Cottonwood, ID 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 Cottonwood's primary NOAA station, COTTONWOOD 2 WSW.
The climate verdict for Cottonwood
Cottonwood, Idaho has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 48°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 48°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 22.6"
- annual precipitation · 61" snow
- 160 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Cottonwood: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00102159 · Cottonwood, ID 48°F mean · 22.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #2,058
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fairfield
- PRCP-DRY 22.6"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,718 HDD
- STN-1 USC00102159
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fairfield, UT (+ 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.
- Cottonwood (this station) 48°F
- Cold Moroni, UT 48°F
- Hot Benton, PA 48°F
- Near Fairfield, UT 48°F
- Near Ridgway, PA 48°F
Climate Living Index · Cottonwood
Cottonwood: 40/100 · grade D
Cottonwood publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Cottonwood, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 22.6 in · 12.4 from 35 in | 57/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 139 calendar days | 53/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 160 days/year | 33/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.6°F · 19.9° from 67.5°F | 30/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 61.4 inches/year | 15/100 · F |
Cottonwood · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Cottonwood is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 29.7°F and warmest-month mean 68.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 68.6°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 Cottonwood sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Cottonwood'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, Cottonwood sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 31st percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 31st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Cottonwood compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Cottonwood's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F (3°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 1.8" | 16.3" | 26.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (5°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.6" | 11.0" | 22.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 48°F (9°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 2.1" | 8.7" | 19.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 54°F (12°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 2.7" | 1.8" | 11.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 63°F (17°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 2.8" | 0.3" | 2.5 | 0.0 |
| June | 69°F (21°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| July | 81°F (27°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 1.1" | 0.1" | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.8" | 0.4" | 5.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 2.2" | 6.3" | 19.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.9" | 16.5" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 139 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 23°F near December 20.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 25, then returns to freezing around November 8, covering 139 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 April 10, when 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 1 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 132 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Cottonwood.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 16.3"
12.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.0"
10.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.7"
13.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.8"
14.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
14.8 days with precipitation
12.2 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
6.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.3"
12.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.5"
12.7 days with precipitation
Cottonwood spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 21% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Cottonwood has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 2.8" and August 0.8". 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.
Rain reaches Cottonwood in small, frequent amounts
Cottonwood records about 132 days with measurable precipitation a year and 22.6" in total, which works out to roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 36% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: April, about 15 of them.
- Fewest: August, about 5.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.17 inches.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Cottonwood
Cottonwood averages 61.4 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 33 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: 61.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 33 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 27% 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
October 13
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 6
50% probability date
Growing Season
160 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,718
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
393
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ID closest to Cottonwood 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).
- Bend, OR 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Benton, PA 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Bonesteel, SD 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 (22.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Gate, OK 22.6" · 0.0" off
- Kilgore, NE 22.6" · 0.0" off
- Ness City, KS 22.6" · 0.0" off
- Clarendon, TX 22.7" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Cottonwood
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Cottonwood's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,718 annual heating degree days against 393 for cooling. Its 38.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Cottonwood's frost-free season lasts about 160 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Cottonwood coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Cottonwood typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Cottonwood snow peak
December
Cottonwood averages 61.4 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Cottonwood's climate
How much snow does Cottonwood get? ▼
How cold does Cottonwood get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Cottonwood? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Cottonwood's primary station: COTTONWOOD 2 WSW (USC00102159). 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 1618640). Match rule for Cottonwood: 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 Cottonwood 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.