Truckee, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Truckee's normal year runs from 15°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 30.6 inches of precipitation and 207 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.7°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 29°C, 776 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTruckee Ranger Station
- Station IDUSC00049043
- Location39.33°N 120.17°W
- Elevation5,823 ft (1,775 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population17,240
On October 14, the normal high in Truckee is 66°F and the normal low 28°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 Truckee.
- Jan 42° 16°
- Feb 45° 18°
- Mar 50° 21°
- Apr 55° 25°
- May 64° 31°
- Jun 75° 36°
- Jul 84° 41°
- Aug 84° 40°
- Sep 76° 34°
- Oct 65° 28°
- Nov 51° 21°
- Dec 41° 15°
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 Truckee each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in January (5.68 in), the least in July (0.26 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 16°F | 28.9°F | 5.68 | 43.6 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 18°F | 31.1°F | 5.09 | 47.9 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 21°F | 35.4°F | 4.46 | 32.2 | 10 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 25°F | 40.0°F | 2.13 | 18.5 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 64°F | 31°F | 47.8°F | 1.49 | 4.1 | 7 | <1 | 15 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 75°F | 36°F | 55.3°F | 0.57 | 0.9 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 41°F | 62.6°F | 0.26 | 0.0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 40°F | 62.1°F | 0.53 | 0.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 34°F | 55.2°F | 0.63 | 0.5 | 3 | <1 | 9 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 28°F | 46.0°F | 1.77 | 2.8 | 5 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 21°F | 36.0°F | 2.81 | 11.9 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 15°F | 27.8°F | 5.15 | 44.2 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 27°F | 44.0°F | 30.57 | 206.6 | 84 | 10 | 229 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −9°C | −1.7°C | 144 mm | 111 cm |
| February | 7°C | −8°C | −0.5°C | 129 mm | 122 cm |
| March | 10°C | −6°C | 1.9°C | 113 mm | 82 cm |
| April | 13°C | −4°C | 4.4°C | 54 mm | 47 cm |
| May | 18°C | 0°C | 8.8°C | 38 mm | 10 cm |
| June | 24°C | 2°C | 12.9°C | 14 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 29°C | 5°C | 17.0°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 5°C | 16.7°C | 13 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 1°C | 12.9°C | 16 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 18°C | −2°C | 7.8°C | 45 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 11°C | −6°C | 2.2°C | 71 mm | 30 cm |
| December | 5°C | −9°C | −2.3°C | 131 mm | 112 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049043; 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 Truckee?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00049043.
How hot and how cold does it get in Truckee?
In a normal year in Truckee, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 229 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 229a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 12high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 42a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1904) is 101°F, on August 28, 1915; the lowest is −28°F, on January 17, 1917.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 54.62 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 444.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00049043; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00049043. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Truckee?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Truckee, 5.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (95%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 73% | 4.4 |
| April | 77% | 5.8 |
| May | 82% | 7.1 |
| June | 92% | 8.3 |
| July | 95% | 8.3 |
| August | 95% | 7.4 |
| September | 93% | 5.9 |
| October | 87% | 4.2 |
| November | 77% | 2.7 |
| December | 69% | 2.0 |
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 Truckee need?
A normal year in Truckee brings 7,694 heating degree days, 43% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 63 cooling degree days, 93% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,240 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,118 | 0 |
| February | 951 | 0 |
| March | 918 | 0 |
| April | 750 | 0 |
| May | 532 | 0 |
| June | 294 | 3 |
| July | 109 | 34 |
| August | 116 | 25 |
| September | 297 | 2 |
| October | 588 | 0 |
| November | 869 | 0 |
| December | 1,154 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,694 | 63 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049043. 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 Truckee's climate compare?
Truckee is warmer than 2 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 168. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.0°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Truckee is Dsb: continental, 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.
What do Truckee's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Truckee. This page uses Truckee Ranger Station; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truckee-Tahoe Airport USC00049040 | 3 mi SE | 5,900 ft | 43.1°F | 13°F | 85°F | 29.1 | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Truckee's climate
What is the coldest month in Truckee?
December, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 41°F at night).
Does it snow in Truckee?
Yes: 207 inches in a normal year, falling on 44 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (47.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Truckee?
January, with 5.68 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Truckee in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Truckee in zone 6b in ZIP code 96161. By the same method at Truckee's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
Nearby and next
- Truckee in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Donner Mem State Park, CA3 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Boca, CA6 miles from this station, 44.3°F a year
- Sagehen Creek, CA7 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Tahoe City, CA12 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made