76 |
| 2022 | 63.2°F | +3.1°F | 9.86 |
| 2023 | 61.6°F | +1.5°F | 38.81 |
| 2024 | 63.1°F | +3.0°F | 27.75 |
| 2025 | 62.5°F | +2.4°F | 31.51 |
Over 47 complete years from 1957 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00041253; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cachuma Lake's climate compare?
Cachuma Lake is warmer than 96 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 142. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.1°F is warmer than 75%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cachuma Lake is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. 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 Cachuma Lake share this climate record?
5 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.
- Solvang, CA5,988 people · 9 mi W
- Buellton, CA5,023 people · 12 mi W
- Santa Ynez, CA4,725 people · 7 mi W
- Los Olivos, CA939 people · 9 mi NW
- Ballard, CA796 people · 8 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 Cachuma Lake's climate
What is the coldest month at Cachuma Lake?
December, with a normal high of 67°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is August (93°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow at Cachuma Lake?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month at Cachuma Lake?
February, with 5.29 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cachuma Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cachuma Lake in zone 10a in ZIP code 93117, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come at Cachuma Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Santa Barbara, CA14 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Gibraltar Dam #2, CA17 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Lompoc, CA27 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- New Cuyama, CA30 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made