Bakersfield climate
Bakersfield is warmest in July, with average highs of 36 °C, and coldest in December, when nights average 4.1 °C. February is the wettest month (48 mm) and August the driest (0.03 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Bakersfield averages 265 mm of rain, 185 days above 25 °C and 7 days below freezing.
United States · 123 m elevation · population 373,640 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 36 °C
- Coldest month December 4.1 °C
- Driest month August 0 mm
- Wettest month February 48 mm
- Least cloud August 9 % cloud
- Hottest on record September 46 °C
- Coldest on record December -4.0 °C
What to expectBakersfield through the year
Bakersfield has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 16 °C in December to 36 °C in July, a swing of 20 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 185 days a year reach 25 °C, 131 of them reach 30 °C, 7 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 46 °C, in September.
Rain is strongly seasonal. February averages 48 mm against 0 mm in August — 1,451 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.0 °C | 47 mm | 54 % |
| February | 17.6 °C | 48 mm | 53 % |
| March | 20.4 °C | 48 mm | 49 % |
| April | 24.0 °C | 26 mm | 39 % |
| May | 28.6 °C | 10 mm | 29 % |
| June | 33.3 °C | 1 mm | 13 % |
| July | 36.5 °C | 1 mm | 12 % |
| August | 36.0 °C | under 1 mm | 9 % |
| September | 32.9 °C | 1 mm | 11 % |
| October | 26.6 °C | 10 mm | 23 % |
| November | 19.8 °C | 27 mm | 40 % |
| December | 15.5 °C | 46 mm | 49 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.0 °C | 4.4 °C | 9.5 °C | 25.2 °C | -3.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| February | 17.6 °C | 5.8 °C | 11.1 °C | 29.6 °C | -2.7 °C | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| March | 20.4 °C | 8.0 °C | 13.6 °C | 32.4 °C | -0.5 °C | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| April | 24.0 °C | 10.5 °C | 16.7 °C | 37.1 °C | 0.1 °C | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| May | 28.6 °C | 14.7 °C | 21.2 °C | 42.6 °C | 5.3 °C | 24 | 12 | 0 |
| June | 33.3 °C | 18.8 °C | 25.8 °C | 45.3 °C | 8.6 °C | 29 | 23 | 0 |
| July | 36.5 °C | 22.5 °C | 29.4 °C | 45.0 °C | 13.6 °C | 31 | 30 | 0 |
| August | 36.0 °C | 21.8 °C | 28.7 °C | 45.1 °C | 13.9 °C | 31 | 30 | 0 |
| September | 32.9 °C | 18.1 °C | 25.3 °C | 45.8 °C | 8.8 °C | 29 | 24 | 0 |
| October | 26.6 °C | 12.8 °C | 19.3 °C | 39.1 °C | 4.0 °C | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| November | 19.8 °C | 7.7 °C | 13.2 °C | 32.0 °C | -1.4 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 15.5 °C | 4.1 °C | 9.1 °C | 24.2 °C | -4.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47 mm | 7 | 10 h/day | 54 % | 73 % | 10 km/h |
| February | 48 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 53 % | 70 % | 11 km/h |
| March | 48 mm | 7 | 12 h/day | 49 % | 66 % | 11 km/h |
| April | 26 mm | 4 | 13 h/day | 39 % | 53 % | 12 km/h |
| May | 10 mm | 2 | 14 h/day | 29 % | 43 % | 11 km/h |
| June | 1 mm | 0 | 15 h/day | 13 % | 37 % | 10 km/h |
| July | 1 mm | 0 | 14 h/day | 12 % | 35 % | 9.9 km/h |
| August | under 1 mm | 0 | 14 h/day | 9 % | 36 % | 9.7 km/h |
| September | 1 mm | 0 | 12 h/day | 11 % | 41 % | 10.0 km/h |
| October | 10 mm | 2 | 11 h/day | 23 % | 50 % | 9.6 km/h |
| November | 27 mm | 4 | 10 h/day | 40 % | 63 % | 9.4 km/h |
| December | 46 mm | 6 | 9.8 h/day | 49 % | 70 % | 9.8 km/h |
How Bakersfield compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | 36 °C | 4.1 °C | 265 mm | 185 |
| Lancaster · United States | 35 °C | 4.1 °C | 193 mm | 176 |
| Santa Clarita · United States | 33 °C | 5.2 °C | 342 mm | 178 |
| Palmdale · United States | 34 °C | 4.3 °C | 338 mm | 168 |
| Oxnard · United States | 25 °C | 8.9 °C | 391 mm | 49 |
| Glendale · United States | 32 °C | 6.7 °C | 395 mm | 176 |
| Los Angeles · United States | 32 °C | 7.0 °C | 347 mm | 189 |
Where Bakersfield ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in North America in April | 1st of 50 | 96/100 |
| The driest places in North America in August | 1st of 50 | 0.03 mm |
| The driest places in North America in September | 1st of 50 | 0.9 mm |
| The driest places in North America in June | 6th of 50 | 1.3 mm |
| The driest places in North America in October | 7th of 50 | 10 mm |
| The driest places in North America in July | 9th of 50 | 0.6 mm |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Bakersfield.
QuestionsCommon questions about Bakersfield’s climate
When is the best time to visit Bakersfield?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. April, May, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and August the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Bakersfield get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 36 °C. About 131 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 46 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 4.1 °C in December, the coldest month. A normal year has 7 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Bakersfield?
February, averaging 48 mm over 7 days with rain. The driest month is August with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 265 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Bakersfield rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 35.373°, -119.019° , 123 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.