Nevada City, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Nevada City's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 62.3 inches of precipitation and 15 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.4°C, December lows of 1°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,581 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNevada City
- Station IDUSC00046136
- Location39.25°N 121.00°W
- Elevation2,781 ft (848 m)
- Population3,195
On October 23, the normal high in Nevada City is 68°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Nevada City.
- Jan 51° 35°
- Feb 53° 35°
- Mar 57° 37°
- Apr 63° 40°
- May 71° 47°
- Jun 79° 54°
- Jul 87° 60°
- Aug 87° 59°
- Sep 82° 55°
- Oct 71° 47°
- Nov 57° 40°
- Dec 48° 35°
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 Nevada City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in December (12.22 in), the least in July (0.03 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 35°F | 43.0°F | 10.87 | 2.3 | 14 | <1 | 10 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 53°F | 35°F | 44.0°F | 10.49 | 4.6 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 37°F | 47.1°F | 9.86 | 3.2 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 40°F | 51.2°F | 5.24 | 0.9 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 71°F | 47°F | 58.9°F | 2.88 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 79°F | 54°F | 66.6°F | 0.94 | 0.0 | 3 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 60°F | 73.5°F | 0.03 | 0.0 | <1 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 59°F | 72.9°F | 0.14 | 0.0 | 1 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 82°F | 55°F | 68.5°F | 0.53 | 0.0 | 2 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 47°F | 59.0°F | 2.87 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 57°F | 40°F | 48.3°F | 6.19 | 0.8 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 10 h |
| December | 48°F | 35°F | 41.5°F | 12.22 | 2.7 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 45°F | 56.2°F | 62.26 | 14.5 | 85 | 30 | 49 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | 2°C | 6.1°C | 276 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 12°C | 2°C | 6.7°C | 266 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 14°C | 3°C | 8.4°C | 250 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.7°C | 133 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 15°C | 23.1°C | 1 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 15°C | 22.7°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 13°C | 20.3°C | 13 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 15.0°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 4°C | 9.1°C | 157 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 9°C | 1°C | 5.3°C | 310 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046136; 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 Nevada City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00046136.
When is the last frost in Nevada City?
In Nevada City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 14 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before October 23 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 141 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after March 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before December 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 218 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 268 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 17 in half of springs and before December 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Nevada City in zone 9a in ZIP code 95945, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Nevada City's NOAA station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (27 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 USC00046136; 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 in Nevada City?
In a normal year in Nevada City, 30 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 49 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 85 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 30a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 49a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 85a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 111°F, on August 14, 1933; the lowest is −1°F, on January 21, 1937.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 101.97 in; the snowiest season is 1936–37, with 104.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00046136; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00046136. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Nevada City?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Nevada City, 5.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (98%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.1 |
| February | 74% | 3.1 |
| March | 76% | 4.3 |
| April | 81% | 5.9 |
| May | 88% | 7.3 |
| June | 94% | 8.3 |
| July | 98% | 8.3 |
| August | 97% | 7.4 |
| September | 95% | 5.9 |
| October | 89% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 2.6 |
| December | 69% | 1.9 |
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 Nevada City need?
A normal year in Nevada City brings 4,038 heating degree days, 25% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 847 cooling degree days, 7% fewer than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,339 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 682 | 0 |
| February | 588 | 0 |
| March | 555 | 0 |
| April | 416 | 2 |
| May | 223 | 32 |
| June | 68 | 114 |
| July | 5 | 267 |
| August | 5 | 248 |
| September | 46 | 151 |
| October | 220 | 32 |
| November | 501 | 1 |
| December | 730 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,038 | 847 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046136. 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 Nevada City been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 58.4°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.2°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 55.9°F | −0.3°F | 52.24 | 53.5 |
| 2024 | 58.4°F | +2.2°F | 65.34 | 3.7 |
Over 87 complete years from 1894 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.1°F per century (+0.00°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00046136; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Nevada City's climate compare?
Nevada City is warmer than 47 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 208. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.2°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Nevada City is Csa: temperate, dry-summer, hot 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 Nevada City's climate
What is the coldest month in Nevada City?
December, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Nevada City?
Yes: 15 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (4.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Nevada City?
December, with 12.22 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Nevada City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Nevada City in zone 9a in ZIP code 95945, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Nevada City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come in Nevada City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 14; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Grass Valley, CA4 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Colfax, CA11 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Dobbins, CA13 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Blue Canyon Airport, CA16 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made