Orleans, CA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Orleans's primary NOAA station, ORLEANS.
The climate verdict for Orleans
Water is the standout signal in Orleans, California: 51.7 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 58°F. It scores 77/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 70% of them.
- 58°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 77/100
- comfort score, above 70% of station-mapped location scores
- 51.7"
- annual precipitation · 3" snow
- 259 days
- frost-free growing season
Orleans: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00046508 · Orleans, CA 58°F mean · 51.7" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 58°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,734
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Julian Cdf
- PRCP-WET 51.7"
- SWING-MID 32°F
- COMF-TOP 77/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,457 HDD
- STN-1 USC00046508
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Julian Cdf, CA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every CA station list.
- Orleans (this station) 58°F
- Hot Julian Cdf, CA 58°F
- Near Sonora, CA 58°F
- Near Henshaw Dam, CA 58°F
- Cold Priest Valley, CA 57°F
Climate Living Index · Orleans
Orleans: 74/100 · grade B
Orleans publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Orleans, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 77/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 259 days/year | 92/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 48 calendar days | 92/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 2.8 inches/year | 74/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 57.8°F · 9.7° from 67.5°F | 69/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 51.7 in · 16.7 from 35 in | 41/100 · D |
Orleans · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Orleans is a temperate Köppen climate: Csa
Coldest-month mean 42.5°F and warmest-month mean 74.4°F place this station in temperate, dry-summer, hot summer climates (Csa). Class Csa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, dry-summer, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Csa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 74.4°F
- Coldest month
- 42.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Orleans sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Orleans's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 69th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 16% wettest
- Orleans's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 88%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Orleans is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Orleans compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Orleans's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
77 Top 30% score exceeds 70% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Orleans's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 86 complete annual observations from 1904 to 2024, ORLEANS warmed at a fitted rate of 0.10°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Orleans primary station fitted change +0.10 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F (10°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 9.4" | 0.1" | 7.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 55°F (13°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 6.9" | 1.5" | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 62°F (17°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 6.4" | 0.2" | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.5 |
| July | 92°F (33°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 0.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 20.6 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 0.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 19.7 |
| September | 86°F (30°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 12.0 |
| October | 71°F (22°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| November | 56°F (13°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 6.8" | 0.0" | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 10.5" | 1.0" | 7.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The year in Orleans runs from a mild 36°F around December 26 to 94°F at the peak near July 24, and the normal low never reaches freezing on any date in the record.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 6 through August 22, covering 48 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 22 to October 17.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 36°F around December 26.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is December 11, when 54% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 28 at 3%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 109 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 24 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Orleans.
Where Orleans Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 52 inches.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 36°F between the normal high and low.
Orleans earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 0.1"
15.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
13.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
15.0 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
1.0 days with precipitation
1.2 days with precipitation
2.1 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
13.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
17.1 days with precipitation
Orleans's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 52% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 2%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 31.9°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 10.5"
- Driest month
- August, 0.1"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, February (52% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
When it rains in Orleans, it arrives in quantity
51.7" of precipitation falls across only about 109 wet days here, averaging 0.47 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 109 a year, 30% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.47 inches
- Most wet days
- December, about 17
- Fewest wet days
- July, about 1
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Orleans, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 2.8 inches of snow a year here, most likely in February. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 2 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 12
50% probability date
Growing Season
259 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,457
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
860
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CA closest to Orleans on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (58°F here).
- Clayton, GA 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Danbury, NC 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Gilbert, AR 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Kiowa, KS 58°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (51.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Greensburg, KY 51.7" · 0.0" off
- Paragould, AR 51.7" · 0.0" off
- Chesnee, SC 51.7" · 0.0" off
- Columbus, GA 51.8" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Orleans's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Orleans's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,457 annual heating degree days against 860 for cooling. Its 31.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
The frost-free window extends for about 259 days. That is a long calendar measure, but it is not a forecast and does not combine heat, rainfall, soil, or local elevation into a planting recommendation.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Orleans's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 31.9°F. The annual average is 58°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Orleans carries 51.7 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Annual snowfall totals 2.8 inches. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Orleans's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Orleans, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Orleans's climate
How much rain does Orleans get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Orleans get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Orleans? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Orleans's primary station: ORLEANS (USC00046508). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Orleans; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Orleans comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.