Alta, UT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Alta's primary NOAA station, ALTA.
The climate verdict for Alta
Water is the standout signal in Alta, Utah: 47.1 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 39°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 39°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 47.1"
- annual precipitation · 458" snow
- 99 days
- frost-free growing season
Alta: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00420072 · Alta, UT 39°F mean · 47.1" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 39°F
- RANK-COOL #274
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hohnholz Rch
- PRCP-MID 47.1"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,440 HDD
- STN-1 USC00420072
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hohnholz Rch, CO (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every UT station list.
- Alta (this station) 39°F
- Hot Woodruff, UT 39°F
- Near Hohnholz Rch, CO 39°F
- Near Leadore, ID 39°F
- Near Red River, NM 39°F
Climate Living Index · Alta
Alta: 13/100 · grade F
Alta publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Alta, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 47.1 in · 12.1 from 35 in | 58/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 212 calendar days | 8/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.1°F · 28.4° from 67.5°F | 2/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 99 days/year | 0/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 458.3 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Alta · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Alta is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 22.3°F and warmest-month mean 61.6°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 61.6°F
- Coldest month
- 22.3°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Alta sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Alta's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 96%
- Among 6,861 stations, Alta sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 27% wettest
- Alta's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 33rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Alta compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Alta's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Alta's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 34 complete annual observations from 1971 to 2025, ALTA warmed at a fitted rate of 0.35°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Alta primary station fitted change +0.35 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 6.4" | 74.7" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (-1°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 5.4" | 81.2" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 37°F (3°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 6.2" | 71.4" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 42°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 4.8" | 50.0" | 24.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 53°F (11°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 15.9" | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 64°F (18°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.0" | 4.4" | 3.7 | 0.0 |
| July | 73°F (23°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| August | 71°F (22°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 2.1" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| September | 62°F (17°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.6" | 2.6" | 4.4 | 0.0 |
| October | 50°F (10°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 3.5" | 24.4" | 17.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 37°F (3°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 4.2" | 53.9" | 26.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 30°F (-1°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 5.1" | 79.8" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 74°F around July 23, short of 90°F on every date, while 212 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near December 16.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 11, then returns to freezing around October 13, covering 212 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is February 14, when 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 27 at 19%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 130 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Alta.
Where Alta Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 212 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 23°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Alta earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 74.7"
14.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 81.2"
13.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 71.4"
13.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 50.0"
11.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.9"
10.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
6.2 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
8.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 24.4"
9.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 53.9"
11.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 79.8"
14.7 days with precipitation
Alta's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 36% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 12%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 39.3°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- January, 6.4"
- Driest month
- July, 1.5"
- Wettest three months
- January, March, February (38% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
When it rains in Alta, it arrives in quantity
47.1" of precipitation falls across only about 129 wet days here, averaging 0.36 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 129 a year, 35% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.36 inches
- Most wet days
- December, about 15
- Fewest wet days
- June, about 6
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Alta
Alta averages 458.3 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 85 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 458.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 85 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 97% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 18
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
99 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,440
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
28
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside UT closest to Alta on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (39°F here).
- Divide, CO 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Esmond, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Hallock, MN 39°F · 0.0°F off
- La Barge, WY 39°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (47.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Daingerfield, TX 47.1" · 0.0" off
- Mansfield, MO 47.1" · 0.0" off
- Mcleansboro, IL 47.1" · 0.0" off
- Eden, NC 47.1" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Alta
heating led · wet · mid swing
Alta's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,440 annual heating degree days against 28 for cooling. Its 39.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 99 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Alta coldest normal
December
Averaging 22°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Alta typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Alta snow peak
February
Alta averages 458.3 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Alta's climate
How much snow does Alta get? ▼
How cold does Alta get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Alta? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Alta's primary station: ALTA (USC00420072). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 4900650). Match rule for Alta: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Alta comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.