Calaveras Big Trees, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Calaveras Big Trees's normal year runs from 30°F December nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 55.5 inches of precipitation and 105 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,410 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCalaveras Big Trees
- Station IDUSC00041277
- Location38.28°N 120.31°W
- Elevation4,695 ft (1,431 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Calaveras Big Trees is 61°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Calaveras Big Trees.
- Jan 45° 30°
- Feb 46° 30°
- Mar 49° 32°
- Apr 54° 35°
- May 63° 42°
- Jun 73° 49°
- Jul 81° 56°
- Aug 80° 55°
- Sep 74° 51°
- Oct 64° 43°
- Nov 52° 34°
- Dec 44° 30°
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 Calaveras Big Trees each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in January (10.57 in), the least in August (0.06 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 30°F | 37.7°F | 10.57 | 19.3 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 46°F | 30°F | 37.9°F | 9.82 | 25.9 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 49°F | 32°F | 40.3°F | 8.48 | 19.2 | 11 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 35°F | 44.5°F | 4.59 | 11.4 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 63°F | 42°F | 52.1°F | 2.79 | 2.2 | 6 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 73°F | 49°F | 61.0°F | 0.95 | 0.1 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 81°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 0.11 | 0.0 | <1 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 80°F | 55°F | 67.3°F | 0.06 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 74°F | 51°F | 62.1°F | 0.39 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 43°F | 53.0°F | 2.93 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 52°F | 34°F | 43.2°F | 5.17 | 7.7 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 30°F | 36.8°F | 9.65 | 18.7 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.3°F | 55.51 | 104.8 | 74 | 2 | 115 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −1°C | 3.2°C | 268 mm | 49 cm |
| February | 8°C | −1°C | 3.3°C | 249 mm | 66 cm |
| March | 9°C | 0°C | 4.6°C | 215 mm | 49 cm |
| April | 12°C | 2°C | 6.9°C | 117 mm | 29 cm |
| May | 17°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 71 mm | 6 cm |
| June | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 3 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 13°C | 19.6°C | 2 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 6°C | 11.7°C | 74 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 11°C | 1°C | 6.2°C | 131 mm | 20 cm |
| December | 7°C | −1°C | 2.7°C | 245 mm | 47 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041277; 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 Calaveras Big Trees?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (0).
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 USC00041277.
When is the last frost at Calaveras Big Trees?
In Calaveras Big Trees, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 28 in half of years and before October 5 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
- May 71 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 281 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 169 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 207 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 18 in half of springs and before November 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Calaveras Big Trees in zone 8b in ZIP code 95224, 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 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (16 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 USC00041277; 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 Calaveras Big Trees?
In a normal year in Calaveras Big Trees, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 115 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 74 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 115a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 74a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1929) is 107°F, on July 27, 1933; the lowest is 0°F, on December 11, 1932.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 109.12 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 287.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00041277; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00041277. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Calaveras Big Trees?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Calaveras Big Trees, 5.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 74% | 4.5 |
| April | 78% | 5.9 |
| May | 86% | 7.3 |
| June | 94% | 8.4 |
| July | 97% | 8.3 |
| August | 97% | 7.5 |
| September | 94% | 6.0 |
| October | 89% | 4.4 |
| November | 80% | 2.8 |
| December | 70% | 2.1 |
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 Calaveras Big Trees record?
A normal year at Calaveras Big Trees brings 5,640 heating degree days, 5% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 319 cooling degree days, 65% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,183 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 846 | 0 |
| February | 759 | 0 |
| March | 767 | 0 |
| April | 615 | 0 |
| May | 403 | 5 |
| June | 158 | 38 |
| July | 27 | 123 |
| August | 30 | 103 |
| September | 128 | 43 |
| October | 379 | 7 |
| November | 654 | 0 |
| December | 873 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,640 | 319 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041277. 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 Calaveras Big Trees been warmer than normal?
Over 53 complete years from 1933 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted -0.9°F per century (−0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Calaveras Big Trees's climate compare?
Calaveras Big Trees is warmer than 20 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 206. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.3°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Calaveras Big Trees 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 Calaveras Big Trees share this climate record?
10 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.
- Arnold, CA2,276 people · 3 mi SW
- Forest Meadows, CA1,485 people · 9 mi SW
- Rail Road Flat, CA696 people · 14 mi W
- Wilseyville, CA696 people · 12 mi NW
- Dorrington, CA512 people · 3 mi NE
- Mountain Ranch, CA310 people · 13 mi W
- Hathaway Pines, CA204 people · 7 mi SW
- Avery, CA199 people · 6 mi SW
- Bear Valley, CA80 people · 20 mi NE
- Sheep Ranch, CA0 people · 9 mi SW
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 Calaveras Big Trees's climate
What is the coldest month at Calaveras Big Trees?
December, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow at Calaveras Big Trees?
Yes: 105 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (25.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Calaveras Big Trees?
January, with 10.57 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.06 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Calaveras Big Trees in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Calaveras Big Trees in zone 8b in ZIP code 95224, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come at Calaveras Big Trees?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- New Melones Dam Headquarters, CA21 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Sonora, CA22 miles from this station, 57.7°F a year
- Sutter Hill Fire Station, CA27 miles from this station, 61.0°F a year
- Camp Pardee, CA29 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made