Lancaster, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lancaster's normal year runs from 30°F December nights to 98°F July afternoons, with 6.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.7°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 36°C, 173 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLancaster
- Station IDUSW00003159
- Location34.74°N 118.21°W
- Elevation2,338 ft (713 m)
- Population167,426
On October 14, the normal high in Lancaster is 81°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 5%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lancaster.
- Jan 59° 31°
- Feb 62° 35°
- Mar 67° 40°
- Apr 73° 45°
- May 82° 53°
- Jun 91° 62°
- Jul 98° 67°
- Aug 98° 65°
- Sep 91° 57°
- Oct 80° 46°
- Nov 67° 35°
- Dec 58° 30°
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 Lancaster each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 98°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in February (1.76 in), the least in August (0.01 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 | 59°F | 31°F | 45.0°F | 1.46 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| February | 62°F | 35°F | 48.0°F | 1.76 | 5 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 67°F | 40°F | 53.5°F | 0.96 | 4 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 45°F | 58.9°F | 0.39 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 53°F | 67.5°F | 0.10 | 1 | 7 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 91°F | 62°F | 76.4°F | 0.05 | <1 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 98°F | 67°F | 82.4°F | 0.14 | 1 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 98°F | 65°F | 81.3°F | 0.01 | <1 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 91°F | 57°F | 74.2°F | 0.12 | 1 | 20 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 80°F | 46°F | 62.9°F | 0.34 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 67°F | 35°F | 51.0°F | 0.37 | 2 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 58°F | 30°F | 43.7°F | 1.11 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 77°F | 47°F | 62.1°F | 6.81 | 28 | 109 | 68 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 37 mm |
| February | 16°C | 1°C | 8.9°C | 45 mm |
| March | 20°C | 4°C | 11.9°C | 24 mm |
| April | 23°C | 7°C | 14.9°C | 10 mm |
| May | 28°C | 12°C | 19.7°C | 3 mm |
| June | 33°C | 16°C | 24.7°C | 1 mm |
| July | 36°C | 20°C | 28.0°C | 4 mm |
| August | 37°C | 18°C | 27.4°C | 0 mm |
| September | 33°C | 14°C | 23.4°C | 3 mm |
| October | 27°C | 8°C | 17.2°C | 9 mm |
| November | 19°C | 2°C | 10.6°C | 9 mm |
| December | 14°C | −1°C | 6.5°C | 28 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Palmdale station (13 miles away), gets 0 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003159; 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 Lancaster?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, May 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 USW00003159.
When is the last frost in Lancaster?
In Lancaster, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 17 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
- April 31 year in 10 after April 23; 9 in 10 after March 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 211 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 244 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 8 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lancaster in zones 8a to 8b across its 3 ZIP code areas (8b in 93536, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lancaster's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (26 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 USW00003159; 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 Lancaster ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Lancaster's 3 ZIP code areas run from zone 8a to 8b: 1 in 8a and 2 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 Lancaster?
In a normal year in Lancaster, 109 days a year reach 90°F (36 of them 100°F or more), 68 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 28 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 109a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 36a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 68a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 28a normal year
The highest temperature in Lancaster's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1945) is 115°F, on June 30, 2013; the lowest is 2°F, on December 24, 1984.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 17.37 in; the snowiest season is 1978–79, with 27.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003159; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record WJFthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Lancaster, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 41°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 42°F; the driest air comes in November (24°F). May is the windiest month (15.1 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (98%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 53% | 30% | 8.0 mph | 78% | 11% |
| February | 31°F | 51% | 31% | 10.5 mph | 74% | 12% |
| March | 33°F | 44% | 25% | 13.2 mph | 83% | 6% |
| April | 35°F | 36% | 21% | 14.8 mph | 88% | 3% |
| May | 39°F | 32% | 20% | 15.1 mph | 91% | 2% |
| June | 40°F | 25% | 15% | 13.9 mph | 98% | 0% |
| July | 42°F | 24% | 15% | 12.2 mph | 97% | 0% |
| August | 40°F | 26% | 15% | 10.1 mph | 94% | 1% |
| September | 36°F | 31% | 16% | 9.3 mph | 95% | 1% |
| October | 29°F | 36% | 20% | 8.2 mph | 90% | 3% |
| November | 24°F | 44% | 25% | 7.9 mph | 85% | 6% |
| December | 24°F | 51% | 30% | 6.8 mph | 76% | 12% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00003159. 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 Lancaster?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lancaster, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (97%) and February the cloudiest (82%). 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 | 83% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.0 |
| March | 85% | 5.4 |
| April | 87% | 6.7 |
| May | 89% | 7.5 |
| June | 93% | 8.1 |
| July | 95% | 7.9 |
| August | 97% | 7.5 |
| September | 95% | 6.3 |
| October | 91% | 4.8 |
| November | 88% | 3.6 |
| December | 83% | 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 Lancaster need?
A normal year in Lancaster brings 2,949 heating degree days, 45% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,905 cooling degree days, 2.1 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,029 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 620 | 0 |
| February | 476 | 0 |
| March | 359 | 2 |
| April | 206 | 23 |
| May | 69 | 147 |
| June | 8 | 350 |
| July | 0 | 540 |
| August | 0 | 504 |
| September | 9 | 283 |
| October | 121 | 56 |
| November | 421 | 1 |
| December | 660 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,949 | 1,905 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003159. 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 Lancaster been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 63.8°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 62.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.1°F | +2.0°F | 3.75 |
| 2022 | 63.9°F | +1.8°F | 3.36 |
| 2023 | 61.5°F | −0.6°F | 10.18 |
| 2024 | 63.7°F | +1.6°F | 6.83 |
| 2025 | 63.8°F | +1.7°F | 9.60 |
Over 43 complete years from 1976 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.5°F per century (+0.31°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003159; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lancaster's climate compare?
Lancaster is warmer than 123 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 25. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.1°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lancaster is BSk: cold 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 Lancaster 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.
- Rosamond, CA20,835 people · 9 mi N
- Quartz Hill, CA10,968 people · 6 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.
Questions about Lancaster's climate
What is the coldest month in Lancaster?
December, with a normal high of 58°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (98°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Lancaster?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Lancaster's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Palmdale station (13 miles away), records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Lancaster?
February, with 1.76 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lancaster in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lancaster in zones 8a to 8b across its 3 ZIP code areas (8b in 93536, the largest). By the same method at Lancaster's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Lancaster?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 23. Waiting until April 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Lancaster in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Palmdale, CA11 miles from this station, 62.6°F a year
- Fairmont, CA12 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Mojave, CA22 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Pearblossom, CA24 miles from this station, 64.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made