Shafter, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Shafter's normal year runs from 34°F December nights to 97°F August afternoons, with 7.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.2°C, December lows of 1°C, August highs of 36°C, 195 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationShafter (6 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00048122
- Location35.49°N 119.15°W
- Elevation404 ft (123 m)
- Population22,754
On October 23, the normal high in Shafter is 77°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 7%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Shafter.
- Jan 58° 37°
- Feb 64° 39°
- Mar 70° 43°
- Apr 75° 46°
- May 83° 52°
- Jun 92° 58°
- Jul 96° 63°
- Aug 97° 63°
- Sep 91° 57°
- Oct 80° 47°
- Nov 67° 39°
- Dec 60° 34°
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 Shafter each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 97°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in February (1.45 in), the least in August (0.00 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58°F | 37°F | 47.2°F | 1.31 | 6 | <1 | 9 | 10 h |
| February | 64°F | 39°F | 51.6°F | 1.45 | 5 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 70°F | 43°F | 56.5°F | 1.43 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 75°F | 46°F | 60.6°F | 0.66 | 4 | 2 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 83°F | 52°F | 67.5°F | 0.32 | 3 | 7 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 92°F | 58°F | 74.7°F | 0.06 | <1 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 96°F | 63°F | 79.6°F | 0.01 | <1 | 29 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 97°F | 63°F | 79.8°F | 0.00 | <1 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 91°F | 57°F | 74.4°F | 0.08 | <1 | 20 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 80°F | 47°F | 63.2°F | 0.28 | 2 | 3 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 67°F | 39°F | 52.7°F | 0.74 | 4 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 60°F | 34°F | 46.8°F | 1.35 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 48°F | 62.9°F | 7.69 | 34 | 114 | 35 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 3°C | 8.4°C | 33 mm |
| February | 18°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 37 mm |
| March | 21°C | 6°C | 13.6°C | 36 mm |
| April | 24°C | 8°C | 15.9°C | 17 mm |
| May | 28°C | 11°C | 19.7°C | 8 mm |
| June | 33°C | 14°C | 23.7°C | 2 mm |
| July | 36°C | 17°C | 26.4°C | 0 mm |
| August | 36°C | 17°C | 26.6°C | 0 mm |
| September | 33°C | 14°C | 23.6°C | 2 mm |
| October | 27°C | 8°C | 17.3°C | 7 mm |
| November | 19°C | 4°C | 11.5°C | 19 mm |
| December | 15°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 34 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Bakersfield (6 miles away), gets 0 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048122; 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 Shafter?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October 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 USC00048122.
When is the last frost in Shafter?
In Shafter, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 20 in half of years and after March 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 23 in half of years and before November 5 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 201 year in 10 after March 9; 9 in 10 after January 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 231 year in 10 before November 5; 9 in 10 before December 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 276 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 322 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 22 in half of springs and before December 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Shafter in zone 9a in ZIP code 93263.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00048122; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Shafter?
In a normal year in Shafter, 114 days a year reach 90°F (30 of them 100°F or more), 35 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 34 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 114a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 30a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 35a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 34a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00048122.
How sunny is Shafter?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Shafter, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (98%) and January the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.7 |
| February | 81% | 3.8 |
| March | 85% | 5.2 |
| April | 88% | 6.6 |
| May | 93% | 7.8 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 97% | 8.1 |
| August | 98% | 7.5 |
| September | 97% | 6.3 |
| October | 92% | 4.7 |
| November | 85% | 3.3 |
| December | 77% | 2.5 |
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 much heating and cooling does Shafter need?
A normal year in Shafter brings 2,452 heating degree days, 54% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,701 cooling degree days, 87% more than the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,071 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 552 | 0 |
| February | 377 | 0 |
| March | 267 | 2 |
| April | 157 | 25 |
| May | 43 | 121 |
| June | 5 | 295 |
| July | 0 | 454 |
| August | 0 | 460 |
| September | 8 | 289 |
| October | 108 | 54 |
| November | 370 | 1 |
| December | 564 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,452 | 1,701 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048122. 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 Shafter been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 64.6°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 62.9°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 64.9°F | +2.0°F | 4.68 |
| 2024 | 65.3°F | +2.4°F | 8.76 |
| 2025 | 64.6°F | +1.7°F | 8.46 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00048122. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Shafter's climate compare?
Shafter is warmer than 144 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.9°F is warmer than 82%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Shafter is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Shafter 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.
- Rosedale, CA19,325 people · 8 mi SW
- Smith Corner, CA423 people · 7 mi W
- Mexican Colony, CA217 people · 7 mi W
- Cherokee Strip, CA194 people · 7 mi W
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 Shafter's climate
What is the coldest month in Shafter?
December, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is August (97°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Shafter?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Shafter's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Bakersfield (6 miles away), records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Shafter?
February, with 1.45 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Shafter in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Shafter in zone 9a in ZIP code 93263.
How late can frost come in Shafter?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 20; in one year in ten it comes after March 9. Waiting until March 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
- Bakersfield, CA6 miles from this station, 66.2°F a year
- Oildale, CA7 miles from this station, 65.1°F a year
- Wasco, CA14 miles from this station, 66.0°F a year
- Buttonwillow, CA19 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made