Editing Merced, California (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Merced, Ca, San Joaquin Valley.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Merced County countryside]]
[[File:Merced Atwater etc night aerial.jpg|thumb|Night aerial view of Merced, Atwater, etc. in 2019]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|23.3|sqmi|km2}}.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021"/>

Merced is approximately {{convert|110|mi|km}} southeast of San Francisco and {{convert|275|mi|km}} northwest of Los Angeles.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20060126222229/http://www.cityofmerced.org/about/history.asp History of Merced]." City of Merced. Retrieved on September 18, 2010.</ref>

A major groundwater plume containing the contaminant [[Tetrachloroethylene|PCE]] was discovered in Merced in 1987.<ref>Paul M. Santi1, John E. McCray2 and Jamie L. Martens, ''Hydrogeology Journal'', Issue	Volume 14, Numbers 1–2, January 2006, Springer Berlin /Heidelberg</ref> Subsequently, drilling of new water wells was severely restricted.<ref>''Environmental Site Assessment for proposed development, Merced, California'', Earth Metrics Inc, October 17, 1989</ref>

===Climate===
Merced has a [[cold semi-arid climate]] (Köppen: BSk), with its annual precipitation falling just short of a [[mediterranean climate]]. The city features very hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=18427&cityname=Merced,+California,+United+States+of+America&units=|title=Merced, California Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|website=Weatherbase|access-date=February 14, 2019|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803212942/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=18427&cityname=Merced,+California,+United+States+of+America&units=|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are an average of 99.7 days with highs of {{convert|90|°F}} or higher and an average of 27.8 days with lows of {{convert|32|°F}} or lower. The record highest temperature of {{convert|116|F|C}} was recorded on September 6, 2022. The record lowest temperature of {{convert|15|°F}} was recorded on December 24, 1990.

The wettest year was 1998 with {{convert|21.98|in|mm}} and the driest year was 2013 with {{convert|3.79|in|mm}}. The most rainfall in one month was {{convert|8.00|in|mm}} in January 1909. The most rainfall in 24 hours was {{convert|2.20|in|mm}}, which occurred on January 30, 1911, and March 9, 1911.<ref name = NOWData></ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Merced, California ([[Merced Regional Airport]]), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1899–present
|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 75
|Feb record high F = 84
|Mar record high F = 88
|Apr record high F = 98
|May record high F = 109
|Jun record high F = 111
|Jul record high F = 114
|Aug record high F = 114
|Sep record high F = 116
|Oct record high F = 106
|Nov record high F = 90
|Dec record high F = 76

|Jan avg record high F = 65.9
|Feb avg record high F = 71.8
|Mar avg record high F = 79.7
|Apr avg record high F = 89.4
|May avg record high F = 97.3
|Jun avg record high F = 103.9
|Jul avg record high F = 105.5
|Aug avg record high F = 104.9
|Sep avg record high F = 101.7
|Oct avg record high F = 92.5
|Nov avg record high F = 78.2
|Dec avg record high F = 66.1
|year avg record high F = 107.0

|Jan high F = 55.6
|Feb high F = 62.0
|Mar high F = 68.1
|Apr high F = 74.0
|May high F = 82.7
|Jun high F = 90.7
|Jul high F = 96.3
|Aug high F = 95.1
|Sep high F = 90.5
|Oct high F = 79.6
|Nov high F = 66.1
|Dec high F = 56.0
|year high F = 

|Jan mean F = 46.3
|Feb mean F = 50.5
|Mar mean F = 55.2
|Apr mean F = 59.7
|May mean F = 67.4
|Jun mean F = 74.2
|Jul mean F = 79.0
|Aug mean F = 77.9
|Sep mean F = 73.5
|Oct mean F = 64.3
|Nov mean F = 53.5
|Dec mean F = 46.0
|year mean F = 

|Jan low F = 37.0
|Feb low F = 39.1
|Mar low F = 42.3
|Apr low F = 45.4
|May low F = 52.1
|Jun low F = 57.6
|Jul low F = 61.7
|Aug low F = 60.6
|Sep low F = 56.5
|Oct low F = 49.0
|Nov low F = 40.8
|Dec low F = 36.0
|year low F = 

|Jan avg record low F = 27.1
|Feb avg record low F = 29.9
|Mar avg record low F = 33.4
|Apr avg record low F = 36.4
|May avg record low F = 42.8
|Jun avg record low F = 48.5
|Jul avg record low F = 54.8
|Aug avg record low F = 54.7
|Sep avg record low F = 48.4
|Oct avg record low F = 39.4
|Nov avg record low F = 31.0
|Dec avg record low F = 26.8
|year avg record low F = 25.0

|Jan record low F = 16
|Feb record low F = 20
|Mar record low F = 20
|Apr record low F = 25
|May record low F = 30
|Jun record low F = 37
|Jul record low F = 40
|Aug record low F = 36
|Sep record low F = 32
|Oct record low F = 28
|Nov record low F = 21
|Dec record low F = 15

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.37
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.20
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.82
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.12
|May precipitation inch = 0.55
|Jun precipitation inch = 0.12
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.00
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.00
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.05
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.64
|Nov precipitation inch = 1.02
|Dec precipitation inch = 1.91
|year precipitation inch = 11.80

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 9.6
|Feb precipitation days = 9.5
|Mar precipitation days = 8.2
|Apr precipitation days = 4.9
|May precipitation days = 2.7
|Jun precipitation days = 0.6
|Jul precipitation days = 0.1
|Aug precipitation days = 0.0
|Sep precipitation days = 0.6
|Oct precipitation days = 3.0
|Nov precipitation days = 7.3
|Dec precipitation days = 9.7

|source 1 = NOAA<ref name=NOAA>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00023257&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access
|access-date = September 7, 2022
}}
</ref>
|source 2 = National Weather Service<ref name = NOWData>
{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=hnx
|publisher = National Weather Service
|title = NOAA Online Weather Data
|access-date = September 7, 2022
}}
</ref>
}}

;Notes: 
{{notelist}}