Chico in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Chico sees average daytime highs around 57°F and overnight lows near 41°F, with 22.1 in of precipitation over about 33 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 57°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Chico's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Chico's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 57°F; coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low: 41°F
Precipitation: 22.1 in; 33 wet days
Avg wind: 7 mph
Travel score: 4.1; 3rd-best season
Months: Dec · Jan · Feb

← Fall Chico year-round climate Spring →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Chico in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 57°F.

A typical winter day in Chico reaches about 57°F and drops to 41°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

How winter really feels in Chico

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

winter 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 the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

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 Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter.

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Chico gets around 22.1 in of rain and snow over 33 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

Wind in Winter

Winds average 7 mph across winter.

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 24 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.4 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Chico

In seasonPeak

In winter, Chico overlaps 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 winter a good time to visit Chico?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.1

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

0.1

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Chico for sightseeing.

What to pack for Chico in Winter

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

In winter, Chico sees daytime highs around 57°F and nights near 41°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 33 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Chico in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. 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 Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter 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

← Fall Chico year-round climate Spring →

Winter 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.