Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Happy Camp United States

In Happy Camp, the summers are short, warm, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are long, very cold, wet, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 34°F to 86°F and is rarely below 26°F or above 93°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Happy Camp for warm-weather activities is from early July to late August.

The hot season lasts for 2.9 months, from June 22 to September 18, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest month of the year in Happy Camp is July, with an average high of 84°F and low of 56°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.8 months, from November 11 to March 5, with an average daily high temperature below 55°F. The coldest month of the year in Happy Camp is December, with an average low of 35°F and high of 48°F.

In Happy Camp, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Happy Camp begins around June 8 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around October 11.

The clearest month of the year in Happy Camp is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 84% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around June 8.

The cloudiest month of the year in Happy Camp is December, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% 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 in Happy Camp varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.1 months, from October 22 to April 26, with a greater than 25% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Happy Camp is December, with an average of 14.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.9 months, from April 26 to October 22. The month with the fewest wet days in Happy Camp is August, with an average of 1.1 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 in Happy Camp is December, with an average of 13.4 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 46% on November 29.

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. Happy Camp experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from September 3 to June 26, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Happy Camp is December, with an average rainfall of 8.5 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from June 26 to September 3. The month with the least rain in Happy Camp is August, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day in Happy Camp varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 8 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 15 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:38 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 10 minutes later at 7:47 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:42 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 10 minutes later at 8:52 PM on June 26.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Happy Camp 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 in Happy Camp, 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 in Happy Camp does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.5 miles per hour of 4.2 miles per hour throughout.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Happy Camp varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 5.2 months, from April 25 to October 1, with a peak percentage of 45% on June 21. The wind is most often from the east for 2.6 weeks, from October 1 to October 19, with a peak percentage of 31% on October 4. The wind is most often from the south for 5.6 months, from October 19 to April 8, with a peak percentage of 47% on January 1.

Happy Camp is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 2°F of 53°F throughout.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Happy Camp 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 Happy Camp for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

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 Happy Camp for hot-weather activities is from mid July to mid August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

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 in Happy Camp typically lasts for 6.6 months (202 days), from around April 16 to around November 4, rarely starting before March 21 or after May 9, and rarely ending before October 15 or after November 22.

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 in Happy Camp should appear around April 1, only rarely appearing before March 13 or after April 23.

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 3.2 months, from May 18 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Happy Camp is July, with an average of 8.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 29 to February 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Happy Camp is December, with an average of 1.5 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Happy Camp are 41.793 deg latitude, -123.381 deg longitude, and 1,086 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Happy Camp contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,880 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,576 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,420 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,225 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Happy Camp is covered by trees (62%) and shrubs (36%), within 10 miles by trees (71%) and shrubs (29%), and within 50 miles by trees (57%) and shrubs (32%).