Bend, OR Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Bend's primary NOAA station, BEND - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Bend
Dryness leads the climate profile for Bend, Oregon, with 10.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 48°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 48°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 10.6"
- annual precipitation · 22" snow
- 106 days
- frost-free growing season
Bend: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00350694 · Bend, OR 48°F mean · 10.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #2,058
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Canby
- PRCP-ARID 10.6"
- SWING-MID 34°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,561 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00350694
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Canby, CA (+ 0.1 °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 OR station list.
- Bend (this station) 48°F
- Cold Big Meadows, VA 48°F
- Hot Paisley, OR 48°F
- Near Canby, CA 48°F
- Near Terra Alta, WV 48°F
Climate Living Index · Bend
Bend: 23/100 · grade F
Bend publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Bend, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 21.6 inches/year | 47/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.6°F · 19.9° from 67.5°F | 30/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 186 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 10.6 in · 24.4 from 35 in | 14/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 106 days/year | 1/100 · F |
Bend · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Bend's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 66.2°F
- Coldest month
- 32.1°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 Bend sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Bend's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 70%
- Among 6,861 stations, Bend sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 93%
- Bend's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 84%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Bend is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Bend compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Bend's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% 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
Bend's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 93 complete annual observations from 1906 to 2018, BEND warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Bend primary station fitted change +0.20 °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 | 43°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.4" | 6.4" | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 46°F (8°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.0" | 5.5" | 24.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 0.7" | 1.5" | 24.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 0.8" | 0.7" | 19.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 9.0 | 0.2 |
| June | 74°F (23°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 1.9 | 1.2 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| August | 83°F (29°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 6.0 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 3.3 | 1.3 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 0.7" | 0.2" | 13.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 49°F (10°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.3" | 2.0" | 20.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 41°F (5°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 2.1" | 5.3" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 186 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 23°F near December 17.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 26, then returns to freezing around October 24, covering 186 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 January 11, when 29% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 7 at 7%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 64 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Bend.
Where Bend Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 186 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Bend 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: 6.4"
8.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.5"
7.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
6.0 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
2.2 days with precipitation
2.1 days with precipitation
2.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
7.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
8.8 days with precipitation
Bend's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 42% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 14%. 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 34.1°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 2.1"
- Driest month
- September, 0.3"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, November (45% 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.
Bend is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 63 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 17% of the calendar, and they carry 10.6" between them. At roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is December at about 9 wet days; the driest is September at about 2.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Bend
Bend averages 21.6 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 14 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: 21.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 14 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 20% 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 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 6
50% probability date
Growing Season
106 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,561
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
241
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside OR closest to Bend 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 (48°F here).
- Benton, PA 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Bonesteel, SD 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Bonners Ferry, ID 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Burlington, VT 48°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (10.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Tucson, AZ 10.6" · 0.0" off
- Alamogordo, NM 10.6" · 0.0" off
- Glenns Ferry, ID 10.6" · 0.0" off
- Gunnison, CO 10.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Bend
heating led · dry · mid swing
Bend's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,561 annual heating degree days against 241 for cooling. Its 34.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 106 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. Bend coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 32°F (0°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Bend typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Bend snow peak
January
Bend averages 21.6 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Bend's climate
How much snow does Bend get? ▼
How cold does Bend get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Bend? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Bend's primary station: BEND (USC00350694). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Bend area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 4105800). Match rule for Bend: 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 Bend 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.