Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Tehachapi Municipal Airport California, United States

At Tehachapi Municipal Airport, the summers are warm, arid, and clear and the winters are long, very cold, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 30°F to 87°F and is rarely below 23°F or above 94°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Tehachapi Municipal Airport for warm-weather activities is from late June to late August.

The hot season lasts for 3.0 months, from June 18 to September 17, with an average daily high temperature above 80°F. The hottest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is July, with an average high of 86°F and low of 57°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.2 months, from November 14 to March 19, with an average daily high temperature below 57°F. The coldest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is December, with an average low of 30°F and high of 51°F.

At Tehachapi Municipal Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport begins around April 27 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around November 4.

The clearest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 4 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around April 27.

The cloudiest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 48% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Tehachapi Municipal Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from November 13 to April 7, with a greater than 9% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is February, with an average of 5.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.2 months, from April 7 to November 13. The month with the fewest wet days at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is June, with an average of 0.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is February, with an average of 4.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 16% on February 20.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Tehachapi Municipal Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from October 29 to April 13, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is February, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 13 to October 29. The month with the least rain at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Tehachapi Municipal Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.4 months, from December 16 to January 28, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 1.1 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from January 28 to December 16. The least snow falls around August 2, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Tehachapi Municipal Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 47 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 32 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:38 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 38 minutes later at 7:16 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:41 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 31 minutes later at 8:12 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Tehachapi Municipal Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Tehachapi Municipal Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Tehachapi Municipal Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from February 12 to June 30, with average wind speeds of more than 7.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.5 months, from June 30 to February 12. The calmest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Tehachapi Municipal Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 9.1 months, from February 9 to November 11, with a peak percentage of 82% on July 10. The wind is most often from the east for 2.9 months, from November 11 to February 9, with a peak percentage of 47% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Tehachapi Municipal Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Tehachapi Municipal Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Tehachapi Municipal Airport for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Tehachapi Municipal Airport typically lasts for 5.8 months (175 days), from around April 29 to around October 21, rarely starting before April 7 or after May 25, and rarely ending before September 25 or after November 14.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Tehachapi Municipal Airport should appear around March 20, only rarely appearing before February 27 or after April 18.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from April 29 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.6 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is June, with an average of 8.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 4 to February 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Tehachapi Municipal Airport is December, with an average of 2.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tehachapi Municipal Airport are 35.135 deg latitude, -118.439 deg longitude, and 3,980 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tehachapi Municipal Airport contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,522 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,105 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,525 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,707 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tehachapi Municipal Airport is covered by grassland (59%) and shrubs (36%), within 10 miles by shrubs (58%) and grassland (28%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (60%) and grassland (21%).