Challis, ID Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Challis's primary NOAA station, CHALLIS AP.
The climate verdict for Challis
Dryness leads the climate profile for Challis, Idaho, with 6.9 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 44°F. At 28/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 0% of scores.
- 44°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 28/100
- comfort score, above 0% of station-mapped location scores
- 6.9"
- yearly precipitation total
- 134 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Challis: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00004114 · Challis, ID 44°F mean · 6.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,166
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Petoskey
- PRCP-ARID 6.9"
- SWING-WIDE 50°F
- COMF-LOW 28/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,795 HDD
- STN-1 USW00004114
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Petoskey, MI (+ 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 ID station list.
- Challis (this station) 44°F
- Cold Rutland, VT 44°F
- Hot Warsaw, NY 44°F
- Near Petoskey, MI 44°F
- Near Hungry Horse Dam, MT 44°F
Climate Living Index · Challis
Challis: 16/100 · grade F
Challis publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Challis, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 28/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 189 calendar days | 20/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.4°F · 23.1° from 67.5°F | 18/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 134 days/year | 15/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 6.9 in · 28.1 from 35 in | 5/100 · F |
Challis · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Challis'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
- 69.3°F
- Coldest month
- 19.8°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 Challis sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Challis's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 83%
- Among 6,861 stations, Challis sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 98%
- Challis'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 Challis is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Challis compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Challis's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
28 0th percentile score exceeds 0% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F (-2°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 0.4" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.4" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (10°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.5" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 0.5" | 19.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 0.9" | 6.1 | 0.3 |
| June | 76°F (24°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.9" | 0.5 | 3.0 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 0.4" | 0.0 | 14.8 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 0.5" | 0.0 | 9.2 |
| September | 75°F (24°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 0.8" | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| October | 59°F (15°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.6" | 19.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 0.5" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 0.5" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 189 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 9°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 20, then returns to freezing around October 15, covering 189 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 May 25, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 1 at 15%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 75 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 25 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 Challis.
Where Challis Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 7 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 189 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Challis earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
6.4 days with precipitation
5.4 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
6.4 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
Challis spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Challis has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 49.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 0.9" and February 0.4". The three wettest months together take 39% 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.
Challis is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 75 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 21% of the calendar, and they carry 6.9" between them. At roughly 0.09 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 May at about 9 wet days; the driest is July at about 5.
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 14
50% probability date
Growing Season
134 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,795
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
312
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ID closest to Challis 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 (44°F here).
- Baker, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Bellemont, AZ 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Bridgeport, CA 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Columbus, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (6.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Myton, UT 7.0" · 0.0" off
- Page, AZ 6.9" · 0.0" off
- Ajo, AZ 7.0" · 0.1" off
- Meadview, AZ 7.0" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Challis's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Challis's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,795 annual heating degree days against 312 for cooling. Its 49.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 134 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.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Challis's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 49.5°F. The annual average is 44°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Challis's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 6.9 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Challis wettest normal
May
May concentrates the scarce annual total (6.9 inches).
Challis driest normal
February
February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Challis's climate
How dry is Challis? ▼
How cold does Challis get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Challis? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Challis's primary station: CHALLIS AP (USW00004114). 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 1613780). Match rule for Challis: 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 Challis 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.