Wrightwood Snowfall Totals & Snowstorm Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Wrightwood, California has snow.
There are data and descriptions of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Wrightwood usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the resort town normally has heavy snowstorms. Plus there's information on when Wrightwood can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.
All the numbers are 30-year averages, based mainly on weather data gathered from 1991 to 2020 at Wrightwood, near Mountain High Resort in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California. The snow depth data are for 1981 to 2010.
How Often it Snows in Wrightwood
This first table lists monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | January | 10.5 | 26.7 |
| 5.3 | February | 24.8 | 63.0 |
| 2.8 | March | 8.3 | 21.1 |
| 2.7 | April | 7.2 | 18.3 |
| 0.3 | May | 1.6 | 4.1 |
| 0.2 | October | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| 1.0 | November | 3.6 | 9.1 |
| 2.5 | December | 5.3 | 13.5 |
| 17.8 | Year | 61.8 | 157.0 |
These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Wrightwood varies from year to year.
In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 6.9 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 0.7 inches for the month.
Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 10.6 inches, while the lightest years get less than 1.5 inches.
New snow for February ranges from over 35 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 8.6 inches in light years.
When Wrightwood Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of winter for Wrightwood can arrive as early as October or as late as December. Most commonly, the snow starts flying in November. But once every three or four years, November sees no snow.
The season's last snowfall for the ski town typically falls in April. Occasionally May also gets a little snow.
Wrightwood is normally free of snow every year from June to September.
How Many Snowstorms Wrightwood Gets
Most days of snowfall in Wrightwood leave at least an inch of fresh snow. For seven days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals three inches or more.
Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur four times a year. Typically one or two of these storms are major blizzards that dump ten inches or more. Snow events this severe can descend on the ski resort anytime from November to May.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.2 | 1.4 | January | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| 4.3 | 2.5 | February | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| 2.0 | 1.0 | March | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| 1.8 | 1.2 | April | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| 0.2 | 0.2 | May | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 0.1 | 0.1 | October | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 0.6 | 0.2 | November | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 1.8 | 0.8 | December | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| 13.0 | 7.4 | Year | 4.0 | 1.5 |
Reference
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.