Lake Arrowhead, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lake Arrowhead's normal year runs from 29°F December nights to 82°F August afternoons, with 37.7 inches of precipitation and 22 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.6°C, December lows of −2°C, August highs of 28°C, 958 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLake Arrowhead
- Station IDUSC00044671
- Location34.25°N 117.19°W
- Elevation5,205 ft (1,587 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (census place)10,746
On October 23, the normal high in Lake Arrowhead is 61°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 8%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lake Arrowhead.
- Jan 44° 29°
- Feb 45° 30°
- Mar 52° 32°
- Apr 60° 36°
- May 67° 41°
- Jun 76° 49°
- Jul 81° 57°
- Aug 82° 57°
- Sep 74° 52°
- Oct 63° 43°
- Nov 52° 34°
- Dec 43° 29°
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 Lake Arrowhead each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in February (9.87 in), the least in July (0.12 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 29°F | 36.5°F | 8.36 | 3.0 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 45°F | 30°F | 37.4°F | 9.87 | 5.3 | 7 | <1 | 19 | 11 h |
| March | 52°F | 32°F | 41.8°F | 5.17 | 6.7 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 36°F | 48.0°F | 2.76 | 2.8 | 3 | <1 | 11 | 13 h |
| May | 67°F | 41°F | 53.9°F | 1.15 | 0.8 | 2 | <1 | 2 | 14 h |
| June | 76°F | 49°F | 62.8°F | 0.26 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 81°F | 57°F | 69.1°F | 0.12 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 82°F | 57°F | 69.4°F | 0.13 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 74°F | 52°F | 63.0°F | 0.31 | 0.0 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 43°F | 52.9°F | 2.06 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 52°F | 34°F | 42.7°F | 2.37 | 0.3 | 3 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 43°F | 29°F | 36.0°F | 5.17 | 3.5 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 41°F | 51.1°F | 37.73 | 22.4 | 35 | 11 | 105 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −2°C | 2.5°C | 212 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 7°C | −1°C | 3.0°C | 251 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 11°C | 0°C | 5.4°C | 131 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 70 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.2°C | 29 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 25°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 3 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 14°C | 20.8°C | 3 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.6°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 11°C | 1°C | 5.9°C | 60 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 6°C | −2°C | 2.2°C | 131 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00044671; 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 Lake Arrowhead?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, 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 USC00044671.
When is the last frost in Lake Arrowhead?
In Lake Arrowhead, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 in half of years and before October 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 51 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 12; 9 in 10 before November 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 176 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 215 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lake Arrowhead in zones 8a to 8b across its 6 ZIP code areas (8b in 92352, the largest).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00044671; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Lake Arrowhead ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Lake Arrowhead's 6 ZIP code areas run from zone 8a to 8b: 5 in 8a and 1 in 8b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
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 Lake Arrowhead?
In a normal year in Lake Arrowhead, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 105 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 35 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 105a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 35a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1941) is 104°F, on June 15, 2000; the lowest is 5°F, on February 14, 1949.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1978, with 93.98 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 172.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00044671; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00044671. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lake Arrowhead?
Over a year 92% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lake Arrowhead, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (96%) and December the cloudiest (85%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.3 |
| February | 85% | 4.2 |
| March | 89% | 5.7 |
| April | 90% | 6.9 |
| May | 92% | 7.8 |
| June | 96% | 8.4 |
| July | 94% | 7.9 |
| August | 96% | 7.4 |
| September | 95% | 6.3 |
| October | 93% | 4.9 |
| November | 90% | 3.6 |
| December | 85% | 2.9 |
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 Lake Arrowhead need?
A normal year in Lake Arrowhead brings 5,433 heating degree days, 1% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 401 cooling degree days, 56% 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 2,367 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 882 | 0 |
| February | 774 | 0 |
| March | 719 | 0 |
| April | 509 | 0 |
| May | 350 | 6 |
| June | 119 | 51 |
| July | 18 | 145 |
| August | 15 | 153 |
| September | 103 | 44 |
| October | 376 | 1 |
| November | 671 | 0 |
| December | 897 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,433 | 401 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00044671. 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 Lake Arrowhead's climate compare?
Lake Arrowhead is warmer than 26 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 181. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.1°F is warmer than 45%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lake Arrowhead is Csb: temperate, 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 Lake Arrowhead share this climate record?
3 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.
- Muscoy, CA11,402 people · 11 mi SW
- Crestline, CA10,431 people · 6 mi W
- Running Springs, CA5,043 people · 5 mi SE
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 Lake Arrowhead's climate
What is the coldest month in Lake Arrowhead?
December, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is August (82°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Lake Arrowhead?
Yes: 22 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (6.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Lake Arrowhead?
February, with 9.87 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.12 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lake Arrowhead in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lake Arrowhead in zones 8a to 8b across its 6 ZIP code areas (8b in 92352, the largest).
How late can frost come in Lake Arrowhead?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Lake Arrowhead in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hesperia, CA13 miles from this station, 63.6°F a year
- Redlands, CA14 miles from this station, 65.2°F a year
- Big Bear Lake, CA16 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Victorville, CA21 miles from this station, 61.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made