Fresno, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fresno's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 98°F July afternoons, with 11.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.3°C, December lows of 4°C, July highs of 37°C, 279 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFresno Yosemite Int'l
- Station IDUSW00093193
- Location36.78°N 119.72°W
- Elevation333 ft (102 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population550,105
On October 24, the normal high in Fresno is 75°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 9%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fresno.
- Jan 55° 41°
- Feb 61° 43°
- Mar 68° 47°
- Apr 74° 51°
- May 83° 58°
- Jun 91° 64°
- Jul 98° 69°
- Aug 97° 68°
- Sep 91° 63°
- Oct 79° 55°
- Nov 65° 45°
- Dec 55° 40°
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 Fresno each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 98°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in January (2.16 in), the least in August (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 | 55°F | 41°F | 48.0°F | 2.16 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 61°F | 43°F | 52.3°F | 1.93 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 68°F | 47°F | 57.4°F | 1.90 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 51°F | 62.3°F | 1.04 | 5 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 83°F | 58°F | 70.2°F | 0.42 | 3 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 91°F | 64°F | 77.6°F | 0.24 | 1 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 98°F | 69°F | 83.5°F | 0.03 | <1 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 97°F | 68°F | 82.2°F | 0.00 | <1 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 91°F | 63°F | 77.1°F | 0.05 | 1 | 20 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 79°F | 55°F | 66.7°F | 0.56 | 2 | 4 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 45°F | 55.1°F | 0.87 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 55°F | 40°F | 47.5°F | 1.79 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 54°F | 65.0°F | 10.99 | 47 | 113 | 11 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 5°C | 8.9°C | 55 mm |
| February | 16°C | 6°C | 11.3°C | 49 mm |
| March | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 48 mm |
| April | 23°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 26 mm |
| May | 28°C | 14°C | 21.2°C | 11 mm |
| June | 33°C | 18°C | 25.3°C | 6 mm |
| July | 37°C | 21°C | 28.6°C | 1 mm |
| August | 36°C | 20°C | 27.9°C | 0 mm |
| September | 33°C | 17°C | 25.1°C | 1 mm |
| October | 26°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 14 mm |
| November | 18°C | 7°C | 12.8°C | 22 mm |
| December | 13°C | 4°C | 8.6°C | 45 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093193; 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 Fresno?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, October 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 USW00093193.
When is the last frost in Fresno?
In Fresno, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 14 in half of years and after February 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 14 in half of years and before November 29 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 85% 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 11; 9 in 10 after December 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 141 year in 10 before November 29; 9 in 10 before January 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 337 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 1 in half of springs and before December 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fresno in zone 9b across its 17 ZIP code areas (9b in 93706, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Fresno's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 29°F (30 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 USW00093193; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Fresno ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Fresno's 17 ZIP code areas are all in zone 9b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
| ZIP code | Zone | Land in Fresno |
|---|---|---|
| 93650 | 9b | 1.6 km² |
| 93701 | 9b | 3.9 km² |
| 93702 | 9b | 13.4 km² |
| 93703 | 9b | 9.4 km² |
| 93704 | 9b | 8.2 km² |
| 93705 | 9b | 12.1 km² |
| 93706 | 9b | 41.9 km² |
| 93710 | 9b | 16.0 km² |
| 93711 | 9b | 21.3 km² |
| 93720 | 9b | 26.1 km² |
| 93721 | 9b | 5.3 km² |
| 93722 | 9b | 38.5 km² |
| 93726 | 9b | 16.4 km² |
| 93727 | 9b | 38.6 km² |
| 93728 | 9b | 7.0 km² |
| 93730 | 9b | 9.6 km² |
| 93740 | 9b | 2.3 km² |
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Fresno?
In a normal year in Fresno, 113 days a year reach 90°F (38 of them 100°F or more), 11 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 47 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 113a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 38a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 11a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 47a normal year
The highest temperature in Fresno's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1887) is 115°F, on July 8, 1905; the lowest is 17°F, on January 6, 1913.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 21.61 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 2.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093193; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record FATthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Fresno, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 52°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 53°F; the driest air comes in December (40°F). May is the windiest month (8.7 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (83%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 76% | 55% | 4.0 mph | 38% | 32% |
| February | 43°F | 69% | 47% | 5.4 mph | 41% | 27% |
| March | 43°F | 58% | 35% | 6.7 mph | 48% | 18% |
| April | 45°F | 47% | 27% | 7.9 mph | 57% | 12% |
| May | 48°F | 42% | 23% | 8.7 mph | 67% | 6% |
| June | 51°F | 37% | 20% | 7.9 mph | 81% | 2% |
| July | 53°F | 38% | 20% | 7.3 mph | 79% | 1% |
| August | 52°F | 39% | 21% | 6.5 mph | 83% | 1% |
| September | 49°F | 46% | 25% | 5.3 mph | 76% | 4% |
| October | 45°F | 60% | 36% | 4.0 mph | 62% | 11% |
| November | 41°F | 72% | 50% | 4.0 mph | 49% | 25% |
| December | 40°F | 79% | 59% | 4.0 mph | 36% | 34% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00093193. 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 Fresno?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fresno, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (98%) and January the cloudiest (71%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 21st (with 17 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.4 |
| February | 78% | 3.6 |
| March | 84% | 5.1 |
| April | 87% | 6.5 |
| May | 92% | 7.7 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 97% | 8.1 |
| August | 98% | 7.4 |
| September | 97% | 6.1 |
| October | 92% | 4.5 |
| November | 83% | 3.1 |
| December | 72% | 2.2 |
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 Fresno need?
A normal year in Fresno brings 2,187 heating degree days, 59% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,209 cooling degree days, 2.4 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,768 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 527 | 0 |
| February | 356 | 0 |
| March | 242 | 6 |
| April | 129 | 48 |
| May | 32 | 191 |
| June | 3 | 382 |
| July | 0 | 573 |
| August | 0 | 533 |
| September | 2 | 364 |
| October | 57 | 108 |
| November | 299 | 3 |
| December | 541 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,187 | 2,209 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093193. 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 Fresno been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 66.1°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 65.0°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67.2°F | +2.2°F | 10.38 |
| 2022 | 67.2°F | +2.2°F | 6.44 |
| 2023 | 65.7°F | +0.7°F | 13.64 |
| 2024 | 67.7°F | +2.7°F | 12.09 |
| 2025 | 66.1°F | +1.1°F | 12.50 |
Over 123 complete years from 1891 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093193; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Fresno's climate compare?
Fresno is warmer than 178 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 65.0°F is warmer than 88%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fresno is BSh: hot semi-arid steppe. 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 Fresno share this climate record?
21 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.
- Clovis, CAalso near: Friant (12 mi, 62.5°F a year); Auberry (21 mi, 61.7°F a year)127,993 people · 4 mi NE
- Sanger, CA26,649 people · 11 mi SE
- Reedley, CA26,138 people · 20 mi SE
- Selma, CA24,505 people · 16 mi S
- Parlier, CA14,429 people · 15 mi SE
- Fowler, CA7,470 people · 11 mi S
- Old Fig Garden, CA5,387 people · 5 mi W
- Mayfair, CA5,173 people · 2 mi W
- Sunnyside, CA5,003 people · 4 mi S
- Tarpey Village, CA3,125 people · 1 mi NE
- Easton, CA2,406 people · 10 mi SW
- Calwa, CA2,140 people · 5 mi SW
- Del Rey, CA1,513 people · 11 mi SE
- West Park, CA1,319 people · 9 mi SW
- Minkler, CA872 people · 15 mi E
- Malaga, CA693 people · 7 mi S
- Fort Washington, CA266 people · 7 mi N
- Raisin City, CA248 people · 16 mi SW
- Bowles, CA204 people · 12 mi S
- Centerville, CA170 people · 13 mi E
- Monmouth, CA168 people · 15 mi S
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 Fresno's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Fresno. This page uses Fresno Yosemite Int'l; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno (5 mi NE) USC00043256 | 5 mi E | 338 ft | 66.7°F | 38°F | 102°F | 11.8 | – | January 30 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Fresno's climate
What is the coldest month in Fresno?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is July (98°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Fresno?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Fresno?
January, with 2.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fresno in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fresno in zone 9b across its 17 ZIP code areas (9b in 93706, the largest). By the same method at Fresno's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 29°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Fresno?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 14; in one year in ten it comes after February 11. Waiting until February 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Fresno in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Friant, CA15 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Auberry, CA24 miles from this station, 61.7°F a year
- Madera, CA26 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Hanford, CA32 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made