Craters Of The Moon, Idaho climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Craters Of The Moon's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 15.0 inches of precipitation and 80 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.9°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 381 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCraters Of The Moon
- Station IDUSC00102260
- Location43.46°N 113.56°W
- Elevation5,914 ft (1,803 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Craters Of The Moon is 50°F and the normal low 25°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Craters Of The Moon.
- Jan 25° 7°
- Feb 29° 10°
- Mar 39° 18°
- Apr 50° 26°
- May 61° 33°
- Jun 71° 41°
- Jul 82° 49°
- Aug 80° 47°
- Sep 69° 38°
- Oct 54° 27°
- Nov 36° 16°
- Dec 24° 8°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Craters Of The Moon each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in December (2.19 in), the least in July (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 7°F | 16.0°F | 1.96 | 20.8 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 10°F | 19.5°F | 1.45 | 15.3 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 39°F | 18°F | 28.6°F | 1.13 | 5.4 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 26°F | 37.8°F | 1.13 | 4.6 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 61°F | 33°F | 46.8°F | 1.62 | 0.6 | 9 | <1 | 8 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 71°F | 41°F | 55.6°F | 1.21 | 0.1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 49°F | 65.4°F | 0.43 | 0.0 | 4 | 10 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 47°F | 63.4°F | 0.65 | 0.0 | 5 | 7 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 69°F | 38°F | 53.9°F | 0.83 | 0.1 | 5 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 54°F | 27°F | 40.3°F | 1.29 | 2.0 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 36°F | 16°F | 26.0°F | 1.12 | 8.5 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 24°F | 8°F | 16.0°F | 2.19 | 22.9 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 27°F | 39.1°F | 15.01 | 80.3 | 84 | 19 | 191 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −14°C | −8.9°C | 50 mm | 53 cm |
| February | −2°C | −12°C | −6.9°C | 37 mm | 39 cm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −1.9°C | 29 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 10°C | −4°C | 3.2°C | 29 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 16°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 41 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 22°C | 5°C | 13.1°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 10°C | 18.6°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 8°C | 17.4°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 4°C | 12.2°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | −3°C | 4.6°C | 33 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 2°C | −9°C | −3.3°C | 28 mm | 22 cm |
| December | −4°C | −13°C | −8.9°C | 56 mm | 58 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00102260; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Craters Of The Moon?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (4).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00102260.
When is the last frost at Craters Of The Moon?
In Craters Of The Moon, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 19 in half of years and after July 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 9 in half of years and before August 25 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- June 191 year in 10 after July 2; 9 in 10 after June 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 91 year in 10 before August 25; 9 in 10 before September 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 81 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 105 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after June 7 in half of springs and before September 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Craters Of The Moon in zone 5a in ZIP code 83213, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (25 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Idaho · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00102260; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Craters Of The Moon?
In a normal year in Craters Of The Moon, 19 days a year reach 90°F, 191 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 191a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1958) is 101°F, on July 13, 2002; the lowest is −37°F, on December 24, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1963, with 21.94 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 145.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00102260; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00102260. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Craters Of The Moon?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Craters Of The Moon, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 1.9 |
| February | 70% | 2.8 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 6.5 |
| June | 83% | 7.5 |
| July | 89% | 7.6 |
| August | 88% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 5.2 |
| October | 81% | 3.5 |
| November | 73% | 2.2 |
| December | 64% | 1.5 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Craters Of The Moon record?
A normal year at Craters Of The Moon brings 9,550 heating degree days, 78% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 145 cooling degree days, 84% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,369 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,521 | 0 |
| February | 1,274 | 0 |
| March | 1,127 | 0 |
| April | 815 | 0 |
| May | 563 | 0 |
| June | 292 | 12 |
| July | 68 | 80 |
| August | 99 | 49 |
| September | 338 | 3 |
| October | 764 | 0 |
| November | 1,170 | 0 |
| December | 1,520 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,550 | 145 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00102260. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Craters Of The Moon been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 42.5°F, 3.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 39.1°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 38.8°F | −0.3°F | – | – |
| 2023 | 39.2°F | +0.1°F | – | – |
| 2024 | 42.5°F | +3.4°F | – | – |
Over 34 complete years from 1959 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 7.6°F per century (+0.42°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00102260; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Craters Of The Moon's climate compare?
Craters Of The Moon is warmer than 3 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Idaho, and wetter than 41. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.1°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Craters Of The Moon is Dsb: continental, dry-summer, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Questions about Craters Of The Moon's climate
What is the coldest month at Craters Of The Moon?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow at Craters Of The Moon?
Yes: 80 inches in a normal year, falling on 35 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (22.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Craters Of The Moon?
December, with 2.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Craters Of The Moon in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Craters Of The Moon in zone 5a in ZIP code 83213, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Craters Of The Moon?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 19; in one year in ten it comes after July 2. Waiting until July 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Idaho climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Arco, ID17 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Picabo, ID27 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Idaho Falls (46 mi W), ID31 miles from this station, 42.7°F a year
- Mackay, ID32 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made