California

Chico, California Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Chico Univ Farm, 4.4 km from Chico

The warmest month is July, with an average high of 95°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of 36°F. A normal year brings 27.4 in of precipitation and 0.1 in of snow.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Chico Municipal (CIC), since 1906. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Chico through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 24

Normal high
89°F
Normal low
54°F
Record high
103°Fin 1936
Record low
38°Fin 1978
Daylight
12 h 04 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysSnowfallFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January56°F36°F79°F (2021)12°F (1937)5.12 in0.0 in11.55840
February62°F38°F83°F (2022)16°F (1989)5.14 in0.1 in5.64130
March67°F42°F93°F (1914)23°F (1971)3.63 in0.0 in2.93381
April73°F45°F98°F (2009)27°F (1922)1.95 in0.0 in0.819618
May81°F52°F108°F (1910)32°F (1913)1.35 in0.0 in0.067121
June89°F57°F115°F (1961)28°F (1985)0.64 in0.0 in0.011261
July95°F61°F117°F (1972)40°F (1981)0.03 in0.0 in0.00406
August94°F59°F116°F (1914)38°F (1978)0.10 in0.0 in0.00361
September91°F55°F115°F (2022)35°F (1986)0.25 in0.0 in0.06243
October80°F47°F107°F (2001)23°F (1971)1.73 in0.0 in0.610661
November65°F40°F91°F (1936)20°F (1916)2.41 in0.0 in4.83791
December57°F36°F78°F (2008)11°F (1932)5.04 in0.0 in13.45750
Year76°F47°F27.39 in0.1 in402,6761,474

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

27.4 in in a normal year, most in February.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Chico, in percent, and of at least 0.1 inch of snowfall.00.10.20.3JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day
  • Chance of snowfall

Snow

NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normals for Paradise, 18.4 km away; Chico Univ Farm keeps no snowfall normals.

0.1 in of snow in a normal year.

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Chico Univ Farm. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

The last spring freeze typically comes around March 4 and the first fall freeze around November 17, a growing season of about 257 days.

Median at 36°F
last April 5, first November 4
Median at 32°F
last March 4, first November 17
Median at 28°F
last February 5, first December 3

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Chico.

The muggiest month is May, when 1 percent of days are muggy or worse, with a mean dew point of 65°F or more.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January40°F78%100%0%0%0%0%0%
February42°F78%99%1%0%0%0%0%
March45°F77%98%2%0%0%0%0%
April47°F72%93%6%1%0%0%0%
May50°F62%79%17%3%1%0%0%
June48°F45%81%13%6%0%0%0%
July45°F31%93%6%1%0%0%0%
August42°F29%99%1%0%0%0%0%
September39°F30%98%2%0%0%0%0%
October37°F41%98%2%0%0%0%0%
November38°F59%99%1%0%0%0%0%
December38°F74%99%1%0%0%0%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is July, with the sky 12 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is December, at 61 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is February, averaging 7.8 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 19, with 15 h 00 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 18, with 9 h 21 min.

Hours of daylight at Chico through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How Butte County is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in Butte County: 79.2°F (+3.5 °F against 1991-2020), the 5th warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in Butte County: 0.00 in (-0.10 in against 1991-2020), the driest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Butte County: 65.0°F (+3.8 °F against 1991-2020), the warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Butte County: 23.71 in (-5.05 in against 1991-2020), the 53rd driest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
80.5°F in 1967
Coolest August
69.2°F in 1899
Wettest August
0.80 in in 1965
Driest August
0.00 in in 1909

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in Butte County against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1895 to 2025.-4-20+2+41900192019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

California climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Chico in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1906. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Nearby

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USC00041715 (Chico Univ Farm), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USC00041715, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-24. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.