Ridgecrest climate — normals and trends
Ridgecrest (United States) has a cold desert climate (BWk) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 16.9 °C and it receives 147 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 (28.3 °C on average) and the coldest is January (6.9 °C). Rainfall peaks in February.
Ridgecrest averages 22 frost days, 113 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 23 rainy days per year.
Ridgecrest has warmed by +2.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.33 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 35 to 9 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 44.8 °C (on 8 July 2024) and the coldest -14.2 °C (on 22 December 1990).
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
RidgecrestCalifornia
- coords
- 35.62°, -117.67°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
16.9°C
Average daily high
23.4°C
Average daily low
10.4°C
Annual rainfall
147mm
Sunshine / day
11.4h
Mean relative humidity
39%
Average peak wind
16.2km/h
Seasonal range
21.4°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
22 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
113 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
23 d/yr
Annual snowfall
11.5 cm
Average feels-like high
20.4 °C
Average feels-like low
7.6 °C
Average peak gust
37.2 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
40 d/yr
Solar radiation
21.5 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.8 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.71 · 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
44.8 °C
8 July 2024
Coldest day
-14.2 °C
22 December 1990
Wettest day
78 mm
20 August 2023
Windiest day
39.9 km/h
6 March 2012
Strongest gust
105.5 km/h
24 November 2001
Hottest feels-like
44.5 °C
10 July 2021
Coldest feels-like
-18.8 °C
22 December 1990
Snowiest day
18.4 cm
6 January 1977
Sunniest day
14.0 h
17 June 2025
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.6 °C | +1.3 °C | 5 mm | -22 mm |
| Feb | 18.3 °C | +3.7 °C | 22 mm | -8 mm |
| Mar | 18.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 24 mm | +4 mm |
| Apr | 23.4 °C | +1.5 °C | 2 mm | -6 mm |
| May | 28.6 °C | +1.9 °C | 3 mm | -0 mm |
| Jun | 34.8 °C | +2.7 °C | 1 mm | -1 mm |
| Jul | 35.9 °C | +0.1 °C | 0 mm | -2 mm |
| Aug | 36.5 °C | +1.8 °C | 2 mm | -3 mm |
| Sep | 30.5 °C | -0.4 °C | 20 mm | +15 mm |
| Oct | 24.3 °C | -0.1 °C | 19 mm | +12 mm |
| Nov | 18.6 °C | +1.5 °C | 93 mm | +78 mm |
| Dec | 15.5 °C | +3.0 °C | 54 mm | +31 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 Ridgecrest?
Ridgecrest has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 16.9 °C and it receives 147 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Ridgecrest?
The hottest day measured in Ridgecrest between 1940 and 2025 was 8 July 2024, reaching 44.8 °C.
What is the coldest day in Ridgecrest?
The coldest day measured in Ridgecrest between 1940 and 2025 was 22 December 1990, at -14.2 °C.
Does it snow in Ridgecrest?
Yes. Ridgecrest gets on average 11.5 cm of snow per year and has around 22 frost days.
Has the climate of Ridgecrest warmed?
Yes: Ridgecrest warmed by +2.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Ridgecrest?
The wettest day measured in Ridgecrest between 1940 and 2025 was 20 August 2023, with 78 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Ridgecrest?
The windiest day measured in Ridgecrest between 1940 and 2025 was 6 March 2012, with winds reaching 39.9 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Ridgecrest?
The warmest month in Ridgecrest is July (28.3 °C on average); the coldest is January (6.9 °C).
How much does it rain in Ridgecrest?
Ridgecrest receives on average 147 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 23 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Ridgecrest?
Ridgecrest gets on average 11.4 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 4,161 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Ridgecrest?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Ridgecrest between 1940 and 2025 was 6 January 1977, with 18.4 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Ridgecrest?
Yes: Ridgecrest has on average 40 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Ridgecrest?
In Ridgecrest, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 44.5 °C on 10 July 2021, and the lowest was -18.8 °C on 22 December 1990.
Compare Ridgecrest with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Ridgecrest