Chowchilla in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Chowchilla sees average daytime highs around 60°F and overnight lows near 42°F, with 8.8 in of rain over about 23 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 60°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
60°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
42°F
Rainfall
8.8 in
23 wet days
Avg wind
5 mph
Travel score
5.1
3rd-best season
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Chowchilla in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 60°F.

A typical winter day in Chowchilla reaches about 60°F and drops to 42°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

20°40°60°80°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Chowchilla

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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
0
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.

Chowchilla 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan59° / 41°3.37.79.74.8
Feb63° / 44°2.87.910.65.8
Mar68° / 48°2.67.111.77.0
Apr75° / 52°1.14.312.98.0
May83° / 58°0.62.5147.2
Jun91° / 64°0.10.514.54.8
Jul96° / 68°0.00.114.33.0
Aug95° / 68°0.00.113.43.5
Sep89° / 63°0.10.512.35.7
Oct79° / 55°0.72.1118.4
Nov67° / 46°1.34.4107.2
Dec58° / 40°2.76.99.54.8

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Chowchilla gets around 8.8 in of rain over 23 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

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.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 5 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.9 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Chowchilla?

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.

5.1
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
0.6
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Chowchilla for sightseeing.

What to pack for Chowchilla in Winter

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

In winter, Chowchilla sees daytime highs around 60°F and nights near 42°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 23 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Chowchilla in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Chowchilla peaks around June 20 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateJun 20UV 10Dec 17UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul10Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep7High
Oct5Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Chowchilla 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 Chowchilla is worst in September — around 28 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.8× the cleanest month (June, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateSep 1828 µg/m³Jun 108 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb16Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr12Good
May9Good
Jun7Good
Jul23Moderate
Aug22Moderate
Sep28Moderate
Oct24Moderate
Nov16Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Chowchilla?

Chowchilla sits at 37.1°N, 120.3°W, 240 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Madera, 16 mi away.

Topography around Chowchilla

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Chowchilla has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 62 ft around an average of 236 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 233 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,072 ft.

The land around Chowchilla is covered by cropland (29%), trees (25%) and grassland (22%) within 2 miles, trees (39%), cropland (30%) and grassland (26%) within 10 miles, and grassland (42%), trees (30%) and cropland (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
62 ft
10 miles
233 ft
50 miles
9,072 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Madera 16 mi · Merced 17 mi · Atwater 25 mi · Los Banos 33 mi · Clovis 37 mi · Fresno 37 mi · Turlock 41 mi · Sanger 48 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 Chowchilla (37.123°, -120.2602°, elevation 240 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.