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Weather extremes

How extreme does Ridgecrest's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Ridgecrest has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 48 years of daily weather observations (1978–present), from the China Lake Naf station 7 km away. Updated through June 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Ridgecrest has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day
128°F Jul 3, 2013

That is about 23°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Ridgecrest (typical high near 105°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 128°F Jul 3, 2013
2 119°F Jul 18, 1988
3 119°F Aug 2, 1993
❄️ Coldest night
3°F Feb 15, 2012

About 32°F colder than a normal February night in Ridgecrest (typical low near 35°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 3°F Feb 15, 2012
2 9°F Jan 13, 2013
3 10°F Dec 22, 1998
🌧️ Most rain in one day
4.33 in Aug 20, 2023

More rain in a single day than Ridgecrest usually gets in the whole month of August (typical August total about 0.1 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 4.33 in Aug 20, 2023recent
2 2.21 in Mar 1, 1983
3 1.90 in Dec 28, 2004
Most snow in one day
6.5 in Jan 5, 1995

The three most extreme on record

1 6.5 in Jan 5, 1995
2 4.0 in Feb 9, 1989
3 3.0 in Jan 6, 1993

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°110°130°150° all-time high 128°F JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Ridgecrest's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 128°F is about 23°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Ridgecrest's warmest days reach the mid-100s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 30s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 128°F and as low as 3°F. A single day has delivered over 4 inches of rain or close to 7 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.
Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at China Lake Naf (NOAA GHCN station USW00093104), about 7 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →