30-year climate normals

Merced County Climate and Weather Averages

Hottest month — July

95.6°

average daily high. The coldest month is December, averaging a low of 34.3°F.

Merced County gets 10.45" of precipitation a year, and 59% of it falls in Jan, Feb, Mar.

Temperature through the year

Each bar spans the average daily low to the average daily high for that month.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Precip
January	55.5°	35.5°	2.40"
February	61.5°	37.1°	2.02"
March	67.3°	40.4°	1.75"
April	73.4°	41.3°	0.73"
May	82.2°	45.3°	0.38"
June	90.4°	49.6°	0.13"
July	95.6°	53.8°	0.01"
August	94.0°	52.4°	0.01"
September	89.6°	49.7°	0.11"
October	79.0°	44.9°	0.57"
November	65.4°	37.7°	0.87"
December	55.9°	34.3°	1.47"

Rainfall by month

Merced County has a distinct wet season. 59% of the year's precipitation arrives in Jan, Feb, Mar.

January 2.40"

February 2.02"

March 1.75"

April 0.73"

May 0.38"

June 0.13"

July 0.01"

August 0.01"

September 0.11"

October 0.57"

November 0.87"

December 1.47"

Annual total 10.45"

What this climate costs you

Degree days measure how hard a building has to work to stay comfortable. They are the reason two identical houses have very different power bills, and they are the link between the weather here and what you pay every month.

Cooling degree days How much air conditioning the climate demands 980

Heating degree days How much heating the climate demands 2,909

Approximate annual cooling cost At 33.25¢/kWh, California average $326

Approximate annual electric heating cost Lower where heating is gas rather than electric $339

These are rough planning figures from degree days and the state electricity price, not a bill estimate. House size, insulation and fuel type move them a lot. See the full cost of owning a home in Merced County, where electricity is one line of eight.

Common questions

What is the weather like in Merced County?

Merced County averages a high of 95.6°F in July and a low of 34.3°F in December. Annual precipitation is 10.45 inches, with essentially no snow.

When is the rainy season in Merced County?

The wettest stretch is Jan, Feb, Mar, which accounts for 59% of the year's precipitation. That is a pronounced wet season rather than rain spread evenly through the year.

How hot does it get in Merced County?

The average daily high in July, the hottest month, is 95.6°F. That drives 980 cooling degree days a year, which is what your air conditioning has to work against.

Does it snow in Merced County?

Effectively no. Measurable snowfall is rare in Merced County.

Sources

Temperature, precipitation and snowfall normals — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 1991–2020 Monthly Climate Normals, station MERCED 23 WSW, CA US (USW00093243), 9.3 miles from the county centroid.
Heating and cooling degree days — NOAA, same station and period.
Electricity price — US Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A, California residential average.
Wet-season share is the wettest three consecutive months as a percentage of annual precipitation, calculated from the monthly normals.