Scotia, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Scotia's normal year runs from 42°F December nights to 72°F August afternoons, with 47.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.1°C, December lows of 5°C, August highs of 22°C, 1,211 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationScotia
- Station IDUSC00048045
- Location40.48°N 124.10°W
- Elevation136 ft (42 m)
- Population (census place)565
On October 23, the normal high in Scotia is 67°F and the normal low 48°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 Scotia.
- Jan 57° 43°
- Feb 58° 43°
- Mar 59° 44°
- Apr 62° 45°
- May 64° 49°
- Jun 67° 51°
- Jul 70° 54°
- Aug 72° 54°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 69° 48°
- Nov 61° 45°
- Dec 55° 42°
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 Scotia each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 72°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 42°F. The most precipitation falls in December (9.68 in), the least in August (0.05 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57°F | 43°F | 49.6°F | 8.59 | 17 | <1 | 2 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 58°F | 43°F | 50.3°F | 7.83 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 59°F | 44°F | 51.4°F | 6.93 | 17 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 45°F | 53.4°F | 3.89 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 64°F | 49°F | 56.5°F | 1.91 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 67°F | 51°F | 59.3°F | 0.57 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 70°F | 54°F | 61.8°F | 0.14 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 72°F | 54°F | 62.9°F | 0.05 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.2°F | 0.47 | 3 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 48°F | 58.4°F | 2.38 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 61°F | 45°F | 52.7°F | 5.23 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 10 h |
| December | 55°F | 42°F | 48.3°F | 9.68 | 18 | <1 | 2 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 47°F | 55.6°F | 47.67 | 123 | 2 | 6 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 6°C | 9.8°C | 218 mm |
| February | 14°C | 6°C | 10.2°C | 199 mm |
| March | 15°C | 6°C | 10.8°C | 176 mm |
| April | 16°C | 7°C | 11.9°C | 99 mm |
| May | 18°C | 9°C | 13.6°C | 49 mm |
| June | 20°C | 11°C | 15.2°C | 14 mm |
| July | 21°C | 12°C | 16.6°C | 4 mm |
| August | 22°C | 12°C | 17.2°C | 1 mm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 12 mm |
| October | 20°C | 9°C | 14.7°C | 60 mm |
| November | 16°C | 7°C | 11.5°C | 133 mm |
| December | 13°C | 5°C | 9.1°C | 246 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048045; 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 Scotia?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August, September and October. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (1).
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 USC00048045.
When is the last frost in Scotia?
In Scotia, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 1 in half of years and after March 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 19 in half of years and before November 19 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 84% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- February 11 year in 10 after March 8; 9 in 10 after December 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 191 year in 10 before November 19; 9 in 10 before February 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 328 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 3 in half of springs and before December 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Scotia in zone 9b in ZIP code 95562, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Scotia's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°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 USC00048045; 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 Scotia?
In a normal year in Scotia, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 6 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 6a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1926) is 104°F, on September 2, 2017; the lowest is 17°F, on December 12, 1932.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 88.35 in; the snowiest season is 1990–91, with 3.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00048045; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00048045. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Scotia?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Scotia, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.9 |
| February | 67% | 2.7 |
| March | 69% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 76% | 6.2 |
| June | 80% | 7.0 |
| July | 78% | 6.5 |
| August | 77% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.4 |
| November | 69% | 2.2 |
| December | 63% | 1.6 |
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 Scotia need?
A normal year in Scotia brings 3,488 heating degree days, 35% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 55 cooling degree days, 94% 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 2,346 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 477 | 0 |
| February | 413 | 0 |
| March | 423 | 0 |
| April | 349 | 1 |
| May | 267 | 3 |
| June | 175 | 4 |
| July | 109 | 8 |
| August | 79 | 13 |
| September | 102 | 18 |
| October | 211 | 8 |
| November | 368 | 0 |
| December | 516 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,488 | 55 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048045. 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 Scotia been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.5°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.6°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.5°F | −1.1°F | 38.69 |
| 2022 | 54.7°F | −0.9°F | 29.05 |
| 2023 | 55.2°F | −0.4°F | 56.18 |
| 2024 | 55.8°F | +0.2°F | 73.50 |
| 2025 | 56.5°F | +0.9°F | 55.88 |
Over 86 complete years from 1926 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°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 USC00048045; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Scotia's climate compare?
Scotia is warmer than 43 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 198. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.6°F is warmer than 62%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Scotia is Csb: temperate, 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.
Which places near Scotia share this climate record?
4 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.
- Fortuna, CA12,114 people · 7 mi N
- Rio Dell, CA3,259 people · 1 mi NW
- Ferndale, CA1,361 people · 11 mi NW
- Hydesville, CA1,144 people · 5 mi N
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 Scotia's climate
What is the coldest month in Scotia?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 42°F. The warmest is August (72°F by day, 54°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Scotia?
December, with 9.68 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.05 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Scotia in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Scotia in zone 9b in ZIP code 95562, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Scotia's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Scotia?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 1; in one year in ten it comes after March 8. Waiting until March 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Grizzly Creek State Park, CA10 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Eureka, CA23 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Shelter Cove, CA31 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Arcata, CA34 miles from this station, 52.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made