Alturas, CA Climate


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United States / California / No Metro Area / Modoc County / Alturas / Zip Codes
Alturas, CA has a semi-arid climate with warm summers and cold winters. The average high temperature in the summer is in the high 90s and the average low in the winter is in the mid 20s. Rainfall averages around 12 inches per year, with most of it occurring during the winter months. Snow is rare, but not unheard of during the winter months when temperatures reach below freezing. Alturas also experiences strong winds during spring and fall months due to its location on the Great Basin Desert.

Alturas, California gets 13 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Alturas averages 24 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 245 sunny days per year in Alturas. The US average is 205 sunny days.

Alturas gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 80 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure.


Weather Highlights

Summer High: the July high is around 88 degrees
Winter Low: the January low is 18
Rain: averages 13 inches of rain a year
Snow: averages 24 inches of snow a year


Bestplaces Comfort Index

The annual BestPlaces Comfort Index for Alturas is 7.0 (10=best), which means it is one of the least comfortable places in California.

8.5 Summer - 5.2 Winter
June, September and August are the most pleasant months in Alturas, while January and December are the least comfortable months.

  ClimateAlturas, CaliforniaUnited States
  13.1 in.38.1 in.
  24.4 in.27.8 in.
  79.7 days106.2 days
  245 days205 days
  88.4°85.8°
  18.2°21.7°
  77
  5.14.3
  4370 ft.2443 ft.
Climate
YOU SHOULD KNOW

Many people confuse weather and climate but they are different. Weather is the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere is over long periods of time.

Weather is how the atmosphere is behaving and its effects upon life and human activities. Weather can change from minute-to-minute. Most people think of weather in terms of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, brightness, visibility, wind, and atmospheric pressure.

Climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a place. Climate can mean the average weather for a particular region and time period taken over 30 years. Climate is the average of weather over time.

July is the hottest month for Alturas with an average high temperature of 88.4°, which ranks it as about average compared to other places in California. In Alturas, there are 2 comfortable months with high temperatures in the range of 70-85°. The most pleasant months of the year for Alturas are June, September and August.
In Alturas, there are 30.9 days annually when the high temperature is over 90°, which is cooler than most places in California.
January has the coldest nighttime temperatures for Alturas with an average of 18.2°. This is one of the coldest places in California.
In Alturas, there are 198.7 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below freezing, which is one of the coldest places in California.
In Alturas, there are 4.5 days annually when the nighttime low temperature falls below zero°, which is one of the coldest places in California.
Humidity is very low in Alturas, so low that the dry air may be uncomfortable for some people. There are few days during the year when the humidity is even noticable. A very dry climate can lead to cracked, itchy skin and dry eyes.
November is the wettest month in Alturas with 1.8 inches of rain, and the driest month is July with 0.3 inches. The wettest season is Spring with 34% of yearly precipitation and 11% occurs in Autumn, which is the driest season. The annual rainfall of 13.1 inches in Alturas means that it is drier than most places in California.
December is the rainiest month in Alturas with 9.9 days of rain, and July is the driest month with only 1.7 rainy days. There are 79.7 rainy days annually in Alturas, which is rainier than most places in California. The rainiest season is Spring when it rains 35% of the time and the driest is Autumn with only a 10% chance of a rainy day.
An annual snowfall of 24.4 inches in Alturas means that it is one of the snowiest places in California. December is the snowiest month in Alturas with 5.4 inches of snow, and 7 months of the year have significant snowfall.
Reviews for Alturas
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Over 4 years ago

Crime seems unreasonably high for this area. Shame. Guess there is no place void of California’s problems. Even way up in the North out in the  More

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I visited there years ago and camped at Blue Lake in the Warner Mts. This is America as it was in the 1950's, minus all our modern  More

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Over 13 years ago

I am considering buying an acreage north of Alturas, could anyone tell me what the water table is for drilling? I would appreciate it. Also are there alot of timber 8  More

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