Three Rivers, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Three Rivers's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 97°F July afternoons, with 22.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.9°C, December lows of 2°C, July highs of 36°C, 572 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationThree Rivers Edison Powerhouse 1
- Station IDUSC00048917
- Location36.47°N 118.86°W
- Elevation1,140 ft (348 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population (census place)2,307
On October 14, the normal high in Three Rivers is 80°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 8%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Three Rivers.
- Jan 58° 36°
- Feb 62° 38°
- Mar 67° 41°
- Apr 73° 44°
- May 82° 51°
- Jun 91° 58°
- Jul 97° 65°
- Aug 96° 64°
- Sep 92° 58°
- Oct 79° 49°
- Nov 66° 40°
- Dec 58° 35°
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 Three Rivers each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 97°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in January (4.79 in), the least in August (0.01 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58°F | 36°F | 47.0°F | 4.79 | 8 | <1 | 9 | 10 h |
| February | 62°F | 38°F | 50.0°F | 3.56 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 67°F | 41°F | 54.2°F | 4.05 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 44°F | 58.4°F | 2.35 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 82°F | 51°F | 66.2°F | 0.98 | 3 | 8 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 91°F | 58°F | 74.7°F | 0.26 | 1 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 97°F | 65°F | 81.2°F | 0.11 | 1 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 96°F | 64°F | 80.2°F | 0.01 | <1 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 92°F | 58°F | 74.9°F | 0.16 | 1 | 22 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 79°F | 49°F | 64.2°F | 0.86 | 3 | 4 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 66°F | 40°F | 53.0°F | 1.71 | 5 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 58°F | 35°F | 46.5°F | 3.68 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 77°F | 48°F | 62.5°F | 22.52 | 51 | 114 | 30 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 122 mm |
| February | 17°C | 3°C | 10.0°C | 90 mm |
| March | 19°C | 5°C | 12.3°C | 103 mm |
| April | 23°C | 7°C | 14.7°C | 60 mm |
| May | 28°C | 10°C | 19.0°C | 25 mm |
| June | 33°C | 15°C | 23.7°C | 7 mm |
| July | 36°C | 18°C | 27.3°C | 3 mm |
| August | 36°C | 18°C | 26.8°C | 0 mm |
| September | 33°C | 15°C | 23.8°C | 4 mm |
| October | 26°C | 10°C | 17.9°C | 22 mm |
| November | 19°C | 5°C | 11.7°C | 43 mm |
| December | 14°C | 2°C | 8.1°C | 93 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048917; 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 Three Rivers?
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 (3).
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 USC00048917.
When is the last frost in Three Rivers?
In Three Rivers, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 16 in half of years and after April 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 26 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
- March 161 year in 10 after April 14; 9 in 10 after February 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 261 year in 10 before November 5; 9 in 10 before December 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 249 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 317 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 30 in half of springs and before December 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Three Rivers in zone 9b across its 2 ZIP code areas (9b in 93271, the largest).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00048917; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Three Rivers ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Three Rivers's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 9b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Three Rivers?
In a normal year in Three Rivers, 114 days a year reach 90°F (35 of them 100°F or more), 30 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 51 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 114a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 30a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 51a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00048917.
How sunny is Three Rivers?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Three Rivers, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (93%) and February the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.8 |
| February | 74% | 3.6 |
| March | 76% | 4.9 |
| April | 78% | 6.1 |
| May | 83% | 7.2 |
| June | 92% | 8.4 |
| July | 91% | 7.9 |
| August | 93% | 7.4 |
| September | 92% | 6.2 |
| October | 88% | 4.6 |
| November | 82% | 3.3 |
| December | 74% | 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 Three Rivers need?
A normal year in Three Rivers brings 2,643 heating degree days, 51% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,774 cooling degree days, 95% more than 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 4,996 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 558 | 0 |
| February | 420 | 0 |
| March | 338 | 1 |
| April | 212 | 15 |
| May | 71 | 110 |
| June | 9 | 301 |
| July | 0 | 502 |
| August | 0 | 470 |
| September | 5 | 302 |
| October | 97 | 72 |
| November | 361 | 1 |
| December | 573 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,643 | 1,774 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00048917. 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 Three Rivers's climate compare?
Three Rivers is warmer than 129 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 147. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.5°F is warmer than 81%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Three Rivers 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 Three Rivers share this climate record?
Sequoia Crest has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Sequoia Crest, CA62 people · 23 mi SE
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 Three Rivers's climate
What is the coldest month in Three Rivers?
December, with a normal high of 58°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (97°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Three Rivers?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Three Rivers?
January, with 4.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Three Rivers in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Three Rivers in zone 9b across its 2 ZIP code areas (9b in 93271, the largest).
How late can frost come in Three Rivers?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 16; in one year in ten it comes after April 14. Waiting until April 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ash Mountain, CA2 miles from this station, 63.5°F a year
- Lemon Cove, CA11 miles from this station, 65.0°F a year
- Lodgepole, CA12 miles from this station, 42.7°F a year
- Grant Grove, CA20 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made