Turlock, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Turlock's normal year runs from 42°F December nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 12.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.8°C, December lows of 5°C, July highs of 34°C, 315 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTurlock #2
- Station IDUSC00049073
- Location37.50°N 120.85°W
- Elevation103 ft (31 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population72,888
On October 22, the normal high in Turlock is 75°F and the normal low 54°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Turlock.
- Jan 55° 42°
- Feb 61° 45°
- Mar 67° 49°
- Apr 72° 52°
- May 80° 57°
- Jun 88° 62°
- Jul 93° 66°
- Aug 92° 65°
- Sep 88° 62°
- Oct 77° 55°
- Nov 64° 47°
- Dec 55° 42°
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 Turlock each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 42°F. The most precipitation falls in January (2.63 in), the least in July (0.00 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 | 55°F | 42°F | 48.5°F | 2.63 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 61°F | 45°F | 53.2°F | 2.29 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 67°F | 49°F | 57.7°F | 1.85 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 52°F | 62.0°F | 0.93 | 5 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 80°F | 57°F | 68.7°F | 0.59 | 3 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 88°F | 62°F | 75.1°F | 0.12 | 1 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 93°F | 66°F | 79.4°F | 0.00 | <1 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 92°F | 65°F | 78.3°F | 0.01 | <1 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 88°F | 62°F | 74.8°F | 0.03 | 1 | 14 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 77°F | 55°F | 66.3°F | 0.61 | 3 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 47°F | 55.6°F | 1.07 | 6 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 55°F | 42°F | 48.4°F | 2.26 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 54°F | 64.0°F | 12.39 | 57 | 80 | 7 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 6°C | 9.2°C | 67 mm |
| February | 16°C | 7°C | 11.8°C | 58 mm |
| March | 19°C | 9°C | 14.3°C | 47 mm |
| April | 22°C | 11°C | 16.7°C | 24 mm |
| May | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 15 mm |
| June | 31°C | 17°C | 23.9°C | 3 mm |
| July | 34°C | 19°C | 26.3°C | 0 mm |
| August | 33°C | 18°C | 25.7°C | 0 mm |
| September | 31°C | 17°C | 23.8°C | 1 mm |
| October | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 15 mm |
| November | 18°C | 8°C | 13.1°C | 27 mm |
| December | 13°C | 5°C | 9.1°C | 57 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049073; 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 Turlock?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. 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 USC00049073.
When is the last frost in Turlock?
In Turlock, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 6 in half of years and after January 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 20 in half of years and before December 3 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 68% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 61 year in 10 after January 31; 9 in 10 after December 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 201 year in 10 before December 3; 9 in 10 before January 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 351 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after December 30 in half of springs and before December 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Turlock in zone 9b across its 2 ZIP code areas (9b in 95380, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Turlock's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (15 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00049073; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 Turlock ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Turlock'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 Turlock?
In a normal year in Turlock, 80 days a year reach 90°F (12 of them 100°F or more), 7 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 57 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 80a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 7a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 57a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1894) is 114°F, on July 10, 1896; the lowest is 18°F, on January 21, 1922.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 18.85 in; the snowiest season is 1975–76, with 2.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00049073; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00049073. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Turlock?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Turlock, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (98%) and January the cloudiest (71%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 21st (with 17 others) in sunshine.
| 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 Turlock need?
A normal year in Turlock brings 2,090 heating degree days, 61% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,750 cooling degree days, 93% more than the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,351 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 510 | 0 |
| February | 329 | 0 |
| March | 232 | 6 |
| April | 126 | 38 |
| May | 35 | 150 |
| June | 3 | 306 |
| July | 0 | 446 |
| August | 0 | 412 |
| September | 2 | 296 |
| October | 53 | 93 |
| November | 286 | 3 |
| December | 513 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,090 | 1,750 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049073. 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 Turlock been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 65.5°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 64.0°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.6°F | +0.6°F | 13.56 |
| 2022 | 64.5°F | +0.5°F | 9.39 |
| 2023 | 63.3°F | −0.7°F | 14.89 |
| 2024 | 65.5°F | +1.5°F | 17.34 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00049073. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Turlock's climate compare?
Turlock is warmer than 166 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 69. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.0°F is warmer than 85%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Turlock 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 Turlock share this climate record?
7 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.
- Livingston, CA14,767 people · 10 mi SE
- Delhi, CA10,525 people · 6 mi SE
- Hilmar-Irwin, CA6,317 people · 7 mi S
- Denair, CA5,085 people · 3 mi NE
- Hickman, CA749 people · 10 mi NE
- Ballico, CA538 people · 9 mi SE
- Cressey, CA265 people · 12 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 Turlock's climate
What is the coldest month in Turlock?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 42°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Turlock?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Turlock?
January, with 2.63 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Turlock in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Turlock in zone 9b across its 2 ZIP code areas (9b in 95380, the largest). By the same method at Turlock's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Turlock?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 6; in one year in ten it comes after January 31. Waiting until January 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Turlock in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Modesto, CA10 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Newman, CA18 miles from this station, 65.0°F a year
- Merced, CA24 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Tracy, CA30 miles from this station, 61.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made