Chester, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chester's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 34.3 inches of precipitation and 110 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.7°C, December lows of −6°C, July highs of 30°C, 872 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChester
- Station IDUSC00041700
- Location40.30°N 121.24°W
- Elevation4,530 ft (1,381 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (census place)2,022
On October 23, the normal high in Chester is 62°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chester.
- Jan 42° 22°
- Feb 46° 23°
- Mar 51° 26°
- Apr 57° 30°
- May 67° 37°
- Jun 77° 43°
- Jul 86° 48°
- Aug 85° 46°
- Sep 79° 41°
- Oct 66° 33°
- Nov 51° 26°
- Dec 41° 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 Chester each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.54 in), the least in August (0.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 22°F | 32.0°F | 6.18 | 31.9 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 46°F | 23°F | 34.3°F | 5.11 | 23.9 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 26°F | 38.4°F | 5.48 | 17.0 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 30°F | 43.7°F | 2.51 | 3.8 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 67°F | 37°F | 51.8°F | 1.90 | 0.2 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 77°F | 43°F | 59.6°F | 0.77 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 48°F | 67.1°F | 0.36 | 0.0 | 2 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 46°F | 65.6°F | 0.15 | 0.0 | 1 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 41°F | 59.8°F | 0.31 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 33°F | 49.5°F | 1.70 | 0.3 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 26°F | 38.5°F | 3.31 | 10.1 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 22°F | 31.6°F | 6.54 | 22.4 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 33°F | 47.7°F | 34.32 | 109.6 | 86 | 19 | 188 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −6°C | 0.0°C | 157 mm | 81 cm |
| February | 8°C | −5°C | 1.3°C | 130 mm | 61 cm |
| March | 10°C | −3°C | 3.6°C | 139 mm | 43 cm |
| April | 14°C | −1°C | 6.5°C | 64 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 19°C | 3°C | 11.0°C | 48 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 25°C | 6°C | 15.3°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 9°C | 19.5°C | 9 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 8°C | 18.7°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 5°C | 15.4°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 1°C | 9.7°C | 43 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | −3°C | 3.6°C | 84 mm | 26 cm |
| December | 5°C | −6°C | −0.2°C | 166 mm | 57 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041700; 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 Chester?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, August 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 USC00041700.
When is the last frost in Chester?
In Chester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 28 in half of years and after June 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 12 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 281 year in 10 after June 13; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 12; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 124 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chester in zone 7a in ZIP code 96020. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chester's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (19 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 USC00041700; 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 Chester?
In a normal year in Chester, 19 days a year reach 90°F, 188 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 188a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 106°F, on September 4, 2024; the lowest is −16°F, on December 9, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1995, with 64.36 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 362.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00041700; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00041700. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chester?
Over a year 84% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chester, 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 much heating and cooling does Chester need?
A normal year in Chester brings 6,512 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 210 cooling degree days, 77% 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 1,837 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,023 | 0 |
| February | 860 | 0 |
| March | 825 | 0 |
| April | 640 | 0 |
| May | 413 | 2 |
| June | 185 | 25 |
| July | 36 | 103 |
| August | 47 | 67 |
| September | 171 | 14 |
| October | 481 | 0 |
| November | 795 | 0 |
| December | 1,037 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,512 | 210 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041700. 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 Chester been warmer than normal lately?
Over 43 complete years from 1958 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.4°F per century (+0.13°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 Chester's climate compare?
Chester is warmer than 9 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 175. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.7°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chester is Dsb: continental, 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 Chester share this climate record?
4 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.
- Lake Almanor Country Club, CA542 people · 6 mi SE
- Lake Almanor West, CA382 people · 5 mi SE
- Lake Almanor Peninsula, CA265 people · 6 mi E
- Warner Valley, CA0 people · 9 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 Chester's climate
What is the coldest month in Chester?
December, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 48°F at night).
Does it snow in Chester?
Yes: 110 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (31.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Chester?
December, with 6.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chester in zone 7a in ZIP code 96020. By the same method at Chester's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Chester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 28; in one year in ten it comes after June 13. Waiting until June 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Canyon Dam, CA12 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Mineral, CA19 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Manzanita Lake, CA24 miles from this station, 44.5°F a year
- Quincy, CA30 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made