Chico weather in March

In March, Chico sees average daytime highs of 64°F and overnight lows near 45°F, with 5.9 in of precipitation across 10.9 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 61°F in the first days to 66°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 hours at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Chico's 9th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Chico's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 64°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 45°; 5th coldest
Precipitation: 5.9 in; 10.9 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 42 min; 6:27 AM – 6:07 PM
Cloud cover: 56%; 9th clearest
Wind: 7 mph; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 4.43 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.8; out of 10

Chico is city in Butte County, California, United States.

Density: 1,416/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1860

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

← February Chico year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 61°F in the first days to 66°F by the end.

A typical March day in Chico reaches about 64°F in the afternoon and slips back to 45°F overnight — a 19°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 53°F and 76°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 4°F warmer than February and about 6°F cooler than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	61	61	62	62	62	62	63	63	63	64	64	64	64	64	65	65	65	65	65	65	65	65	65	65	65	66	66	66	66	66	66
Avg low (°F)	42	43	43	43	43	43	44	44	44	44	44	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	42
2	61	43
3	62	43
4	62	43
5	62	43
6	62	43
7	63	44
8	63	44
9	63	44
10	64	44
11	64	44
12	64	45
13	64	45
14	64	45
15	65	45
16	65	45
17	65	45
18	65	45
19	65	46
20	65	46
21	65	46
22	65	46
23	65	46
24	65	46
25	65	46
26	66	46
27	66	46
28	66	46
29	66	46
30	66	46
31	66	46

How March really feels in Chico

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

March sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Chico weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 8th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	57° / 40°	7.2	11.2	0.5	9.5	3.9
Feb	60° / 42°	6.9	10.2	0.7	10.4	4.6
Mar	64° / 45°	5.9	10.9	0.4	11.7	5.8
Apr	70° / 49°	2.9	7.4	0.2	13	7.0
May	80° / 55°	1.9	5.1	0	14.2	7.6
Jun	89° / 63°	0.6	1.8	0	14.8	5.2
Jul	96° / 67°	0.0	0.1	0	14.5	3.2
Aug	94° / 65°	0.1	0.3	0	13.6	3.7
Sep	88° / 60°	0.3	1.2	0	12.3	5.8
Oct	77° / 52°	2.0	3.8	0	10.9	8.1
Nov	64° / 44°	4.1	8	0.2	9.8	5.9
Dec	56° / 40°	7.9	11.4	0.5	9.2	3.7

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	48	48	48	49	49	49	49	49	49	49	49	49	49	50	49	49	48	48	48	48	48	49	49	50	49	49	50	51	50	51	51
Cloudier (%)	52	52	52	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	51	50	51	51	52	52	52	52	52	51	51	50	51	51	50	49	50	49	49

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	48	52
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	49	51
8	49	51
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	49	51
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	49	51
16	49	51
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	49	51
24	50	50
25	49	51
26	49	51
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	50	50
30	51	49
31	51	49

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Chico gets around 5.9 in of rain and snow over 10.9 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 34% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	37	37	37	36	36	36	36	35	35	35	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	35	35	34	34	34	33	33	32	32	31	31
Snow chance (%)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	37	2
2	37	2
3	37	2
4	36	2
5	36	2
6	36	2
7	36	2
8	35	2
9	35	2
10	35	2
11	34	2
12	34	2
13	34	2
14	34	2
15	34	2
16	34	2
17	34	2
18	35	2
19	35	1
20	35	1
21	35	1
22	35	1
23	34	1
24	34	1
25	34	1
26	33	1
27	33	1
28	32	1
29	32	1
30	31	1
31	31	1

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 7 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 7 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 hours at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 78 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:50 AM to 6:02 AM, and sunset from 5:51 PM to 6:23 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.3
Sunrise (AM)	6:50	6:49	6:47	6:46	6:44	6:43	6:41	6:39	6:38	6:36	6:35	6:33	6:32	6:30	6:28	6:27	6:25	6:23	6:22	6:20	6:19	6:17	6:15	6:14	6:12	6:10	6:09	6:07	6:05	6:04	6:02
Sunset (PM)	5:51	5:52	5:53	5:54	5:56	5:57	5:58	5:59	6:00	6:01	6:02	6:03	6:04	6:05	6:06	6:07	6:08	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:12	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:22	6:23

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.0	6:50	5:51
2	11.1	6:49	5:52
3	11.1	6:47	5:53
4	11.1	6:46	5:54
5	11.2	6:44	5:56
6	11.2	6:43	5:57
7	11.3	6:41	5:58
8	11.3	6:39	5:59
9	11.4	6:38	6:00
10	11.4	6:36	6:01
11	11.5	6:35	6:02
12	11.5	6:33	6:03
13	11.5	6:32	6:04
14	11.6	6:30	6:05
15	11.6	6:28	6:06
16	11.7	6:27	6:07
17	11.7	6:25	6:08
18	11.8	6:23	6:09
19	11.8	6:22	6:10
20	11.9	6:20	6:11
21	11.9	6:19	6:12
22	11.9	6:17	6:14
23	12.0	6:15	6:15
24	12.0	6:14	6:16
25	12.1	6:12	6:17
26	12.1	6:10	6:18
27	12.2	6:09	6:19
28	12.2	6:07	6:20
29	12.3	6:05	6:21
30	12.3	6:04	6:22
31	12.3	6:02	6:23

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.43 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.94 kWh/m² to a high of 8.24 kWh/m² in July across the year — March's 4.43 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.7	Moderate
2	3.7	Moderate
3	3.8	Moderate
4	3.9	Moderate
5	3.9	Moderate
6	4.0	Moderate
7	4.0	Bright
8	4.0	Bright
9	4.1	Bright
10	4.2	Bright
11	4.2	Bright
12	4.3	Bright
13	4.3	Bright
14	4.3	Bright
15	4.4	Bright
16	4.4	Bright
17	4.5	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.6	Bright
20	4.6	Bright
21	4.7	Bright
22	4.7	Bright
23	4.8	Bright
24	4.8	Bright
25	4.9	Bright
26	4.9	Bright
27	5.0	Bright
28	5.1	Bright
29	5.1	Bright
30	5.2	Bright
31	5.2	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Hazard calendar for Chico

In seasonPeak

In March, Chico sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Chico'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

Is March a good time to visit Chico?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.8

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

1.9

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Chico for sightseeing.

What to pack for Chico in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Chico sees daytime highs around 64°F and nights near 45°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Chico in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Chico peaks around June 22 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	3	5	6	9	10	10	8	6	5	2	2
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Very high	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Moderate
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	5	Moderate
Apr	6	High
May	9	Very high
Jun	10	Very high
Jul	10	Very high
Aug	8	Very high
Sep	6	High
Oct	5	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	2	Low

Air quality in Chico in March

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where March falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Chico is worst in July — around 64 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 8.2× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	9	11	13	13	10	10	64	59	63	17	37	8
Level	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Unhealthy	Moderate	Poor	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	9	Good
Feb	11	Good
Mar	13	Moderate
Apr	13	Moderate
May	10	Good
Jun	10	Good
Jul	64	Unhealthy
Aug	59	Unhealthy
Sep	63	Unhealthy
Oct	17	Moderate
Nov	37	Poor
Dec	8	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Chico?

Chico sits at 39.7°N, 121.8°W, 197 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Paradise, 12 mi away.

Topography around Chico

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Chico has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 128 ft around an average of 207 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,860 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,772 ft.

The land around Chico is covered by trees (62%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 2 miles, trees (51%) and grassland (33%) within 10 miles, and trees (52%) and grassland (32%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

128 ft

trees 62%

10 miles

1,860 ft

trees 51%

50 miles

7,772 ft

trees 52%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← February Chico year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Paradise 12 mi · Oroville 21 mi · Yuba City 42 mi · South Yuba City 43 mi · Linda 44 mi · Lincoln 65 mi · Redding 66 mi · Clearlake 68 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

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 Chico (39.7285°, -121.8375°, elevation 197 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).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	42
2	61	43
3	62	43
4	62	43
5	62	43
6	62	43
7	63	44
8	63	44
9	63	44
10	64	44
11	64	44
12	64	45
13	64	45
14	64	45
15	65	45
16	65	45
17	65	45
18	65	45
19	65	46
20	65	46
21	65	46
22	65	46
23	65	46
24	65	46
25	65	46
26	66	46
27	66	46
28	66	46
29	66	46
30	66	46
31	66	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	48	52
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	49	51
8	49	51
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	49	51
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	49	51
16	49	51
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	49	51
24	50	50
25	49	51
26	49	51
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	50	50
30	51	49
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	37	2
2	37	2
3	37	2
4	36	2
5	36	2
6	36	2
7	36	2
8	35	2
9	35	2
10	35	2
11	34	2
12	34	2
13	34	2
14	34	2
15	34	2
16	34	2
17	34	2
18	35	2
19	35	1
20	35	1
21	35	1
22	35	1
23	34	1
24	34	1
25	34	1
26	33	1
27	33	1
28	32	1
29	32	1
30	31	1
31	31	1

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	42
2	61	43
3	62	43
4	62	43
5	62	43
6	62	43
7	63	44
8	63	44
9	63	44
10	64	44
11	64	44
12	64	45
13	64	45
14	64	45
15	65	45
16	65	45
17	65	45
18	65	45
19	65	46
20	65	46
21	65	46
22	65	46
23	65	46
24	65	46
25	65	46
26	66	46
27	66	46
28	66	46
29	66	46
30	66	46
31	66	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	48	52
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	49	51
8	49	51
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	49	51
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	49	51
16	49	51
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	49	51
24	50	50
25	49	51
26	49	51
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	50	50
30	51	49
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	37	2
2	37	2
3	37	2
4	36	2
5	36	2
6	36	2
7	36	2
8	35	2
9	35	2
10	35	2
11	34	2
12	34	2
13	34	2
14	34	2
15	34	2
16	34	2
17	34	2
18	35	2
19	35	1
20	35	1
21	35	1
22	35	1
23	34	1
24	34	1
25	34	1
26	33	1
27	33	1
28	32	1
29	32	1
30	31	1
31	31	1

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	42
2	61	43
3	62	43
4	62	43
5	62	43
6	62	43
7	63	44
8	63	44
9	63	44
10	64	44
11	64	44
12	64	45
13	64	45
14	64	45
15	65	45
16	65	45
17	65	45
18	65	45
19	65	46
20	65	46
21	65	46
22	65	46
23	65	46
24	65	46
25	65	46
26	66	46
27	66	46
28	66	46
29	66	46
30	66	46
31	66	46

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	48	52
2	48	52
3	48	52
4	49	51
5	49	51
6	49	51
7	49	51
8	49	51
9	49	51
10	49	51
11	49	51
12	49	51
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	49	51
16	49	51
17	48	52
18	48	52
19	48	52
20	48	52
21	48	52
22	49	51
23	49	51
24	50	50
25	49	51
26	49	51
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	50	50
30	51	49
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	37	2
2	37	2
3	37	2
4	36	2
5	36	2
6	36	2
7	36	2
8	35	2
9	35	2
10	35	2
11	34	2
12	34	2
13	34	2
14	34	2
15	34	2
16	34	2
17	34	2
18	35	2
19	35	1
20	35	1
21	35	1
22	35	1
23	34	1
24	34	1
25	34	1
26	33	1
27	33	1
28	32	1
29	32	1
30	31	1
31	31	1

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100