Climate - Bishop (California)

The climate of Bishop is arid continental, with cold winters and hot summers, and with strong temperature variations between night and day.
The town is located at 1,250 meters (4,100 ft) above sea level, in Owens Valley, an arid valley east of the Sierra Nevada. The climate is characterized by strong differences in temperature between night and day. In winter, it's cold at night, but the days are generally mild. On the coldest nights of the year, the temperature typically reaches around -13 °C (8.5 °F), but it can sometimes drop below. In December 1990, it even went down to -21.7 °C (-7 °F). Given the aridity of the climate, snowfalls are generally not abundant. On average, 17 cm of snow fall per year. Even in the middle of winter, however, the temperature can reach 20 °C (68 °F) with foehn-like winds coming down from the mountains.
In the summer, it is very hot during the day, but nights remain generally cool. On the hottest days of the year, the temperature generally reaches 40 °C (104 °F). In July 2002, it reached 43 °C (110 °F).
The average temperature of the coldest month (December) is of 3.2 °C (38 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 25.2 °C (77 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 135 millimeters (5.3 inches) per year: it is therefore at a desert level. It ranges from 5 mm (0.2 in) per month in the driest period (April through October) to 30 mm (1.2 in) in the wettest month (January). Here is the average precipitation.

Best Time

To visit Bishop, you can choose the periods from mid-April to mid-May and from mid-September to mid-October.

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