California, MO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from California's primary NOAA station, CALIFORNIA.
The climate verdict for California
California, Missouri has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 55°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 55°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 43.1"
- annual precipitation · 10" snow
- 197 days
- frost-free growing season
California: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00231189 · California, MO 55°F mean · 43.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 55°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,117
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Flora
- PRCP-MID 43.1"
- SWING-WIDE 48°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,943 HDD
- STN-1 USC00231189
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Flora, IL (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MO station list.
- California (this station) 55°F
- Hot Brownlee Dam, ID 55°F
- Near Flora, IL 55°F
- Near Charleston, IL 55°F
- Near Princeton, IN 55°F
Climate Living Index · California
California: 65/100 · grade C
California publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for California, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 43.1 in · 8.1 from 35 in | 71/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 111 calendar days | 70/100 · B |
| Snowfall burden | 9.7 inches/year | 64/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 197 days/year | 62/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 54.9°F · 12.6° from 67.5°F | 59/100 · C |
California · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
California is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 29.8°F and warmest-month mean 77.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 77.6°F
- Coldest month
- 29.8°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where California sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for California's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 60th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 65th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 72%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for California is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How California compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
California's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
California's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 39 complete annual observations from 1972 to 2021, CALIFORNIA warmed at a fitted rate of 0.16°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- California primary station fitted change +0.16 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F (4°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 2.0" | 3.3" | 26.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 45°F (7°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 2.3" | 1.8" | 21.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 55°F (13°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.0" | 0.7" | 14.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 66°F (19°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 3.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 75°F (24°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.3 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 11.5 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.4 |
| September | 80°F (27°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| October | 68°F (20°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 2.4 | 0.1 |
| November | 55°F (13°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.2" | 0.4" | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 44°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.9" | 3.5" | 23.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 88°F around July 24, short of 90°F on every date, while 111 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near January 18.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 11, then returns to freezing around November 22, covering 111 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 2, when 39% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 22 at 21%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 98 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 6 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for California.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.3"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.8"
6.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
9.1 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
11.6 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
7.0 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
7.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.5"
6.5 days with precipitation
California spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 30% of the annual total and December through February 14%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. California has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 47.8°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 5.0" and December 1.9". The three wettest months together take 34% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in California, it arrives in quantity
43.2" of precipitation falls across only about 98 wet days here, averaging 0.44 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 98 a year, 27% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.44 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- February, about 7
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches California, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 9.7 inches of snow a year here, most likely in December. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 6 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
197 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,943
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,315
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MO closest to California on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (55°F here).
- Booneville, KY 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Cave Junction, OR 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Clendenin, WV 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Coalmont, TN 55°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (43.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Muskogee, OK 43.1" · 0.0" off
- Fort Bragg, CA 43.2" · 0.0" off
- Oswayo, PA 43.1" · 0.0" off
- Shelbyville, IN 43.1" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How California's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
California's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,943 annual heating degree days against 1,315 for cooling. Its 47.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
California's frost-free season lasts about 197 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in California's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 47.8°F. The annual average is 55°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
California's 43.1 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Annual snowfall totals 9.7 inches. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from California's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for California, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about California's climate
How much rain does California get? ▼
How cold does California get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in California? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from California's primary station: CALIFORNIA (USC00231189). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2910468). Match rule for California: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for California comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.