Climate and average weather in Carmichael

In Carmichael, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: early April to early June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Carmichael typically varies from 40°F to 91°F, and is rarely below 31°F or above 100°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Carmichael for warm-weather activities are from early April to early June and late September to mid November.

Hottest
Jul
91°
Coldest
Dec
40°
Wettest
Jan
4.9 in
Driest
Jul
0.0 in
Rain / yr
26.0 in
60 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
121 ft
38.6°N
Clearest
Jul
10% cloud

Carmichael is census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States.

Density
1,729/km²
people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Carmichael weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early April to early June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Carmichael, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from May 27 to October 2, with daily high temperatures above 83°F. The hottest month of the year in Carmichael is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 62°F.

The cool season lasts 3.2 months, from November 21 to February 26, with daily high temperatures below 63°F. The coldest month of the year in Carmichael is December, with an average low of 40°F and high of 57°F.

Days typically run about 23°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 30°F) in July.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5741
Feb6243
Mar6646
Apr7250
May8055
Jun8859
Jul9162
Aug9161
Sep8759
Oct7853
Nov6545
Dec5740

How hot and cold Carmichael really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Carmichael feels like about 92°F (around July 11). About 74 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan57573741
Feb62624043
Mar66664446
Apr72724850
May80805555
Jun88885959
Jul91916262
Aug91916161
Sep87875959
Oct78785253
Nov65654245
Dec57573740

Average hourly temperature in Carmichael

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 91°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 40°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Carmichael weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan57° / 41°4.99.59.64.2
Feb62° / 43°4.79.610.55.2
Mar66° / 46°4.19.211.76.3
Apr72° / 50°1.95.8137.5
May80° / 55°1.1414.17.7
Jun88° / 59°0.2114.65.9
Jul91° / 62°0.00.114.44.8
Aug91° / 61°0.10.213.55.0
Sep87° / 59°0.10.712.36.4
Oct78° / 53°1.43.2118.3
Nov65° / 45°2.66.69.96.5
Dec57° / 40°4.89.79.44.1

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Carmichael gets about 26.0 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.7 months, from around Nov 2 to Apr 25, peaking in February at about 36% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 23.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 4.9 in over about 10 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.0 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetFeb 18 · 36%Jul 23 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3110
Feb3410
Mar299
Apr206
May124
Jun41
Jul00
Aug10
Sep31
Oct103
Nov227
Dec3110

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Carmichael collects about 26.0 in of rain across 60 wet days — roughly 2.2 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 4.9 in, while July is the driest at just 0.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 55% of the year’s total.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.94.74.11.91.10.20.00.10.11.42.64.8
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan4.910
Feb4.710
Mar4.19
Apr1.96
May1.14
Jun0.21
Jul0.00
Aug0.10
Sep0.11
Oct1.43
Nov2.67
Dec4.810

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Carmichael, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 15 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around November 4. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 95% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 5 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around May 14. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 55% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 29 · 96%Jan 7 · 45%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4555
Feb4753
Mar4951
Apr5941
May7129
Jun8614
Jul946
Aug955
Sep928
Oct8119
Nov6139
Dec4951

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 12, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.67:275:02
Feb10.57:055:35
Mar11.76:246:06
Apr13.05:356:36
May14.14:597:04
Jun14.64:457:26
Jul14.44:577:24
Aug13.55:246:55
Sep12.35:526:07
Oct11.06:215:20
Nov9.96:554:46
Dec9.47:224:41

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Carmichael averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.4 months, from around May 21 to Oct 30. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is January, down near 10 sunny days — about 64% fewer than the July peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 1228 daysJan 79 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr14Mixed
May18Bright
Jun23Brilliant
Jul28Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep26Brilliant
Oct21Bright
Nov14Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Carmichael, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 3% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan9910
Feb9910
Mar9910
Apr9640
May9370
Jun86141
Jul67312
Aug66313
Sep82171
Oct9271
Nov9820
Dec9910

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Carmichael is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeJun 8 · 6 mphNov 5 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct4calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Hazard calendar for Carmichael

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Carmichael's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Carmichael

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Carmichael throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late May, Carmichael is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Carmichael for general outdoor tourist activities run from late March to early June and again from late September to mid November, with a peak score in the third week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 18 · 8.5

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan4.2fair
Feb5.2fair
Mar6.3good
Apr7.5good
May7.7ideal
Jun5.9good
Jul4.8fair
Aug5.1fair
Sep6.4good
Oct8.2ideal
Nov6.4good
Dec4.2fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Carmichael for hot-weather activities is from early May to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 23 · 9.0

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Carmichael, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 91°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 57°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Carmichael sees daytime highs around 91°F and nights near 62°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Carmichael by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Carmichael peaks around June 21 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 21UV 10Dec 13UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep6High
Oct5Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Carmichael

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb20
Mar4.50
Apr6.52
May85
Jun8.56
Jul8.55.5
Aug85
Sep60.5
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Carmichael by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Carmichael is worst in August — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (June, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateAug 2126 µg/m³Jun 138 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan15Moderate
Feb14Moderate
Mar15Moderate
Apr12Good
May9Good
Jun8Good
Jul11Good
Aug27Moderate
Sep23Moderate
Oct17Moderate
Nov19Moderate
Dec14Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Carmichael is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about January 13 to December 7 (329 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeJan 1390%Dec 790%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan9112
Feb970
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov970
Dec8821

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Carmichael banks about 4,785 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan3
Feb69
Mar199
Apr329
May544
Jun709
Jul823
Aug808
Sep684
Oct469
Nov147
Dec2

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Carmichael receives about 5.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.1 and 8.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 28 to Sep 29. The brightest month is July, averaging about 8.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.1 kWh/m² — roughly 74% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 18.3 kWhDec 152.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.3Moderate
Feb3.2Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr6.2Intense
May7.3Intense
Jun8.2Intense
Jul8.2Intense
Aug7.4Intense
Sep6.0Intense
Oct4.3Bright
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Carmichael?

Carmichael sits at 38.6°N, 121.3°W, 121 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Rancho Cordova, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Carmichael

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Carmichael.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Carmichael has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 154 ft around an average of 102 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 456 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,869 ft.

The land around Carmichael is covered by trees (49%) and artificial surfaces (40%) within 2 miles, artificial surfaces (41%), grassland (29%) and trees (23%) within 10 miles, and trees (37%), grassland (30%) and cropland (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
154 ft
10 miles
456 ft
50 miles
5,869 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Rancho Cordova 2.5 mi · Arden-Arcade 3.1 mi · Fair Oaks 3.7 mi · Foothill Farms 4.3 mi · Rosemont 5.0 mi · North Highlands 5.6 mi · Antelope 6.2 mi · Citrus Heights 6.8 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Carmichael (38.6171°, -121.3283°, elevation 121 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).