Modesto climate

Name: Modesto
Address: US

Modesto is warmest in July, with average highs of 36 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 5.0 °C. January is the wettest month (90 mm) and July the driest (0.2 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Modesto averages 454 mm of rain, 176 days above 25 °C and 3 days below freezing.

United States · 28 m elevation · population 211,266 · 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 January 5.0 °C
Driest month July 0 mm
Wettest month January 90 mm
Least cloud August 10 % cloud
Hottest on record September 46 °C
Coldest on record December -3.9 °C

What to expectModesto through the year

Modesto has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 14 °C in January to 36 °C in July, a swing of 18 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 176 days a year reach 25 °C, 124 of them reach 30 °C, 3 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 46 °C, in September.

Rain is strongly seasonal. January averages 90 mm against 0 mm in July — 481 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	14.4 °C	90 mm	58 %
February	16.5 °C	83 mm	55 %
March	19.5 °C	69 mm	51 %
April	23.1 °C	36 mm	42 %
May	28.3 °C	19 mm	32 %
June	33.2 °C	3 mm	18 %
July	35.8 °C	under 1 mm	10 %
August	34.8 °C	1 mm	10 %
September	32.2 °C	2 mm	13 %
October	26.3 °C	21 mm	25 %
November	18.8 °C	44 mm	45 %
December	14.0 °C	86 mm	54 %

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	14.4 °C	5.0 °C	8.9 °C	23.6 °C	-3.3 °C	0	0	1
February	16.5 °C	6.1 °C	10.5 °C	26.9 °C	-1.4 °C	0	0	0
March	19.5 °C	7.8 °C	12.9 °C	30.2 °C	1.0 °C	2	0	0
April	23.1 °C	9.7 °C	15.7 °C	35.9 °C	1.2 °C	9	2	0
May	28.3 °C	12.9 °C	20.0 °C	41.7 °C	4.6 °C	23	11	0
June	33.2 °C	16.0 °C	24.1 °C	43.4 °C	7.9 °C	29	24	0
July	35.8 °C	18.1 °C	26.5 °C	45.3 °C	12.2 °C	31	30	0
August	34.8 °C	17.7 °C	25.6 °C	44.8 °C	12.4 °C	31	30	0
September	32.2 °C	16.2 °C	23.5 °C	46.2 °C	8.7 °C	29	22	0
October	26.3 °C	12.7 °C	18.7 °C	38.6 °C	2.6 °C	20	5	0
November	18.8 °C	8.0 °C	12.6 °C	28.9 °C	-0.2 °C	2	0	0
December	14.0 °C	5.0 °C	8.8 °C	22.2 °C	-3.9 °C	0	0	1

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	90 mm	9	9.9 h/day	58 %	79 %	13 km/h
February	83 mm	9	11 h/day	55 %	75 %	15 km/h
March	69 mm	8	12 h/day	51 %	69 %	15 km/h
April	36 mm	5	13 h/day	42 %	57 %	16 km/h
May	19 mm	3	14 h/day	32 %	47 %	16 km/h
June	3 mm	1	15 h/day	18 %	40 %	16 km/h
July	under 1 mm	0	15 h/day	10 %	40 %	16 km/h
August	1 mm	0	14 h/day	10 %	43 %	15 km/h
September	2 mm	1	12 h/day	13 %	46 %	14 km/h
October	21 mm	3	11 h/day	25 %	53 %	13 km/h
November	44 mm	6	10 h/day	45 %	67 %	13 km/h
December	86 mm	8	9.6 h/day	54 %	75 %	14 km/h

How Modesto 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
Modesto	36 °C	5.0 °C	454 mm	176
Stockton · United States	34 °C	4.9 °C	510 mm	167
San Jose · United States	29 °C	6.4 °C	627 mm	122
Fremont · United States	28 °C	6.2 °C	487 mm	105
Elk Grove · United States	34 °C	4.4 °C	656 mm	165
Sunnyvale · United States	28 °C	6.3 °C	620 mm	105

Where Modesto ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The driest places in North America in July	1stof 50	0.2 mm
Places with the best weather in North America in April	5thof 50	95/100
The driest places in North America in September	5thof 50	1.9 mm
The driest places in North America in August	12thof 50	0.8 mm
The warmest places in North America in July	16thof 50	36 °C
The warmest places in North America in August	20thof 50	35 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Modesto.

QuestionsCommon questions about Modesto’s climate

When is the best time to visit Modesto?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, September, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Modesto get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 36 °C. About 124 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 5.0 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 3 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Modesto?

January, averaging 90 mm over 9 days with rain. The driest month is July with 0 mm. The year as a whole averages 454 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 Modesto 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
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

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.