Tehachapi, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tehachapi's normal year runs from 31°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 12.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.5°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 30°C, 323 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTehachapi (4 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00048829
- Location35.10°N 118.42°W
- Elevation4,220 ft (1,286 m)
- Population11,114
On October 23, the normal high in Tehachapi is 68°F and the normal low 41°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tehachapi.
- Jan 52° 32°
- Feb 53° 31°
- Mar 57° 34°
- Apr 61° 37°
- May 69° 44°
- Jun 79° 52°
- Jul 86° 58°
- Aug 86° 57°
- Sep 81° 51°
- Oct 71° 43°
- Nov 59° 37°
- Dec 51° 31°
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 Tehachapi each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in February (3.01 in), the least in August (0.09 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 | 52°F | 32°F | 41.8°F | 2.42 | – | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| February | 53°F | 31°F | 42.0°F | 3.01 | – | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 34°F | 45.4°F | 2.03 | – | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 37°F | 48.8°F | 0.78 | – | <1 | 8 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 44°F | 56.6°F | 0.39 | – | 1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 79°F | 52°F | 65.5°F | 0.11 | – | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 58°F | 72.0°F | 0.26 | – | 12 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 57°F | 71.3°F | 0.09 | – | 9 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 81°F | 51°F | 65.6°F | 0.15 | – | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 43°F | 56.6°F | 0.46 | – | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 37°F | 47.5°F | 0.92 | – | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 2.11 | – | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 42°F | 54.5°F | 12.73 | – | 28 | 82 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 0°C | 5.4°C | 61 mm |
| February | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 76 mm |
| March | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 52 mm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.3°C | 20 mm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 10 mm |
| June | 26°C | 11°C | 18.6°C | 3 mm |
| July | 30°C | 14°C | 22.2°C | 7 mm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 21.8°C | 2 mm |
| September | 27°C | 10°C | 18.7°C | 4 mm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.7°C | 12 mm |
| November | 15°C | 3°C | 8.6°C | 23 mm |
| December | 10°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 54 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Mojave (15 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048829; 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 Tehachapi?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October.
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 USC00048829.
When is the last frost in Tehachapi?
In Tehachapi, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 26 in half of years and before October 4 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 281 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 261 year in 10 before October 4; 9 in 10 before November 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 183 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 218 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tehachapi in zone 8b in ZIP code 93581.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00048829; 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 Tehachapi?
In a normal year in Tehachapi, 28 days a year reach 90°F and 82 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 28a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 82a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00048829.
How sunny is Tehachapi?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tehachapi, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (97%) and January the cloudiest (78%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.9 |
| February | 79% | 3.8 |
| March | 83% | 5.2 |
| April | 86% | 6.6 |
| May | 91% | 7.7 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 96% | 8.1 |
| August | 97% | 7.5 |
| September | 96% | 6.3 |
| October | 91% | 4.7 |
| November | 86% | 3.4 |
| December | 78% | 2.6 |
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 Tehachapi need?
A normal year in Tehachapi brings 4,443 heating degree days, 17% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 631 cooling degree days, 31% 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 2,922 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 721 | 0 |
| February | 645 | 0 |
| March | 609 | 0 |
| April | 488 | 0 |
| May | 277 | 18 |
| June | 76 | 91 |
| July | 5 | 220 |
| August | 6 | 203 |
| September | 72 | 90 |
| October | 269 | 9 |
| November | 525 | 0 |
| December | 750 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,443 | 631 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048829. 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.
How does Tehachapi's climate compare?
Tehachapi is warmer than 40 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 75. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.5°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tehachapi 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 Tehachapi share this climate record?
5 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.
- Golden Hills, CA10,445 people · 5 mi NW
- Bear Valley Springs, CA5,787 people · 15 mi W
- Stallion Springs, CA2,215 people · 13 mi W
- Keene, CA452 people · 14 mi NW
- Mountain Meadows, CA113 people · 1 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 Tehachapi's climate
What is the coldest month in Tehachapi?
December, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Tehachapi?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Tehachapi's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Mojave (15 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Tehachapi?
February, with 3.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tehachapi in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tehachapi in zone 8b in ZIP code 93581.
How late can frost come in Tehachapi?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tehachapi in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mojave, CA15 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Loraine (5 mi NNE), CA19 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Fairmont, CA27 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Lancaster, CA27 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made