Shafter in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Shafter sees average daytime highs around 61°F and overnight lows near 44°F, with 5.1 in of rain over about 19 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 61°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 41% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
61°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
44°F
Rainfall
5.1 in
19 wet days
Avg wind
3 mph
Travel score
5.7
3rd-best season
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Shafter in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 61°F.

A typical winter day in Shafter reaches about 61°F and drops to 44°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

30°40°50°60°70°80°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Shafter

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.

Shafter 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
Jan60° / 43°1.86.69.95.4
Feb64° / 46°1.87.110.76.2
Mar69° / 49°1.75.911.77.2
Apr75° / 53°0.93.812.98.2
May83° / 60°0.4213.87.4
Jun91° / 66°0.10.514.44.8
Jul97° / 72°0.00.314.22.6
Aug96° / 71°0.00.213.32.9
Sep90° / 66°0.00.412.25.3
Oct79° / 58°0.4211.18.4
Nov67° / 48°0.83.710.17.5
Dec60° / 42°1.55.79.65.4

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 41% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Shafter gets around 5.1 in of rain over 19 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 3 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 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 3.0 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Shafter?

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.

5.7
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
0.9
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Shafter for sightseeing.

What to pack for Shafter in Winter

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

In winter, Shafter sees daytime highs around 61°F and nights near 44°F. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 19 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Shafter in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Shafter peaks around June 20 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 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 16UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul10Very high
Aug10Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Shafter 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 Shafter is worst in December — around 44 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 6.1× the cleanest month (June, 7 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodDec 1740 µg/m³Jun 107 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb9Good
Mar11Good
Apr9Good
May8Good
Jun7Good
Jul10Good
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct11Good
Nov9Good
Dec44Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Shafter?

Shafter sits at 35.5°N, 119.3°W, 348 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Wasco, 7.5 mi away.

Topography around Shafter

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Shafter has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 69 ft around an average of 348 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 427 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 8,635 ft.

The land around Shafter is covered by trees (36%), cropland (21%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 2 miles, trees (35%) and cropland (33%) within 10 miles, and grassland (55%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
69 ft
10 miles
427 ft
50 miles
8,635 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Winter weather nearby: Wasco 7.5 mi · Oildale 16 mi · Bakersfield 17 mi · Delano 19 mi · Lamont 26 mi · Arvin 32 mi · Porterville 42 mi · Corcoran 44 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 Shafter (35.5005°, -119.2718°, elevation 348 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.