Inyokern, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Inyokern's normal year runs from 32°F December nights to 102°F July afternoons, with 4.3 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.5 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.2°C, December lows of 0°C, July highs of 39°C, 108 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationInyokern
- Station IDUSC00044278
- Location35.65°N 117.82°W
- Elevation2,430 ft (741 m)
- Population (census place)958
On October 23, the normal high in Inyokern is 80°F and the normal low 48°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 Inyokern.
- Jan 60° 33°
- Feb 65° 36°
- Mar 72° 42°
- Apr 77° 47°
- May 86° 54°
- Jun 96° 63°
- Jul 102° 68°
- Aug 101° 67°
- Sep 94° 60°
- Oct 83° 50°
- Nov 68° 39°
- Dec 59° 32°
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 Inyokern each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 102°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in February (1.16 in), the least in May (0.04 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 33°F | 46.8°F | 0.82 | 3 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| February | 65°F | 36°F | 50.1°F | 1.16 | 5 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 72°F | 42°F | 56.7°F | 0.52 | 3 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 77°F | 47°F | 62.3°F | 0.12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 86°F | 54°F | 70.2°F | 0.04 | 1 | 14 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 96°F | 63°F | 79.5°F | 0.06 | <1 | 25 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 102°F | 68°F | 85.3°F | 0.22 | 1 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 101°F | 67°F | 84.0°F | 0.08 | 1 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 94°F | 60°F | 77.1°F | 0.18 | 1 | 25 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 83°F | 50°F | 66.5°F | 0.13 | 1 | 9 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 68°F | 39°F | 53.9°F | 0.23 | 1 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 32°F | 45.3°F | 0.71 | 2 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 80°F | 49°F | 64.8°F | 4.27 | 19 | 137 | 58 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 21 mm |
| February | 18°C | 2°C | 10.1°C | 29 mm |
| March | 22°C | 5°C | 13.7°C | 13 mm |
| April | 25°C | 8°C | 16.8°C | 3 mm |
| May | 30°C | 12°C | 21.2°C | 1 mm |
| June | 36°C | 17°C | 26.4°C | 2 mm |
| July | 39°C | 20°C | 29.6°C | 6 mm |
| August | 38°C | 19°C | 28.9°C | 2 mm |
| September | 35°C | 15°C | 25.1°C | 5 mm |
| October | 28°C | 10°C | 19.2°C | 3 mm |
| November | 20°C | 4°C | 12.2°C | 6 mm |
| December | 15°C | 0°C | 7.4°C | 18 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00044278; 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 Inyokern?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, April 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 USC00044278.
When is the last frost in Inyokern?
In Inyokern, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 9 in half of years and after April 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before November 2 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 91 year in 10 after April 8; 9 in 10 after February 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before November 2; 9 in 10 before December 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 250 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 286 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 18 in half of springs and before December 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Inyokern in zone 8b in ZIP code 93555, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00044278; 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 Inyokern?
In a normal year in Inyokern, 137 days a year reach 90°F (71 of them 100°F or more), 58 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 19 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 137a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 71a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 58a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 19a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00044278.
How sunny is Inyokern?
Over a year 93% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Inyokern, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (85%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.1 |
| February | 87% | 4.2 |
| March | 90% | 5.7 |
| April | 93% | 7.0 |
| May | 94% | 8.0 |
| June | 97% | 8.6 |
| July | 95% | 8.0 |
| August | 97% | 7.5 |
| September | 97% | 6.3 |
| October | 94% | 4.8 |
| November | 91% | 3.5 |
| December | 85% | 2.8 |
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 Inyokern need?
A normal year in Inyokern brings 2,431 heating degree days, 55% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,389 cooling degree days, 2.6 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,858 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 564 | 0 |
| February | 416 | 0 |
| March | 267 | 8 |
| April | 129 | 48 |
| May | 38 | 200 |
| June | 3 | 438 |
| July | 0 | 628 |
| August | 0 | 589 |
| September | 3 | 364 |
| October | 65 | 110 |
| November | 337 | 4 |
| December | 609 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,431 | 2,389 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00044278. 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 Inyokern's climate compare?
Inyokern is warmer than 174 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 9. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.8°F is warmer than 87%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Inyokern 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 Inyokern 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.
- China Lake Acres, CA2,523 people · 3 mi E
- Pearsonville, CA0 people · 12 mi N
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 Inyokern's climate
What is the coldest month in Inyokern?
December, with a normal high of 59°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (102°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Inyokern?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.5 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Inyokern?
February, with 1.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 0.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Inyokern in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Inyokern in zone 8b in ZIP code 93555, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Inyokern?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 9; in one year in ten it comes after April 8. Waiting until April 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- China Lake Naf, CA7 miles from this station, 65.3°F a year
- Randsburg, CA22 miles from this station, 64.2°F a year
- Trona, CA25 miles from this station, 68.4°F a year
- South Lake FS, CA30 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made