Canyonlands-the Needles, UT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Canyonlands-the Needles's primary NOAA station, CANYONLANDS-THE NEEDLES.
The climate verdict for Canyonlands-the Needles
Dryness leads the climate profile for Canyonlands-the Needles, Utah, with 8.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 54°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.
- 54°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 8.3"
- annual precipitation · 11" snow
- 164 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Canyonlands-the Needles: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00421168 · Canyonlands-the Needles, UT 54°F mean · 8.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 54°F
- RANK-MID #3,774
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Higginsville
- PRCP-ARID 8.3"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,366 HDD
- STN-1 USC00421168
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Higginsville, MO (+ 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.
- Canyonlands-the… (this station) 54°F
- Cold Brownell, KS 54°F
- Hot Carrollton, MO 54°F
- Near Higginsville, MO 54°F
- Near Kanosh, UT 54°F
Climate Living Index · Canyonlands-the Needles
Canyonlands-the Needles: 31/100 · grade F
Canyonlands-the Needles publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Canyonlands-the Needles, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 11.2 inches/year | 61/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 53.6°F · 13.9° from 67.5°F | 55/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 164 days/year | 37/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 8.3 in · 26.6 from 35 in | 8/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 220 calendar days | 5/100 · F |
Canyonlands-the Needles · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Canyonlands-the Needles'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
- 79.1°F
- Coldest month
- 29.7°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 Canyonlands-the Needles sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Canyonlands-the Needles's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 55th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 96%
- Canyonlands-the Needles's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 79%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Canyonlands-the Needles is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Canyonlands-the Needles compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Canyonlands-the Needles'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
Canyonlands-the Needles's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 35 complete annual observations from 1966 to 2022, CANYONLANDS-THE NEEDLES warmed at a fitted rate of 0.21°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Canyonlands-the Needles primary station fitted change +0.21 °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 | 42°F (6°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.4" | 2.0" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.6" | 2.4" | 24.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 59°F (15°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.6" | 2.2" | 19.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 67°F (19°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 0.7" | 0.3" | 7.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 2.2 |
| June | 89°F (32°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.8 |
| July | 95°F (35°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 26.9 |
| August | 92°F (33°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 23.3 |
| September | 84°F (29°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 7.6 |
| October | 70°F (21°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.1" | 0.1" | 7.0 | 0.2 |
| November | 55°F (13°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.6" | 1.2" | 22.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 42°F (6°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.6" | 3.0" | 29.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Canyonlands-the Needles works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 95°F by July 16 and hold at or above 90°F on 70 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 150 dates, bottoming at 16°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 18 through August 26, covering 70 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 28 to October 15.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 28, then returns to freezing around October 31, covering 150 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 July 31, when 19% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 14 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 55 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 25 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 33°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Canyonlands-the Needles.
Where Canyonlands-the Needles Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 8 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 70 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Canyonlands-the Needles 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: 2.0"
3.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.4"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.2"
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
4.4 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
2.4 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
5.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
4.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.0"
4.3 days with precipitation
Canyonlands-the Needles spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 25% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Canyonlands-the Needles has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 49.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 1.1" and June 0.3". The three wettest months together take 36% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Canyonlands-the Needles is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 55 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 15% of the calendar, and they carry 8.3" between them. At roughly 0.15 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 August at about 6 wet days; the driest is June 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.
Snow reaches Canyonlands-the Needles, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 11.2 inches of snow a year here, most likely in December. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 8 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 11
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 30
50% probability date
Growing Season
164 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,366
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,231
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside UT closest to Canyonlands-the Needles 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 (54°F here).
- Bonner Springs, KS 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Brookfield, MO 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Capitan, NM 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Fairfield, OH 54°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (8.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Youngtown, AZ 8.3" · 0.0" off
- Fort Hancock, TX 8.3" · 0.0" off
- Sparks, NV 8.4" · 0.0" off
- Imlay, NV 8.4" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Canyonlands-the Needles's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Canyonlands-the Needles's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,366 annual heating degree days against 1,231 for cooling. Its 49.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Canyonlands-the Needles's frost-free season lasts about 164 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Canyonlands-the Needles's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 49.4°F. The annual average is 54°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Canyonlands-the Needles's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 8.3 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 11.2 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Canyonlands-the Needles wettest normal
October
October concentrates the scarce annual total (8.3 inches).
Canyonlands-the Needles driest normal
June
June is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Canyonlands-the Needles's climate
How dry is Canyonlands-the Needles? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Canyonlands-the Needles get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Canyonlands-the Needles? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Canyonlands-the Needles's primary station: CANYONLANDS-THE NEEDLES (USC00421168). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Canyonlands-the Needles; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Canyonlands-the Needles 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.