Climate and average weather in Lincoln

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

Best: mid April to early June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Lincoln typically varies from 39°F to 93°F, and is rarely below 30°F or above 101°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 Lincoln for warm-weather activities are from mid April to early June and late September to early November.

Hottest
Jul
93°
Coldest
Dec
39°
Wettest
Dec
6.6 in
Driest
Jul
0.0 in
Rain / yr
34.6 in
67 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
167 ft
38.9°N
Clearest
Jul
10% cloud

Lincoln is city in Placer County, California, United States.

Density
919/km²
people per km²
Founded
1890

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

Lincoln 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 mid April to early June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.9 months, from June 2 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in Lincoln is July, with an average high of 93°F and low of 64°F.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 18 to March 4, with daily high temperatures below 63°F. The coldest month of the year in Lincoln is December, with an average low of 39°F and high of 56°F.

Days typically run about 24°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 30°F) in August.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5740
Feb6142
Mar6545
Apr7148
May7954
Jun8860
Jul9364
Aug9263
Sep8759
Oct7751
Nov6443
Dec5639

How hot and cold Lincoln 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, Lincoln feels like about 93°F (around July 21). About 79 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)
Jan57573640
Feb61613842
Mar65654245
Apr71714648
May79795454
Jun88886060
Jul93936464
Aug92926363
Sep87875959
Oct77775151
Nov64644143
Dec56563539

Average hourly temperature in Lincoln

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 93°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 39°F.

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

Lincoln 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° / 40°6.410.59.64.0
Feb61° / 42°6.01010.54.9
Mar65° / 45°5.310.211.76.0
Apr71° / 48°2.66.9137.2
May79° / 54°1.54.614.17.8
Jun88° / 60°0.31.414.75.8
Jul93° / 64°0.00.114.44.2
Aug92° / 63°0.00.213.54.6
Sep87° / 59°0.20.812.36.3
Oct77° / 51°1.83.5118.3
Nov64° / 43°3.67.49.96.2
Dec56° / 39°6.611.19.33.8

Chance of rain

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

Lincoln gets about 34.6 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 5.8 months, from around Nov 2 to Apr 27, peaking in December at about 38% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 25.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 6.6 in over about 11 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.0 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 11 · 38%Jul 25 · 0%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3411
Feb3610
Mar3210
Apr247
May145
Jun51
Jul10
Aug10
Sep31
Oct114
Nov257
Dec3511

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Lincoln collects about 34.6 in of rain across 67 wet days — roughly 2.9 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 6.6 in, while July is the driest at just 0.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 55% of the year’s total.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec6.46.05.32.61.50.30.00.00.21.83.66.6
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan6.411
Feb6.010
Mar5.310
Apr2.67
May1.55
Jun0.31
Jul0.00
Aug0.00
Sep0.21
Oct1.84
Nov3.67
Dec6.611

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Lincoln, 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 16 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around November 2. 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 3 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around May 15. 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 11 · 95%Jan 10 · 44%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4555
Feb4654
Mar4951
Apr5842
May6931
Jun8515
Jul946
Aug955
Sep928
Oct8020
Nov5941
Dec4753

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 10, 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)
Jan9.67:285:01
Feb10.57:055:34
Mar11.76:246:05
Apr13.05:356:36
May14.14:587:05
Jun14.74:447:27
Jul14.44:567:25
Aug13.55:236:55
Sep12.35:526:07
Oct11.06:215:19
Nov9.96:554:46
Dec9.37:234:40

Sunny days

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

Lincoln averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 28 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around May 23 to Oct 29. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 27 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is February, down near 10 sunny days — about 63% fewer than the July peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 1128 daysFeb 1910 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr13Mixed
May17Bright
Jun23Brilliant
Jul28Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep25Brilliant
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 Lincoln, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in September, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 1% 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 (%)
Jan10000
Feb9910
Mar10000
Apr9910
May9460
Jun89101
Jul81190
Aug83161
Sep9361
Oct9730
Nov9910
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 Lincoln is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeFeb 22 · 6 mphNov 5 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Hazard calendar for Lincoln

In seasonPeak

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

Lincoln'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 Lincoln

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Lincoln 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 Lincoln for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid April 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 17 · 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
Jan4.1fair
Feb4.9fair
Mar6.0good
Apr7.2good
May7.8ideal
Jun5.8good
Jul4.2fair
Aug4.6fair
Sep6.3good
Oct8.2ideal
Nov6.2good
Dec3.9fair

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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln, 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 93°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 56°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Lincoln sees daytime highs around 93°F and nights near 64°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln

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
Aug7.55
Sep60.5
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Lincoln 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 Lincoln is worst in September — around 41 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 3.8× the cleanest month (June, 11 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModeratePoorModerateSep 1140 µg/m³Jun 911 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb15Moderate
Mar18Moderate
Apr15Moderate
May11Good
Jun11Good
Jul21Moderate
Aug37Poor
Sep41Poor
Oct21Moderate
Nov31Moderate
Dec13Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Lincoln is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about January 24 to November 29 (310 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeJan 2490%Nov 2990%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan8823
Feb950
Mar990
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov960
Dec8531

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. Lincoln banks about 4,676 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb35
Mar154
Apr285
May518
Jun721
Jul878
Aug848
Sep686
Oct441
Nov112
Dec0

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.

Lincoln receives about 5.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.0 and 8.3 kWh/m².

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

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.0 kWh/m² — roughly 75% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 28.3 kWhDec 152.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.2Moderate
Feb3.1Moderate
Mar4.5Bright
Apr6.1Intense
May7.2Intense
Jun8.1Intense
Jul8.3Intense
Aug7.4Intense
Sep6.0Bright
Oct4.2Bright
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.0Moderate

Where is Lincoln?

Lincoln sits at 38.9°N, 121.3°W, 167 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Rocklin, 7.5 mi away.

Topography around Lincoln

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Lincoln has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 184 ft around an average of 167 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,581 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,605 ft.

The land around Lincoln is covered by grassland (41%) and artificial surfaces (36%) within 2 miles, grassland (44%) and trees (27%) within 10 miles, and trees (47%), grassland (25%) and cropland (21%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
184 ft
10 miles
1,581 ft
50 miles
7,605 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Rocklin 7.5 mi · Roseville 9.9 mi · Granite Bay 11 mi · Citrus Heights 13 mi · Antelope 13 mi · North Highlands 15 mi · Foothill Farms 15 mi · Orangevale 15 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 Lincoln (38.8916°, -121.293°, elevation 167 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).