Bakersfield has a hot desert-type climate , with very hot, dry summers, and winters that consist of mild days with chilly/cold nights. Rainfall is low in the city, averaging only 6.5 in or 165 mm annually, with most of it falling in the winter. Bakersfield averages about 191 clear days a year. Bakersfield’s climate makes the region suitable for growing crops ranging from carrots to citrus and almonds.
Bakersfield summers are very hot with extended stretches of hot weather and 108 days per year above 90 °F or 32.2 °C (on average between April 19 and October 12); in addition, 33 days are above 100 °F or 37.8 °C from May to September, and several days each summer can be expected to top 110 °F or 43.3 °C. Some years can see fluctuations in temperatures throughout seasons, with triple digit temperature readings in April and October in addition to occasional upper 70 degree high temperature recordings in June not being uncommon. Winters feature mild daytime temperatures and chilly/cold nights. Frost and/or dense fog usually occurs in winter with accompanying low visibility, causing many schools to have fog delays. Winters will usually produce a very dense layer of fog from time to time. Due to years of prolonged drought and rapid development of many new neighborhoods around Bakersfield, the density of the fog and amount of “fog days” has been steadily decreasing, while areas outside the city still experience thick fog. The official time frame for tule fog to form is about 5 months long – various days from November 1 to March 31. On average, 12 mornings have freezing lows (on average between December 13 and January 26) annually, and the coldest night of the year typically bottoms out below 30 °F or −1.1 °C.
Snow is rare on the valley floor although frost may occur. The last snow fell on January 25, 1999, when the city received 6 inches or 0.15 metres. The record maximum temperature was 118 °F (47.8 °C) on July 28, 1908, and the record minimum temperature was 11 °F (−11.7 °C) on January 3, 1908. The most rainfall in one month was 5.82 inches (147.8 mm) in December 2010, and the maximum 24-hour rainfall was 2.29 inches (58.2 mm) on February 9, 1978. The wettest “rain year” has been from July 1997 to June 1998 with 14.73 inches (374.1 mm) and the driest from July 1933 to June 1934 with 2.26 inches (57.4 mm).