Sonora, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sonora's normal year runs from 32°F December nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 32.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.3°C, December lows of 0°C, July highs of 34°C, 833 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSonora
- Station IDUSC00048353
- Location37.97°N 120.39°W
- Elevation1,675 ft (511 m)
- Population4,855
On October 22, the normal high in Sonora is 74°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Sonora.
- Jan 56° 33°
- Feb 58° 34°
- Mar 62° 37°
- Apr 67° 40°
- May 76° 46°
- Jun 85° 51°
- Jul 93° 57°
- Aug 92° 56°
- Sep 87° 51°
- Oct 76° 43°
- Nov 63° 36°
- Dec 55° 32°
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 Sonora each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in January (6.32 in), the least in July (0.03 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 | 56°F | 33°F | 44.3°F | 6.32 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 58°F | 34°F | 46.2°F | 5.50 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 37°F | 49.5°F | 5.37 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 40°F | 53.2°F | 3.03 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 46°F | 60.6°F | 1.54 | 4 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 51°F | 68.0°F | 0.34 | 1 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 93°F | 57°F | 74.8°F | 0.03 | <1 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 92°F | 56°F | 73.7°F | 0.07 | 1 | 22 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 87°F | 51°F | 68.8°F | 0.20 | 1 | 13 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 43°F | 59.6°F | 1.64 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 36°F | 49.8°F | 3.24 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 55°F | 32°F | 43.8°F | 5.51 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 73°F | 43°F | 57.7°F | 32.79 | 64 | 75 | 66 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 161 mm |
| February | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 140 mm |
| March | 17°C | 3°C | 9.7°C | 136 mm |
| April | 19°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 77 mm |
| May | 24°C | 8°C | 15.9°C | 39 mm |
| June | 30°C | 10°C | 20.0°C | 9 mm |
| July | 34°C | 14°C | 23.8°C | 1 mm |
| August | 33°C | 13°C | 23.2°C | 2 mm |
| September | 30°C | 10°C | 20.4°C | 5 mm |
| October | 25°C | 6°C | 15.3°C | 42 mm |
| November | 17°C | 2°C | 9.9°C | 82 mm |
| December | 13°C | 0°C | 6.6°C | 140 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048353; 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 Sonora?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in 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 USC00048353.
When is the last frost in Sonora?
In Sonora, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 9 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 9 in half of years and before October 19 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
- April 91 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 91 year in 10 before October 19; 9 in 10 before November 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 213 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 264 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sonora in zone 9a in ZIP code 95370, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00048353; 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 Sonora?
In a normal year in Sonora, 75 days a year reach 90°F (9 of them 100°F or more), 66 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 64 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 75a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 66a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 64a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1906) is 113°F, on June 22, 1961; the lowest is 8°F, on December 10, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1940, with 46.67 in; the snowiest season is 1932–33, with 44.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00048353; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00048353. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Sonora?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sonora, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (98%) and January the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.3 |
| February | 78% | 3.5 |
| March | 82% | 4.9 |
| April | 86% | 6.3 |
| May | 92% | 7.6 |
| June | 96% | 8.4 |
| July | 98% | 8.2 |
| August | 98% | 7.4 |
| September | 96% | 6.0 |
| October | 92% | 4.4 |
| November | 82% | 2.9 |
| December | 72% | 2.1 |
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 Sonora need?
A normal year in Sonora brings 3,572 heating degree days, 34% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 926 cooling degree days, 2% more 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 3,560 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 643 | 0 |
| February | 526 | 0 |
| March | 479 | 0 |
| April | 356 | 2 |
| May | 174 | 36 |
| June | 45 | 137 |
| July | 2 | 306 |
| August | 2 | 272 |
| September | 36 | 148 |
| October | 195 | 27 |
| November | 456 | 0 |
| December | 659 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,572 | 926 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048353. 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 Sonora been warmer than normal lately?
Over 46 complete years from 1909 to 2018, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sonora's climate compare?
Sonora is warmer than 56 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 171. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.7°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sonora 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 Sonora share this climate record?
11 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.
- Phoenix Lake, CA4,505 people · 5 mi NE
- Jamestown, CA3,777 people · 1 mi SW
- Mono Vista, CA3,696 people · 7 mi NE
- East Sonora, CA2,823 people · 3 mi E
- Twain Harte, CA2,373 people · 10 mi NE
- Soulsbyville, CA2,089 people · 7 mi E
- Cedar Ridge, CA1,513 people · 9 mi NE
- Tuolumne City, CA1,404 people · 8 mi E
- Mi-Wuk Village, CA743 people · 13 mi NE
- Sierra Village, CA143 people · 14 mi NE
- Chinese Camp, CA61 people · 7 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 Sonora's climate
What is the coldest month in Sonora?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Sonora?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Sonora?
January, with 6.32 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sonora in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sonora in zone 9a in ZIP code 95370, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Sonora?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 9; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Sonora in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- New Melones Dam Headquarters, CA6 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Groveland, CA12 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Calaveras Big Trees, CA22 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Cherry Valley Dam, CA25 miles from this station, 54.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made