Canyon Dam, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Canyon Dam's normal year runs from 25°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 37.1 inches of precipitation and 109 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.5°C, December lows of −4°C, July highs of 30°C, 942 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCanyon Dam
- Station IDUSC00041497
- Location40.17°N 121.09°W
- Elevation4,560 ft (1,390 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Canyon Dam is 62°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Canyon Dam.
- Jan 42° 25°
- Feb 45° 26°
- Mar 51° 29°
- Apr 58° 32°
- May 68° 39°
- Jun 78° 45°
- Jul 86° 50°
- Aug 85° 49°
- Sep 79° 44°
- Oct 66° 36°
- Nov 50° 30°
- Dec 41° 25°
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 Canyon Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.84 in), the least in July (0.14 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 25°F | 33.5°F | 6.36 | 28.5 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 26°F | 35.8°F | 6.36 | 22.3 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 29°F | 39.8°F | 5.66 | 17.1 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 32°F | 44.8°F | 2.86 | 7.3 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 68°F | 39°F | 53.5°F | 1.94 | 0.5 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 78°F | 45°F | 61.2°F | 0.82 | 0.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 50°F | 68.3°F | 0.14 | 0.0 | 1 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 49°F | 67.0°F | 0.17 | 0.0 | 1 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 44°F | 61.3°F | 0.35 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 36°F | 50.8°F | 1.95 | 0.8 | 5 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 30°F | 39.8°F | 3.64 | 7.1 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 25°F | 33.0°F | 6.84 | 25.6 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 36°F | 49.1°F | 37.09 | 109.3 | 81 | 18 | 159 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −4°C | 0.8°C | 162 mm | 72 cm |
| February | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 162 mm | 57 cm |
| March | 11°C | −2°C | 4.3°C | 144 mm | 43 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 73 mm | 19 cm |
| May | 20°C | 4°C | 11.9°C | 49 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 25°C | 7°C | 16.2°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 10°C | 20.2°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 9°C | 19.4°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 7°C | 16.3°C | 9 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 2°C | 10.4°C | 50 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 10°C | −1°C | 4.3°C | 92 mm | 18 cm |
| December | 5°C | −4°C | 0.6°C | 174 mm | 65 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041497; 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 Canyon Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00041497.
When is the last frost at Canyon Dam?
In Canyon Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 8 in half of years and before September 24 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 181 year in 10 after June 9; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 81 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Canyon Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 95923, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (24 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 USC00041497; 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 Canyon Dam?
In a normal year in Canyon Dam, 18 days a year reach 90°F, 159 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 81 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 18a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 159a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 81a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 26a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1914) is 104°F, on July 18, 1914; the lowest is −16°F, on January 22, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 71.23 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 347.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00041497; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00041497. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Canyon Dam?
Over a year 84% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Canyon Dam, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (96%) and December the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.1 |
| February | 72% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.7 |
| May | 83% | 7.0 |
| June | 91% | 8.2 |
| July | 96% | 8.3 |
| August | 95% | 7.3 |
| September | 93% | 5.9 |
| October | 87% | 4.1 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 67% | 1.8 |
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 Canyon Dam record?
A normal year at Canyon Dam brings 6,073 heating degree days, 13% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 286 cooling degree days, 68% 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 2,062 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 977 | 0 |
| February | 819 | 0 |
| March | 783 | 0 |
| April | 606 | 0 |
| May | 362 | 4 |
| June | 148 | 34 |
| July | 27 | 129 |
| August | 34 | 94 |
| September | 134 | 25 |
| October | 440 | 1 |
| November | 755 | 0 |
| December | 990 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,073 | 286 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041497. 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 Canyon Dam been warmer than normal?
Over 72 complete years from 1924 to 2017, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.2°F per century (+0.01°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 Canyon Dam's climate compare?
Canyon Dam is warmer than 15 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 179. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.1°F is warmer than 36%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Canyon Dam 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 Canyon Dam share this climate record?
11 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.
- Westwood, CA769 people · 10 mi NE
- Hamilton Branch, CA504 people · 7 mi N
- Greenville, CA387 people · 8 mi E
- Clear Creek, CA273 people · 10 mi N
- East Shore, CA210 people · 5 mi N
- Crescent Mills, CA57 people · 10 mi SE
- Prattville, CA52 people · 4 mi NW
- Canyondam, CA8 people · 1 mi E
- Almanor, CA0 people · 6 mi NW
- Belden, CA0 people · 14 mi SW
- Caribou, CA0 people · 8 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 Canyon Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Canyon Dam?
December, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Canyon Dam?
Yes: 109 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (28.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Canyon Dam?
December, with 6.84 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.14 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Canyon Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Canyon Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 95923, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Canyon Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 9. Waiting until June 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Chester, CA12 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Quincy, CA18 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Susanville, CA28 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Mineral, CA30 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made