The meteorology in the Indian Wells Valley is predominantly influenced by its high desert location. The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights, with extreme arid conditions prevailing throughout the summer months. The mean annual temperature for the Ridgecrest area is 65 F. There are wide annual temperature fluctuations that occur from a maximum of 118 F to a minimum of 0 F.

Mountains surround the Ridgecrest area. To the west and northwest is the Sierra Nevada range with peaks rising above 6,000 feet west of Ridgecrest, and with Mount Whitney and other peaks 75 miles northwest exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation. To the north is the Coso Range, extending above 8,000 feet, to the east is the Argus Range with elevations of 6,000 feet. South is the El Paso Range with heights above 5,000 feet. The terrain of Ridgecrest is nearly level throughout an area extending north-south for 30 miles and east-west for 15 miles. The floor of the valley is desert, consisting of sandy soil, with a large dry lake bed.

Ridgecrest is geographically well located for the mission of the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, because of its good flying weather and abundant air space essential for weapons testing and evaluation. Clear skies prevail in Ridgecrest throughout most of the year, the climate is semiarid with precipitation averaging about 4.25 inches a year.

Clouds are of the high cirriform type with ceilings generally above 20,000 feet, the visibility is normally greater than 50 miles. Flying weather is generally excellent throughout the year except for gusty afternoon and evening surface winds. Visual flying conditions with unlimited ceilings and unrestricted visibility normally occur 25 days per month.

Strong surface winds occur in late winter and spring as cold fronts move rapidly through the area. Strong surface winds with a prevailing speed of 15 knots or greater can be expected 15 days a year and strong gusts of 40 knots or greater can be expected 10 days a year.

Summer is characterized by very warm, dry days with cool nights. Afternoon temperatures rise to 100 F or higher about 66 days a year and drop into the 60s at night. The wind is generally light and variable, but with afternoon heating, a south-southwest wind begins to blow at 10 to 20 knots and lasts into the evening hours. Fair weather dominates the summer months with most precipitation from thunderstorms occurring during August and September.

Winters are cool with nighttime temperatures dropping to 32 F or less about 77 days a year then warming into the 50s during the day. Precipitation is at its maximum from November through March with normal monthly rainfall averaging 0.5 inch or more. Normally, frontal systems move rapidly through the area and should be expected to move through the area on an average of three a month.

Air routinely flows into the Indian Wells Valley through low mountain passes. Air circulates in from the San Joaquin Valley via Red Rock Canyon, Walker Pass and possibly Tehachapi Pass. To the northwest, air from Owens Valley flows through the gap at Little Lake. From the east, air comes into the Valley through Burro Canyon and from the southeast, through the gap between Argus and El Paso Ranges.

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