Craters of The Moon, ID Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Craters of The Moon's primary NOAA station, CRATERS OF THE MOON.
The climate verdict for Craters of The Moon
Dryness leads the climate profile for Craters of The Moon, Idaho, with 15.0 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 39°F. At 34/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 2% of scores.
- 39°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 34/100
- comfort score, above 2% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.0"
- annual precipitation · 80" snow
- 82 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Craters of The Moon: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00102260 · Craters of The Moon, ID 39°F mean · 15.0" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 39°F
- RANK-COOL #274
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Eustis
- PRCP-DRY 15.0"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-LOW 34/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,550 HDD
- STN-1 USC00102260
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Eustis, ME (+ 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.
- Craters of The… (this station) 39°F
- Cold First Connectic…, NH 39°F
- Hot Jackman, ME 39°F
- Near Eustis, ME 39°F
- Near Pittston Farms…, ME 39°F
Climate Living Index · Craters of The Moon
Craters of The Moon: 8/100 · grade F
Craters of The Moon publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Craters of The Moon, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 34/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 15.0 in · 20.0 from 35 in | 28/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 80.3 inches/year | 6/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 221 calendar days | 5/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.1°F · 28.4° from 67.5°F | 2/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 82 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Craters of The Moon · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Craters of The Moon is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 16.0°F and warmest-month mean 65.4°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 65.4°F
- Coldest month
- 16.0°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 Craters of The Moon sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Craters of The Moon's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 96%
- Among 6,861 stations, Craters of The Moon sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 83%
- Craters of The Moon'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 Craters of The Moon is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Craters of The Moon compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Craters of The Moon's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
34 2nd percentile score exceeds 2% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Craters of The Moon's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 34 complete annual observations from 1959 to 2024, CRATERS OF THE MOON warmed at a fitted rate of 0.42°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Craters of The Moon primary station fitted change +0.42 °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 | 25°F (-4°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 2.0" | 20.8" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 29°F (-2°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 1.4" | 15.3" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 39°F (4°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 1.1" | 5.4" | 27.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 50°F (10°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 1.1" | 4.6" | 19.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 61°F (16°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.6" | 0.6" | 7.8 | 0.1 |
| June | 71°F (22°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.2" | 0.1" | 1.6 | 1.2 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.2 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 7.0 |
| September | 69°F (21°C) | 38°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 0.8" | 0.1" | 3.0 | 0.4 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 1.3" | 2.0" | 16.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 36°F (2°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 1.1" | 8.5" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 24°F (-4°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 2.2" | 22.9" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 221 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 7°F near December 28.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 11, then returns to freezing around October 4, covering 221 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 December 14, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 15 at 12%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 85 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 19 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 Craters of The Moon.
Where Craters of The Moon Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 221 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Craters of The Moon 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: 20.8"
9.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.3"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.4"
7.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
9.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
7.2 days with precipitation
3.6 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
4.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
6.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.5"
7.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 22.9"
10.1 days with precipitation
Craters of The Moon's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 37% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 15%. 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 wide 49.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
- Wettest month
- December, 2.2"
- Driest month
- July, 0.4"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, May (38% 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.
Craters of The Moon is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 84 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 23% of the calendar, and they carry 15.0" between them. At roughly 0.18 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 10 wet days; the driest is July at about 4.
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 Craters of The Moon
Craters of The Moon averages 80.3 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 35 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: 80.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 35 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 53% 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 9
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
82 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,550
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
145
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ID closest to Craters of The Moon 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 (39°F here).
- Alta, UT 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Divide, CO 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Esmond, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Hallock, MN 39°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Polson, MT 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Santa Rosa, NM 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Bickleton, WA 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Pilot Rock, OR 15.0" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Craters of The Moon
heating led · dry · mid swing
Craters of The Moon's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,550 annual heating degree days against 145 for cooling. Its 49.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 82 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. Craters of The Moon coldest normal
January
Averaging 16°F (-9°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Craters of The Moon typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Craters of The Moon snow peak
December
Craters of The Moon averages 80.3 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Craters of The Moon's climate
How much snow does Craters of The Moon get? ▼
How cold does Craters of The Moon get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Craters of The Moon? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Craters of The Moon's primary station: CRATERS OF THE MOON (USC00102260). 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 Craters of The Moon; 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 Craters of The Moon 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.