Lodgepole, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Lodgepole's normal year runs from 17°F December nights to 76°F July afternoons, with 43.2 inches of precipitation and 220 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.9°C, December lows of −8°C, July highs of 24°C, 1,097 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLodgepole
- Station IDUSC00045026
- Location36.60°N 118.73°W
- Elevation6,735 ft (2,053 m)
On October 24, the normal high in Lodgepole is 56°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lodgepole.
- Jan 39° 17°
- Feb 41° 18°
- Mar 45° 22°
- Apr 50° 26°
- May 58° 33°
- Jun 68° 40°
- Jul 76° 46°
- Aug 76° 44°
- Sep 70° 39°
- Oct 59° 31°
- Nov 47° 23°
- Dec 37° 17°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Lodgepole each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in January (8.72 in), the least in August (0.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 17°F | 28.3°F | 8.72 | 42.4 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 41°F | 18°F | 29.7°F | 7.87 | 61.5 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 45°F | 22°F | 33.6°F | 6.42 | 37.1 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 26°F | 37.8°F | 3.24 | 22.2 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 58°F | 33°F | 45.7°F | 2.05 | 6.0 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 68°F | 40°F | 54.0°F | 0.69 | 1.1 | 2 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 76°F | 46°F | 61.0°F | 0.61 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 76°F | 44°F | 60.0°F | 0.15 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 70°F | 39°F | 54.6°F | 0.65 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 4 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 31°F | 45.0°F | 2.27 | 3.4 | 4 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 47°F | 23°F | 35.0°F | 3.65 | 11.7 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 37°F | 17°F | 27.3°F | 6.87 | 35.0 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 30°F | 42.7°F | 43.19 | 220.4 | 68 | <1 | 219 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −8°C | −2.1°C | 221 mm | 108 cm |
| February | 5°C | −8°C | −1.3°C | 200 mm | 156 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.9°C | 163 mm | 94 cm |
| April | 10°C | −4°C | 3.2°C | 82 mm | 56 cm |
| May | 15°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 52 mm | 15 cm |
| June | 20°C | 4°C | 12.2°C | 18 mm | 3 cm |
| July | 24°C | 8°C | 16.1°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 7°C | 15.6°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 4°C | 12.6°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 58 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 8°C | −5°C | 1.7°C | 93 mm | 30 cm |
| December | 3°C | −8°C | −2.6°C | 174 mm | 89 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00045026; 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.
Which months are mildest at Lodgepole?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00045026.
When is the last frost at Lodgepole?
In Lodgepole, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 8 in half of years and after June 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before August 31 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
- June 81 year in 10 after June 29; 9 in 10 after May 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before August 31; 9 in 10 before October 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 100 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 135 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 23 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lodgepole in zone 6b in ZIP code 93262, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the 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 USC00045026; 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 at Lodgepole?
In a normal year in Lodgepole, a 90°F day is rare, 219 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 68 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 219a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 26high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 68a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 36a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1968) is 91°F, on July 15, 1972; the lowest is −16°F, on December 9, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 75.88 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 449.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00045026; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00045026. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Lodgepole?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Lodgepole, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (93%) and February the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.8 |
| February | 74% | 3.6 |
| March | 76% | 4.9 |
| April | 78% | 6.1 |
| May | 83% | 7.2 |
| June | 92% | 8.4 |
| July | 91% | 7.9 |
| August | 93% | 7.4 |
| September | 92% | 6.2 |
| October | 88% | 4.6 |
| November | 82% | 3.3 |
| December | 74% | 2.5 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Lodgepole record?
A normal year at Lodgepole brings 8,150 heating degree days, 52% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 25 cooling degree days, 97% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,054 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,138 | 0 |
| February | 988 | 0 |
| March | 975 | 0 |
| April | 814 | 0 |
| May | 597 | 0 |
| June | 333 | 2 |
| July | 138 | 14 |
| August | 163 | 8 |
| September | 313 | 1 |
| October | 620 | 0 |
| November | 900 | 0 |
| December | 1,170 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,150 | 25 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00045026. 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.
Have recent years at Lodgepole been warmer than normal?
Over 31 complete years from 1970 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.7°F per century (+0.32°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lodgepole's climate compare?
Lodgepole is warmer than 0 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 193. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.7°F is warmer than 11%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lodgepole 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.
Questions about Lodgepole's climate
What is the coldest month at Lodgepole?
December, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow at Lodgepole?
Yes: 220 inches in a normal year, falling on 42 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (61.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Lodgepole?
January, with 8.72 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lodgepole in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lodgepole in zone 6b in ZIP code 93262, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Lodgepole?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 8; in one year in ten it comes after June 29. Waiting until June 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ash Mountain, CA9 miles from this station, 63.5°F a year
- Three Rivers, CA12 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Grant Grove, CA16 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Lemon Cove, CA22 miles from this station, 65.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made