Cottonwood, California Weather
Summer heat deepens across the valleys. Day 15 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Cottonwood weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJul 5Overcast——99°76°—
- MondayJul 6Clear——99°73°0°
- TuesdayJul 7Clear——103°62°+4°
- WednesdayJul 8Clear——105°61°+2°
- ThursdayJul 9Clear——108°62°+3°
- FridayJul 10Clear——110°65°+2°
- SaturdayJul 11Partly Cloudy——112°69°+2°
AQI 59 (Moderate), driven by PM2.5. AQI up 5 over the last 6 hours (gradual rise). PM2.5 at 17.7 µg/m³, PM10 at 59.8 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 42 now. With UV 9.3 peaking around 1 PM under clear skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 52 around 1 PM.
- Present
- AQI 42
- UV peak
- 9.3 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 52
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 17.7 µg/m³, PM10 at 59.8 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.30
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- background
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).








































If the first of July be rainy weather, 'twill rain more or less for four weeks together.
- Moonrise
- 11:13 PM
- Moonset
- 11:14 AM
- In sign
- ♓︎ Pisces
Summer heat deepens across the valleys
Cottonwood at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 12°F above the seasonal normal for this latitude
- Last frost: March 19 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Jul 1–5
- Planting window: Harvest early potatoes. Begin drying onions on the surface.
ZIP code: 96022
16-Day Forecast — Cottonwood
- Sun99°76°2%
- Mon99°73°0%
- Tue103°62°0%
- Wed105°61°0%
- Thu108°62°0%
- Fri110°65°0%
- Sat112°69°1%
- Sun112°73°2%
- Mon115°73°6%
- Tue114°81°7%
- Wed106°83°3%
- Thu108°78°6%
- Fri113°73°6%
- Sat121°76°10%
- Sun121°82°6%
- Mon115°79°6%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of July 5, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
Microseason · July 1–5
Summer heat deepens across the valleys
Inland temperatures exceed 95°F regularly; fire danger reaches moderate to high across most of the region.
Day 186 of 365 · Wedge 37 of 72
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| January | — | — |
| February | — | — |
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | — |
| May | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| July | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| August | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| September | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| October | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | winter squash, tomatoes (last) |
| November | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | — |
| December | — | — |
A year in weather
Cottonwood's warmest month is July (~84°F mean) and its coldest is December (~48°F). Rainfall peaks in February (2.0 inches) and bottoms out in August (0.0 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 1.9″ | 13 |
| February | 51° | 2.0″ | 11 |
| March | 54° | 2.0″ | 12 |
| April | 61° | 0.9″ | 8 |
| May | 69° | 0.3″ | 3 |
| June | 76° | 0.0″ | 0 |
| July | 84° | 0.0″ | 1 |
| August | 83° | 0.0″ | 1 |
| September | 76° | 0.1″ | 1 |
| October | 66° | 0.3″ | 2 |
| November | 54° | 1.1″ | 8 |
| December | 48° | 1.7″ | 11 |
Regional context
Per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Cottonwood runs from a 48°F January mean to 84°F in July, a 35°F seasonal spread, with near 10.4 inches of precipitation across about 70 wet days.
Cool-season fronts carry Cottonwood's rain: February logs 2.0 inches on 10.5 days, against August's 0.0 inches on 0.7 — winter does the heavy lifting in Cottonwood. It is a winter-storm rhythm Cottonwood shares with places like Casa Loma, CA, Potomac Park, CA and Benton Park, CA.
Hard freezes are rare in Cottonwood: the coldest month averages 48°F, so Cottonwood's growing window runs most of the year. July is the hottest stretch near 84°F, pushing cool-season crops to the milder shoulder months. Cottonwood's coastal lots stay 4-7°F milder overnight than Cottonwood's inland parcels.
Similar climates: Casa Loma, CA, Potomac Park, CA, Benton Park, CA, East Bakersfield, CA, Hillcrest, CA.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Cottonwood?
- Cottonwood's last spring frost lands near mid-March, and in Cottonwood the first fall frost follows around mid-December.
- What is the rainy season in Cottonwood?
- Cottonwood sees its heaviest rain in February (around 2.0 inches), part of roughly 10 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in Cottonwood?
- The warmest stretch in Cottonwood comes in July, around 84°F on average.
- What is the coldest month in Cottonwood?
- On average December is the chilliest month in Cottonwood, about 48°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Cottonwood?
- Frost-hardy sowings begin at mid-March in Cottonwood; warm-season starts follow two weeks on.
- How many rainy days does Cottonwood get?
- Cottonwood averages about 70 days with measurable rain or snow each year.
- What hardiness zone is Cottonwood?
- Cottonwood's USDA zone comes from its December mean (48°F); enter the ZIP on the USDA lookup for the number.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Cottonwood?
- Cottonwood's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Cottonwood?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Cottonwood in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Cottonwood?
- Current conditions for Cottonwood and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Cottonwood forecast updated?
- The Cottonwood forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Cottonwood?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Cottonwood are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Cottonwood?
- The next few days in Cottonwood's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Climate
Cottonwood's hot-summer Mediterranean climate in California pairs 48°F Januarys with 84°F Julys, 36°F apart across the seasons.
Cottonwood sees close to 10 inches of precipitation annually, falling across some 70 wet days.
The 36°F gap between Cottonwood's summer and winter, at 35.3°N, shapes Cottonwood's frost calendar.
ZIP codes in Cottonwood
- 93307