El Centro, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
El Centro's normal year runs from 41°F December nights to 108°F August afternoons, with 2.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 23.2°C, December lows of 5°C, August highs of 42°C, 60 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationImperial County Airport
- Station IDUSW00003144
- Location32.83°N 115.58°W
- Elevation-58 ft (-18 m)
- Population44,230
On October 23, the normal high in El Centro is 88°F and the normal low 57°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 3%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for El Centro.
- Jan 71° 42°
- Feb 74° 45°
- Mar 80° 51°
- Apr 86° 56°
- May 94° 62°
- Jun 104° 70°
- Jul 108° 78°
- Aug 108° 79°
- Sep 102° 72°
- Oct 90° 60°
- Nov 78° 48°
- Dec 69° 41°
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 El Centro each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 108°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 41°F. The most precipitation falls in January (0.41 in), the least in June (0.00 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 | 71°F | 42°F | 56.0°F | 0.41 | 2 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 74°F | 45°F | 59.4°F | 0.38 | 2 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| March | 80°F | 51°F | 65.3°F | 0.29 | 1 | 5 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 86°F | 56°F | 70.9°F | 0.08 | 1 | 11 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 94°F | 62°F | 78.2°F | 0.07 | <1 | 23 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 104°F | 70°F | 86.8°F | 0.00 | <1 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 108°F | 78°F | 93.1°F | 0.11 | 1 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 108°F | 79°F | 93.6°F | 0.15 | 1 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 102°F | 72°F | 87.2°F | 0.18 | 1 | 29 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 90°F | 60°F | 75.2°F | 0.19 | 1 | 19 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 78°F | 48°F | 63.3°F | 0.18 | 1 | 2 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 69°F | 41°F | 54.9°F | 0.34 | 2 | <1 | 2 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 89°F | 59°F | 73.7°F | 2.38 | 13 | 181 | 4 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°C | 5°C | 13.3°C | 10 mm |
| February | 23°C | 7°C | 15.2°C | 10 mm |
| March | 27°C | 10°C | 18.5°C | 7 mm |
| April | 30°C | 13°C | 21.6°C | 2 mm |
| May | 35°C | 17°C | 25.7°C | 2 mm |
| June | 40°C | 21°C | 30.4°C | 0 mm |
| July | 42°C | 26°C | 33.9°C | 3 mm |
| August | 42°C | 26°C | 34.2°C | 4 mm |
| September | 39°C | 22°C | 30.7°C | 5 mm |
| October | 32°C | 16°C | 24.0°C | 5 mm |
| November | 26°C | 9°C | 17.4°C | 5 mm |
| December | 20°C | 5°C | 12.7°C | 9 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003144; 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 El Centro?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, November and December. Of those, November 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 USW00003144.
When is the last frost in El Centro?
In El Centro, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 14 in half of years and after February 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 24 in half of years and before December 2 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 80% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 141 year in 10 after February 15; 9 in 10 after December 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 241 year in 10 before December 2; 9 in 10 before January 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 346 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 8 in half of springs and before January 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts El Centro in zone 10a in ZIP code 92243. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, El Centro's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (18 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 USW00003144; 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 El Centro?
In a normal year in El Centro, 181 days a year reach 90°F (121 of them 100°F or more), 4 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 13 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 181a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 121a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 4a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in El Centro's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1925) is 122°F, on June 20, 2017; the lowest is 16°F, on January 22, 1937.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 5.72 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003144; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record IPLthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is El Centro, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 57°F. The muggiest month is August, with an average dew point of 60°F; the driest air comes in December (32°F). April is the windiest month (9.6 mph on average), and September has the most clear or nearly clear hours (95%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 45% | 25% | 5.8 mph | 81% | 8% |
| February | 36°F | 42% | 23% | 7.5 mph | 79% | 8% |
| March | 38°F | 35% | 18% | 8.7 mph | 88% | 4% |
| April | 40°F | 30% | 15% | 9.6 mph | 91% | 2% |
| May | 45°F | 28% | 14% | 8.8 mph | 92% | 2% |
| June | 51°F | 27% | 14% | 8.2 mph | 94% | 1% |
| July | 60°F | 34% | 20% | 7.5 mph | 90% | 2% |
| August | 60°F | 36% | 21% | 6.7 mph | 90% | 2% |
| September | 47°F | 32% | 17% | 6.6 mph | 95% | 1% |
| October | 39°F | 35% | 19% | 6.0 mph | 91% | 2% |
| November | 33°F | 42% | 23% | 5.3 mph | 86% | 6% |
| December | 32°F | 46% | 26% | 5.0 mph | 80% | 10% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00003144. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is El Centro?
Over a year 93% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around El Centro, 5.9 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (87%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 89% | 3.6 |
| February | 89% | 4.5 |
| March | 92% | 6.0 |
| April | 94% | 7.3 |
| May | 96% | 8.1 |
| June | 97% | 8.4 |
| July | 93% | 7.7 |
| August | 94% | 7.2 |
| September | 95% | 6.3 |
| October | 94% | 5.1 |
| November | 91% | 3.9 |
| December | 87% | 3.2 |
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 El Centro need?
A normal year in El Centro brings 967 heating degree days, 82% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 4,162 cooling degree days, 4.6 times the median (908). One month needs 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 8,698 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 280 | 1 |
| February | 169 | 14 |
| March | 73 | 84 |
| April | 15 | 192 |
| May | 1 | 410 |
| June | 0 | 656 |
| July | 0 | 871 |
| August | 0 | 885 |
| September | 0 | 666 |
| October | 7 | 323 |
| November | 108 | 59 |
| December | 313 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 967 | 4,162 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003144. 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 El Centro been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 74.8°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 73.7°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74.8°F | +1.1°F | – |
Over 35 complete years from 1963 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.8°F per century (+0.32°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003144; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does El Centro's climate compare?
El Centro is warmer than 212 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 0. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 73.7°F is warmer than 98%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, El Centro is BWh: hot desert. 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 El Centro share this climate record?
5 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.
- Calexico, CA38,744 people · 11 mi SE
- Heber, CA7,308 people · 8 mi S
- Seeley, CA1,654 people · 7 mi SW
- El Centro Naval Air Facility, CA497 people · 5 mi W
- Ocotillo, CA157 people · 25 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do El Centro's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near El Centro. This page uses Imperial County Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro (2 mi SSW) USC00042713 | 5 mi S | -30 ft | 74.3°F | 43°F | 107°F | 2.5 | 0 | January 3 |
| El Centro Naf USW00023199 | 6 mi W | -42 ft | 73.6°F | 42°F | 107°F | 5.1 | – | January 6 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about El Centro's climate
What is the coldest month in El Centro?
December, with a normal high of 69°F and a normal low of 41°F. The warmest is August (108°F by day, 79°F at night).
Does it snow in El Centro?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for El Centro's NOAA station; El Centro's own co-op station El Centro (2 mi SSW) records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in El Centro?
January, with 0.41 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is El Centro in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts El Centro in zone 10a in ZIP code 92243. By the same method at El Centro's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in El Centro?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 14; in one year in ten it comes after February 15. Waiting until February 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- El Centro in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Imperial, CA1 miles from this station, 73.0°F a year
- Brawley, CA9 miles from this station, 73.8°F a year
- Ocotillo Wells (2 mi W), CA41 miles from this station, 76.6°F a year
- Mount Laguna, CA49 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made