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    • Winter is coming. When does it start to get cold in California?
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    Winter is coming. When does it start to get cold in California?

    Pabio Posted on

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    Good news for Californians ready to brave sweater weather. In recent decades, the coldest day of the year has occurred in December in most of California.

    It is according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map which uses data from 1991 to 2020 to describe when, on average, the coldest time of year occurs in locations across the country.

    Although California has areas that experience their coldest day in January and later, the coldest day in the last month of the year is comparable to the West, according to NOAA. That’s compared to the Midwest and East, which experience their coldest days between mid-January and February.

    But how cold will the coldest day be in California this year? NOAA Winter Outlook reported that Southern California and a central part of the state could experience warmer than average temperatures in December, January and February. The rest of the state has an equal chance of having temperatures above, below, or near average.

    What day does winter start?

    The first day of winter is Saturday, December 21, marked by the winter solstice.

    What are the coldest days in California?

    The National Weather Service records temperature extremes, including minimum temperatures, in several locations across California. Here are some of the coldest days observed in various California cities, based on the available recording period:

    Bakersfield area: 13 degrees on December 24, 1905

    • The recording period begins in 1893.

    Camarillo neighborhood: 25 degrees on January 14, 1963

    • The recording period begins in 1923.

    Eureka zone: 20 degrees on January 14, 1888

    • The recording period begins in 1886.

    Fresno area: 17 degrees on January 6, 1913

    • The recording period begins in 1887.

    Long Beach area: 25 degrees on January 13, 1963

    • The recording period begins in 1958.

    Downtown Los Angeles: 28 degrees on February 6, 1883, January 7, 1913, February 6, 1883 and January 4, 1949

    • The recording period begins in 1877.

    Palm Springs area: 19 degrees on January 22, 1937

    • The recording period begins in 1922.

    Pasadena: 21 degrees on January 7, 1913

    • The recording period begins in 1893.

    Redding area: 16 degrees on December 9, 2009 and January 17, 2012

    • The recording period begins in 1893.

    San Diego area: 25 degrees on January 7, 1913

    • The recording period begins in 1874.

    San Jose: 18 degrees on January 6, 1894

    • The recording period begins in 1893.

    Downtown San Francisco: 27 degrees on December 11, 1932

    • The recording period begins in 1875.

    Visalia: 13 degrees on January 5, 1913

    • The recording period begins in 1898.

    Paris Barraza is a trendy journalist who covers California news at the Desert Sun. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

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