Red Bluff, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Red Bluff's normal year runs from 38°F December nights to 98°F July afternoons, with 23.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.4°C, December lows of 3°C, July highs of 37°C, 587 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRed Bluff Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00024216
- Location40.15°N 122.25°W
- Elevation353 ft (108 m)
- Population14,286
On October 14, the normal high in Red Bluff is 80°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Red Bluff.
- Jan 57° 38°
- Feb 61° 41°
- Mar 66° 44°
- Apr 72° 47°
- May 82° 55°
- Jun 91° 62°
- Jul 98° 66°
- Aug 96° 64°
- Sep 91° 59°
- Oct 79° 51°
- Nov 64° 43°
- Dec 56° 38°
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 Red Bluff each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 98°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 38°F. The most precipitation falls in January (4.71 in), the least in August (0.05 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 | 57°F | 38°F | 47.4°F | 4.71 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 61°F | 41°F | 50.8°F | 4.15 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 66°F | 44°F | 54.7°F | 2.91 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 47°F | 59.6°F | 1.55 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 82°F | 55°F | 68.0°F | 1.25 | 5 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 91°F | 62°F | 76.4°F | 0.44 | 2 | 18 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 98°F | 66°F | 82.0°F | 0.06 | <1 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 96°F | 64°F | 79.9°F | 0.05 | <1 | 26 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 91°F | 59°F | 75.4°F | 0.19 | 1 | 19 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 79°F | 51°F | 65.1°F | 1.04 | 4 | 4 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 64°F | 43°F | 53.4°F | 2.54 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 10 h |
| December | 56°F | 38°F | 46.8°F | 4.23 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 51°F | 63.3°F | 23.12 | 68 | 104 | 19 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 3°C | 8.6°C | 120 mm |
| February | 16°C | 5°C | 10.4°C | 105 mm |
| March | 19°C | 7°C | 12.6°C | 74 mm |
| April | 22°C | 8°C | 15.3°C | 39 mm |
| May | 28°C | 13°C | 20.0°C | 32 mm |
| June | 33°C | 17°C | 24.7°C | 11 mm |
| July | 37°C | 19°C | 27.8°C | 2 mm |
| August | 36°C | 18°C | 26.6°C | 1 mm |
| September | 33°C | 15°C | 24.1°C | 5 mm |
| October | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 26 mm |
| November | 18°C | 6°C | 11.9°C | 65 mm |
| December | 13°C | 3°C | 8.2°C | 107 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024216; 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 Red Bluff?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USW00024216.
When is the last frost in Red Bluff?
In Red Bluff, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 22 in half of years and after March 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 29 in half of years and before November 12 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
- February 221 year in 10 after March 30; 9 in 10 after January 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 291 year in 10 before November 12; 9 in 10 before December 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 281 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 336 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 13 in half of springs and before December 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Red Bluff in zone 9a in ZIP code 96078, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Red Bluff's NOAA station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (28 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 USW00024216; 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 Red Bluff?
In a normal year in Red Bluff, 104 days a year reach 90°F (35 of them 100°F or more), 19 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 68 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 104a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 19a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 68a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1933) is 121°F, on August 7, 1981; the lowest is 13°F, on December 23, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 48.98 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 15.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024216; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00024216. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Red Bluff, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 50°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 52°F; the driest air comes in December (36°F). February is the windiest month (8.9 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (97%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 69% | 48% | 7.2 mph | 63% | 29% |
| February | 38°F | 63% | 42% | 8.9 mph | 59% | 27% |
| March | 40°F | 57% | 36% | 8.9 mph | 67% | 19% |
| April | 42°F | 47% | 27% | 8.6 mph | 75% | 14% |
| May | 47°F | 43% | 24% | 8.1 mph | 81% | 10% |
| June | 50°F | 37% | 19% | 7.7 mph | 92% | 3% |
| July | 52°F | 39% | 19% | 6.5 mph | 97% | 1% |
| August | 47°F | 36% | 17% | 6.8 mph | 95% | 1% |
| September | 43°F | 40% | 20% | 7.1 mph | 90% | 4% |
| October | 40°F | 52% | 31% | 7.3 mph | 76% | 15% |
| November | 37°F | 67% | 46% | 7.4 mph | 64% | 25% |
| December | 36°F | 72% | 52% | 7.3 mph | 61% | 31% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024216. 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 Red Bluff?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Red Bluff, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (96%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.0 |
| February | 73% | 3.0 |
| March | 73% | 4.2 |
| April | 80% | 5.8 |
| May | 85% | 7.1 |
| June | 92% | 8.1 |
| July | 96% | 8.2 |
| August | 96% | 7.2 |
| September | 94% | 5.8 |
| October | 87% | 4.0 |
| November | 76% | 2.4 |
| December | 66% | 1.7 |
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 Red Bluff need?
A normal year in Red Bluff brings 2,525 heating degree days, 53% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,926 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 5,227 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 547 | 0 |
| February | 398 | 0 |
| March | 322 | 3 |
| April | 187 | 25 |
| May | 57 | 152 |
| June | 6 | 348 |
| July | 0 | 527 |
| August | 0 | 462 |
| September | 5 | 315 |
| October | 86 | 91 |
| November | 350 | 2 |
| December | 566 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,525 | 1,926 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024216. 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 Red Bluff been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 63.6°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65.0°F | +1.8°F | 16.98 |
| 2022 | 65.2°F | +1.9°F | 11.07 |
| 2023 | 63.6°F | +0.3°F | 25.18 |
Over 142 complete years from 1872 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted -2.3°F per century (−0.13°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024216; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Red Bluff's climate compare?
Red Bluff is warmer than 155 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 149. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.3°F is warmer than 84%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Red Bluff 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 Red Bluff share this climate record?
9 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.
- Los Molinos, CA1,590 people · 12 mi SE
- Rancho Tehama Reserve, CA1,102 people · 14 mi SW
- Gerber, CA934 people · 8 mi SE
- Bend, CA537 people · 7 mi N
- Proberta, CA475 people · 7 mi SE
- Tehama, CA436 people · 11 mi SE
- Richfield, CA253 people · 13 mi S
- Las Flores, CA138 people · 8 mi SE
- Dales, CA102 people · 16 mi NE
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 Red Bluff's climate
What is the coldest month in Red Bluff?
December, with a normal high of 56°F and a normal low of 38°F. The warmest is July (98°F by day, 66°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Red Bluff?
January, with 4.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.05 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Red Bluff in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Red Bluff in zone 9a in ZIP code 96078, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Red Bluff's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come in Red Bluff?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 22; in one year in ten it comes after March 30. Waiting until March 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Red Bluff in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Redding, CA25 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Orland, CA28 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Whiskeytown Reservoir, CA35 miles from this station, 62.9°F a year
- Mineral, CA37 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made