Elgin, Oregon climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elgin's normal year runs from 23°F December nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 25.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 659 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElgin
- Station IDUSC00352597
- Location45.57°N 117.92°W
- Elevation2,697 ft (822 m)
- Population1,694
On October 22, the normal high in Elgin is 60°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elgin.
- Jan 40° 24°
- Feb 45° 25°
- Mar 53° 29°
- Apr 60° 32°
- May 69° 39°
- Jun 76° 44°
- Jul 87° 47°
- Aug 87° 46°
- Sep 78° 40°
- Oct 64° 32°
- Nov 48° 28°
- Dec 39° 23°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Elgin each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in December (3.77 in), the least in August (0.68 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 24°F | 32.0°F | 3.27 | 14 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| February | 45°F | 25°F | 34.8°F | 2.34 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 53°F | 29°F | 40.6°F | 2.25 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 32°F | 46.1°F | 2.43 | 13 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 39°F | 54.3°F | 2.39 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 76°F | 44°F | 60.0°F | 1.84 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 47°F | 66.8°F | 0.71 | 4 | 11 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 46°F | 66.3°F | 0.68 | 4 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 78°F | 40°F | 58.9°F | 0.96 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 64°F | 32°F | 47.9°F | 2.16 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 11 h |
| November | 48°F | 28°F | 38.3°F | 3.15 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 39°F | 23°F | 31.1°F | 3.77 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 34°F | 48.1°F | 25.95 | 120 | 31 | 164 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −4°C | 0.0°C | 83 mm |
| February | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 59 mm |
| March | 12°C | −2°C | 4.8°C | 57 mm |
| April | 16°C | 0°C | 7.8°C | 62 mm |
| May | 21°C | 4°C | 12.4°C | 61 mm |
| June | 25°C | 7°C | 15.6°C | 47 mm |
| July | 30°C | 8°C | 19.3°C | 18 mm |
| August | 30°C | 8°C | 19.1°C | 17 mm |
| September | 26°C | 4°C | 14.9°C | 24 mm |
| October | 18°C | 0°C | 8.8°C | 55 mm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.5°C | 80 mm |
| December | 4°C | −5°C | −0.5°C | 96 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, La Grande (19 miles away), gets 9 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00352597; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Elgin?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00352597.
When is the last frost in Elgin?
In Elgin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 24 in half of years and after June 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 18 in half of years and before September 1 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
- May 241 year in 10 after June 21; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 181 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before October 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 114 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 149 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elgin in zone 6b in ZIP code 97827, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Oregon · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00352597; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 in Elgin?
In a normal year in Elgin, 31 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 164 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 120 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 164a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 120a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1937) is 110°F, on August 4, 1961; the lowest is −31°F, on December 29, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 35.50 in; the snowiest season is 1992–93, with 106.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00352597; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00352597. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elgin?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elgin, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (90%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 62% | 1.5 |
| February | 65% | 2.4 |
| March | 64% | 3.4 |
| April | 67% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.9 |
| June | 77% | 6.8 |
| July | 90% | 7.6 |
| August | 89% | 6.4 |
| September | 83% | 4.7 |
| October | 73% | 2.9 |
| November | 62% | 1.6 |
| December | 56% | 1.1 |
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 much heating and cooling does Elgin need?
A normal year in Elgin brings 6,400 heating degree days, 19% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 258 cooling degree days, 72% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,871 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,023 | 0 |
| February | 847 | 0 |
| March | 755 | 0 |
| April | 566 | 0 |
| May | 337 | 5 |
| June | 176 | 26 |
| July | 51 | 106 |
| August | 60 | 100 |
| September | 204 | 20 |
| October | 530 | 0 |
| November | 801 | 0 |
| December | 1,051 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,400 | 258 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00352597. 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.
How does Elgin's climate compare?
Elgin is warmer than 21 of the other 104 places with their own NOAA record in Oregon, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.1°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elgin 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.
Which places near Elgin share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Imbler, OR242 people · 7 mi S
- Summerville, OR121 people · 7 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Elgin's climate
What is the coldest month in Elgin?
December, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 47°F at night).
Does it snow in Elgin?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Elgin's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, La Grande (19 miles away), records 9 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Elgin?
December, with 3.77 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.68 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elgin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elgin in zone 6b in ZIP code 97827, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Elgin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 24; in one year in ten it comes after June 21. Waiting until June 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oregon climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- La Grande, OR19 miles from this station, 49.4°F a year
- Wallowa, OR19 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Meacham, OR24 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Union, OR25 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made