Bakersfield climate — normals and trends
Bakersfield (United States) has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 17.3 °C and it receives 279 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (26.7 °C on average) and the coldest is January (9.4 °C). Rainfall peaks in March.
Bakersfield averages 7 frost days, 99 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 45 rainy days per year.
Bakersfield has warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.22 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 13 to 1 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 42.9 °C (on 3 July 1942) and the coldest -9.3 °C (on 11 December 1972).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
BakersfieldCalifornia
- coords
- 35.37°, -119.02°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
17.3°C
Average daily high
24.0°C
Average daily low
11.5°C
Annual rainfall
279mm
Sunshine / day
11.3h
Mean relative humidity
59%
Average peak wind
9.4km/h
Seasonal range
17.3°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
7 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
99 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
45 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.5 cm
Average feels-like high
24.1 °C
Average feels-like low
9.9 °C
Average peak gust
21.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
42 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.5 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.9 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.43 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
42.9 °C
3 July 1942
Coldest day
-9.3 °C
11 December 1972
Wettest day
63 mm
20 March 2011
Windiest day
38.1 km/h
20 December 1977
Strongest gust
77.8 km/h
20 December 1977
Hottest feels-like
46.9 °C
5 July 1991
Coldest feels-like
-13.6 °C
11 December 1972
Snowiest day
4.3 cm
13 January 1949
Sunniest day
14.0 h
25 May 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
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Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16.1 °C | +0.5 °C | 17 mm | -29 mm |
| Feb | 18.7 °C | +1.5 °C | 27 mm | -20 mm |
| Mar | 19.0 °C | -0.1 °C | 97 mm | +44 mm |
| Apr | 22.3 °C | 0.0 °C | 37 mm | +8 mm |
| May | 27.3 °C | +0.8 °C | 1 mm | -8 mm |
| Jun | 31.5 °C | +0.9 °C | 0 mm | -2 mm |
| Jul | 33.4 °C | -0.4 °C | 0 mm | -0 mm |
| Aug | 33.7 °C | +0.9 °C | 0 mm | -1 mm |
| Sep | 30.5 °C | +0.5 °C | 4 mm | +1 mm |
| Oct | 24.1 °C | -0.7 °C | 28 mm | +16 mm |
| Nov | 20.1 °C | +1.0 °C | 87 mm | +56 mm |
| Dec | 16.5 °C | +0.9 °C | 56 mm | +10 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Bakersfield?
Bakersfield has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 17.3 °C and it receives 279 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Bakersfield?
The hottest day measured in Bakersfield between 1940 and 2025 was 3 July 1942, reaching 42.9 °C.
What is the coldest day in Bakersfield?
The coldest day measured in Bakersfield between 1940 and 2025 was 11 December 1972, at -9.3 °C.
Does it snow in Bakersfield?
Almost never: Bakersfield sees virtually no snow, with about 7 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Bakersfield warmed?
Yes: Bakersfield warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Bakersfield?
The wettest day measured in Bakersfield between 1940 and 2025 was 20 March 2011, with 63 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Bakersfield?
The windiest day measured in Bakersfield between 1940 and 2025 was 20 December 1977, with winds reaching 38.1 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Bakersfield?
The warmest month in Bakersfield is July (26.7 °C on average); the coldest is January (9.4 °C).
How much does it rain in Bakersfield?
Bakersfield receives on average 279 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 45 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Bakersfield?
Bakersfield gets on average 11.3 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 4,125 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Bakersfield?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Bakersfield between 1940 and 2025 was 13 January 1949, with 4.3 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Bakersfield?
Yes: Bakersfield has on average 42 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Bakersfield?
In Bakersfield, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 46.9 °C on 5 July 1991, and the lowest was -13.6 °C on 11 December 1972.
Compare Bakersfield with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Bakersfield