Willits, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Willits's normal year runs from 32°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 49.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.7°C, December lows of 0°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,250 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWillits (1 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00049684
- Location39.42°N 123.34°W
- Elevation1,353 ft (412 m)
- Population4,844
On October 23, the normal high in Willits is 69°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Willits.
- Jan 54° 33°
- Feb 56° 34°
- Mar 59° 36°
- Apr 62° 37°
- May 69° 40°
- Jun 76° 44°
- Jul 84° 48°
- Aug 83° 46°
- Sep 82° 42°
- Oct 72° 37°
- Nov 60° 35°
- Dec 53° 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 Willits each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in December (9.84 in), the least in July (0.04 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 33°F | 43.5°F | 9.17 | 16 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 56°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 8.63 | 13 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 59°F | 36°F | 47.3°F | 7.07 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 37°F | 49.5°F | 3.44 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 69°F | 40°F | 54.6°F | 1.78 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 76°F | 44°F | 59.9°F | 0.50 | 2 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 48°F | 65.8°F | 0.04 | <1 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 46°F | 64.5°F | 0.05 | <1 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 82°F | 42°F | 62.0°F | 0.37 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 37°F | 54.6°F | 2.57 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 60°F | 35°F | 47.6°F | 5.77 | 12 | <1 | 13 | 10 h |
| December | 53°F | 32°F | 42.6°F | 9.84 | 14 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 39°F | 53.1°F | 49.23 | 95 | 27 | 95 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 1°C | 6.4°C | 233 mm |
| February | 13°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 219 mm |
| March | 15°C | 2°C | 8.5°C | 180 mm |
| April | 17°C | 3°C | 9.7°C | 87 mm |
| May | 21°C | 5°C | 12.6°C | 45 mm |
| June | 24°C | 7°C | 15.5°C | 13 mm |
| July | 29°C | 9°C | 18.8°C | 1 mm |
| August | 29°C | 8°C | 18.1°C | 1 mm |
| September | 28°C | 6°C | 16.7°C | 9 mm |
| October | 22°C | 3°C | 12.6°C | 65 mm |
| November | 16°C | 2°C | 8.7°C | 147 mm |
| December | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 250 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Potter Valley (12 miles away), gets 0 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049684; 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 Willits?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (0).
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 USC00049684.
When is the last frost in Willits?
In Willits, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 24 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
- May 51 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 216 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Willits in zone 9a in ZIP code 95490, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Willits's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 19°F (18 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00049684; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Willits?
In a normal year in Willits, 27 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 95 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 95 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 27a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 95a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 95a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1902) is 112°F, on July 24, 1902; the lowest is 5°F, on December 9, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 67.84 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 34.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00049684; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00049684. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Willits?
Over a year 84% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Willits, 4.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (93%) and December the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.2 |
| February | 73% | 3.1 |
| March | 74% | 4.3 |
| April | 79% | 5.8 |
| May | 84% | 7.0 |
| June | 91% | 8.0 |
| July | 93% | 7.9 |
| August | 91% | 6.9 |
| September | 90% | 5.6 |
| October | 85% | 4.0 |
| November | 77% | 2.5 |
| December | 68% | 1.8 |
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 Willits need?
A normal year in Willits brings 4,527 heating degree days, 16% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 195 cooling degree days, 79% 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 2,093 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 667 | 0 |
| February | 554 | 0 |
| March | 550 | 0 |
| April | 464 | 0 |
| May | 328 | 4 |
| June | 178 | 23 |
| July | 57 | 80 |
| August | 70 | 53 |
| September | 120 | 30 |
| October | 324 | 3 |
| November | 522 | 0 |
| December | 693 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,527 | 195 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00049684. 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 Willits's climate compare?
Willits is warmer than 33 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 199. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.1°F is warmer than 54%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Willits is Csb: temperate, 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.
Which places near Willits share this climate record?
2 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.
- Brooktrails, CA4,394 people · 3 mi NW
- Comptche, CA114 people · 17 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 Willits's climate
What is the coldest month in Willits?
December, with a normal high of 53°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 48°F at night).
Does it snow in Willits?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Willits's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Potter Valley (12 miles away), records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Willits?
December, with 9.84 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Willits in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Willits in zone 9a in ZIP code 95490, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Willits's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 19°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Willits?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Potter Valley, CA12 miles from this station, 59.1°F a year
- Ukiah, CA22 miles from this station, 59.8°F a year
- Fort Bragg, CA23 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Covelo, CA28 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made