Fort Bidwell, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fort Bidwell's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 17.5 inches of precipitation and 56 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.2°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 444 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Bidwell
- Station IDUSC00043157
- Location41.87°N 120.16°W
- Elevation4,739 ft (1,444 m)
- Population (census place)172
On October 22, the normal high in Fort Bidwell is 61°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Bidwell.
- Jan 40° 23°
- Feb 44° 26°
- Mar 51° 30°
- Apr 57° 33°
- May 66° 40°
- Jun 75° 46°
- Jul 86° 54°
- Aug 85° 51°
- Sep 77° 45°
- Oct 64° 36°
- Nov 48° 29°
- Dec 38° 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 Fort Bidwell 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 (2.86 in), the least in July (0.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 23°F | 31.6°F | 2.71 | 15.1 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 44°F | 26°F | 34.9°F | 1.87 | 11.0 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 51°F | 30°F | 40.4°F | 2.11 | 6.2 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 33°F | 45.2°F | 1.79 | 3.2 | 10 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 40°F | 53.3°F | 1.47 | 0.5 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 75°F | 46°F | 60.6°F | 0.79 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 86°F | 54°F | 69.6°F | 0.20 | 0.0 | 2 | 10 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 85°F | 51°F | 68.0°F | 0.25 | 0.0 | 1 | 7 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 77°F | 45°F | 60.9°F | 0.29 | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 36°F | 49.9°F | 1.06 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 29°F | 38.4°F | 2.07 | 6.5 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 22°F | 30.3°F | 2.86 | 12.9 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 36°F | 48.6°F | 17.47 | 55.9 | 85 | 20 | 149 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.2°C | 69 mm | 38 cm |
| February | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 47 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 11°C | −1°C | 4.7°C | 54 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 45 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 37 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 24°C | 8°C | 15.9°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 12°C | 20.9°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 11°C | 20.0°C | 6 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 7°C | 16.1°C | 7 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 18°C | 2°C | 9.9°C | 27 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.6°C | 53 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −0.9°C | 73 mm | 33 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00043157; 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 Fort Bidwell?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. 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 USC00043157.
When is the last frost in Fort Bidwell?
In Fort Bidwell, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 26 in half of years and after June 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 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 261 year in 10 after June 13; 9 in 10 after May 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 12; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 127 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 164 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Bidwell in zone 6b in ZIP code 96112, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Fort Bidwell's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (21 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 USC00043157; 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 Fort Bidwell?
In a normal year in Fort Bidwell, 20 days a year reach 90°F, 149 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 85 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 20a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 149a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 14high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 85a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1870) is 106°F, on July 28, 1934; the lowest is −26°F, on January 23, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 28.56 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 112.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00043157; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00043157. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Fort Bidwell?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fort Bidwell, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (93%) and December the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.0 |
| February | 71% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.1 |
| April | 74% | 5.5 |
| May | 80% | 6.8 |
| June | 88% | 7.9 |
| July | 93% | 8.0 |
| August | 93% | 7.1 |
| September | 90% | 5.6 |
| October | 83% | 3.8 |
| November | 71% | 2.3 |
| December | 64% | 1.6 |
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 Fort Bidwell need?
A normal year in Fort Bidwell brings 6,338 heating degree days, 18% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 378 cooling degree days, 58% 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 2,130 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,037 | 0 |
| February | 843 | 0 |
| March | 764 | 0 |
| April | 594 | 0 |
| May | 367 | 4 |
| June | 171 | 37 |
| July | 25 | 169 |
| August | 35 | 128 |
| September | 161 | 38 |
| October | 470 | 2 |
| November | 797 | 0 |
| December | 1,076 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,338 | 378 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00043157. 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 Fort Bidwell been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.1°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.6°F | +2.0°F | 14.06 | 73.7 |
| 2022 | 49.1°F | +0.5°F | 15.46 | 57.9 |
| 2023 | 47.9°F | −0.7°F | 23.11 | 80.2 |
| 2024 | 50.3°F | +1.7°F | 18.62 | 61.0 |
| 2025 | 51.1°F | +2.5°F | 23.56 | 45.3 |
Over 77 complete years from 1915 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.9°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00043157; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Fort Bidwell's climate compare?
Fort Bidwell is warmer than 12 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 120. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.6°F is warmer than 34%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Bidwell 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 Fort Bidwell share this climate record?
New Pine Creek has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- New Pine Creek, OR193 people · 12 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 Fort Bidwell's climate
What is the coldest month in Fort Bidwell?
December, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Fort Bidwell?
Yes: 56 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (15.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Fort Bidwell?
December, with 2.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Bidwell in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Bidwell in zone 6b in ZIP code 96112, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Fort Bidwell's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Fort Bidwell?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 26; 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
- Cedarville, CA24 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Denio (52 mi WSW), NV27 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Lakeview, OR28 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Bly (4 mi SE), OR32 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made