Orleans, California climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Orleans's normal year runs from 37°F December nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 51.7 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.3°C, December lows of 3°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,314 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOrleans
- Station IDUSC00046508
- Location41.31°N 123.53°W
- Elevation403 ft (123 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Orleans is 67°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Orleans.
- Jan 50° 37°
- Feb 55° 39°
- Mar 62° 41°
- Apr 68° 43°
- May 77° 48°
- Jun 83° 52°
- Jul 92° 57°
- Aug 91° 56°
- Sep 86° 52°
- Oct 71° 46°
- Nov 56° 42°
- Dec 48° 37°
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 Orleans each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 37°F. The most precipitation falls in December (10.49 in), the least in August (0.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 37°F | 43.4°F | 9.39 | 0.1 | 16 | <1 | 8 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 55°F | 39°F | 47.0°F | 6.93 | 1.5 | 14 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 62°F | 41°F | 51.4°F | 6.38 | 0.2 | 15 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 43°F | 55.8°F | 3.97 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 77°F | 48°F | 62.3°F | 2.25 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 83°F | 52°F | 67.6°F | 0.89 | 0.0 | 3 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 92°F | 57°F | 74.4°F | 0.19 | 0.0 | 1 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 91°F | 56°F | 73.4°F | 0.15 | 0.0 | 1 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 86°F | 52°F | 68.7°F | 0.76 | 0.0 | 2 | 12 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 46°F | 58.6°F | 3.52 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 56°F | 42°F | 48.8°F | 6.81 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 48°F | 37°F | 42.5°F | 10.49 | 1.0 | 17 | <1 | 8 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 46°F | 57.8°F | 51.73 | 2.8 | 109 | 65 | 25 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | 3°C | 6.3°C | 239 mm | 0 cm |
| February | 13°C | 4°C | 8.3°C | 176 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 17°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 162 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.2°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 9°C | 16.8°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 11°C | 19.8°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 14°C | 23.6°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 13°C | 23.0°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 30°C | 11°C | 20.4°C | 19 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 5°C | 9.3°C | 173 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | 3°C | 5.8°C | 266 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046508; 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 Orleans?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June and October. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00046508.
When is the last frost at Orleans?
In Orleans, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 12 in half of years and after April 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 26 in half of years and before October 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
- March 121 year in 10 after April 9; 9 in 10 after January 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 261 year in 10 before October 31; 9 in 10 before December 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 262 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 326 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 28 in half of springs and before December 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Orleans in zone 9a in ZIP code 95556, 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 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (16 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 USC00046508; 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 Orleans?
In a normal year in Orleans, 65 days a year reach 90°F (13 of them 100°F or more), 25 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 109 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 65a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 25a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 109a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1903) is 117°F, on July 8, 1905; the lowest is 5°F, on December 22, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1904, with 82.27 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 28.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00046508; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00046508. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Orleans?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Orleans, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (94%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.9 |
| February | 69% | 2.8 |
| March | 69% | 3.9 |
| April | 74% | 5.4 |
| May | 81% | 6.8 |
| June | 88% | 7.8 |
| July | 94% | 8.1 |
| August | 94% | 7.0 |
| September | 90% | 5.5 |
| October | 83% | 3.7 |
| November | 70% | 2.2 |
| December | 62% | 1.5 |
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 Orleans record?
A normal year at Orleans brings 3,457 heating degree days, 36% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 860 cooling degree days, 5% fewer than 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 3,580 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 668 | 0 |
| February | 504 | 0 |
| March | 422 | 0 |
| April | 280 | 4 |
| May | 127 | 43 |
| June | 39 | 117 |
| July | 2 | 293 |
| August | 2 | 261 |
| September | 21 | 131 |
| October | 209 | 12 |
| November | 488 | 0 |
| December | 697 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,457 | 860 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00046508. 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 Orleans been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 59.7°F, 1.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.8°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 59.7°F | +1.9°F | 72.31 | – |
Over 86 complete years from 1904 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.8°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00046508; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Orleans's climate compare?
Orleans is warmer than 59 of the 219 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 204. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.8°F is warmer than 69%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Orleans 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.
Which places near Orleans 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.
- Hoopa, CA2,274 people · 18 mi SW
- Weitchpec, CA87 people · 11 mi SW
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 Orleans's climate
What is the coldest month at Orleans?
December, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 37°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Orleans?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (1.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Orleans?
December, with 10.49 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Orleans in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Orleans in zone 9a in ZIP code 95556, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come at Orleans?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 12; in one year in ten it comes after April 9. Waiting until April 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cecilville, CA24 miles from this station, 53.9°F a year
- Orick, CA25 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Klamath, CA34 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Callahan, CA37 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made