Chico, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chico's normal year runs from 36°F January nights to 95°F July afternoons, with 27.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.4°C, January lows of 2°C, July highs of 35°C, 696 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChico University Farm
- Station IDUSC00041715
- Location39.69°N 121.82°W
- Elevation185 ft (56 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population102,911
On October 14, the normal high in Chico is 81°F and the normal low 48°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chico.
- Jan 56° 36°
- Feb 62° 38°
- Mar 67° 42°
- Apr 73° 45°
- May 81° 52°
- Jun 89° 57°
- Jul 95° 61°
- Aug 94° 59°
- Sep 91° 55°
- Oct 80° 47°
- Nov 65° 40°
- Dec 57° 36°
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 Chico each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 36°F. The most precipitation falls in February (5.14 in), the least in July (0.03 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F | 36°F | 46.1°F | 5.12 | – | <1 | 12 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 62°F | 38°F | 50.3°F | 5.14 | – | <1 | 6 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 67°F | 42°F | 54.2°F | 3.63 | – | <1 | 3 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 45°F | 59.0°F | 1.95 | – | 1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 81°F | 52°F | 66.8°F | 1.35 | – | 6 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 89°F | 57°F | 73.4°F | 0.64 | – | 16 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 95°F | 61°F | 78.1°F | 0.03 | – | 26 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 94°F | 59°F | 76.7°F | 0.10 | – | 25 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 91°F | 55°F | 72.9°F | 0.25 | – | 20 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 80°F | 47°F | 63.5°F | 1.73 | – | 6 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 65°F | 40°F | 52.4°F | 2.41 | – | <1 | 5 | 10 h |
| December | 57°F | 36°F | 46.4°F | 5.04 | – | <1 | 13 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 48°F | 61.6°F | 27.39 | – | 99 | 40 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 130 mm |
| February | 17°C | 3°C | 10.2°C | 131 mm |
| March | 19°C | 5°C | 12.3°C | 92 mm |
| April | 23°C | 7°C | 15.0°C | 50 mm |
| May | 27°C | 11°C | 19.3°C | 34 mm |
| June | 32°C | 14°C | 23.0°C | 16 mm |
| July | 35°C | 16°C | 25.6°C | 1 mm |
| August | 35°C | 15°C | 24.8°C | 3 mm |
| September | 33°C | 13°C | 22.7°C | 6 mm |
| October | 27°C | 9°C | 17.5°C | 44 mm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 61 mm |
| December | 14°C | 2°C | 8.0°C | 128 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Paradise (11 miles away), gets 0 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041715; 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 Chico?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November.
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 USC00041715.
When is the last frost in Chico?
In Chico, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 4 in half of years and after April 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 17 in half of years and before November 1 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
- March 41 year in 10 after April 2; 9 in 10 after February 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 171 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 257 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 307 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 5 in half of springs and before December 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chico in zone 9b in ZIP code 95926.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00041715; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Chico?
In a normal year in Chico, 99 days a year reach 90°F (25 of them 100°F or more) and 40 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 99a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 25a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 40a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1906) is 117°F, on July 15, 1972; the lowest is 11°F, on December 12, 1932.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 45.54 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 2.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00041715; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00041715. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chico?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chico, 5.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (98%) and December the cloudiest (69%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 58th (with 22 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.1 |
| February | 74% | 3.1 |
| March | 76% | 4.3 |
| April | 81% | 5.9 |
| May | 88% | 7.3 |
| June | 94% | 8.3 |
| July | 98% | 8.3 |
| August | 97% | 7.4 |
| September | 95% | 5.9 |
| October | 89% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 2.6 |
| December | 69% | 1.9 |
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 Chico need?
A normal year in Chico brings 2,676 heating degree days, 50% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,474 cooling degree days, 62% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,667 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 584 | 0 |
| February | 413 | 0 |
| March | 338 | 1 |
| April | 196 | 18 |
| May | 67 | 121 |
| June | 11 | 261 |
| July | 0 | 406 |
| August | 0 | 361 |
| September | 6 | 243 |
| October | 106 | 61 |
| November | 379 | 1 |
| December | 575 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,676 | 1,474 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00041715. 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.
How does Chico's climate compare?
Chico is warmer than 113 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 163. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.6°F is warmer than 79%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chico is Csa: temperate, dry-summer, hot 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 Chico share this climate record?
2 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.
- Durham, CA6,111 people · 5 mi S
- Nord, CA107 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 Chico's climate
What is the coldest month in Chico?
January, with a normal high of 56°F and a normal low of 36°F. The warmest is July (95°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Chico?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Chico's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Paradise (11 miles away), records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Chico?
February, with 5.14 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chico in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chico in zone 9b in ZIP code 95926.
How late can frost come in Chico?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 4; in one year in ten it comes after April 2. Waiting until April 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Chico in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Paradise, CA11 miles from this station, 61.5°F a year
- De Sabla, CA17 miles from this station, 57.3°F a year
- Oroville, CA17 miles from this station, 63.2°F a year
- Orland, CA21 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