Elk City, Idaho climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elk City's normal year runs from 14°F December nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 30.6 inches of precipitation and 119 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, December lows of −10°C, July highs of 28°C, 778 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElk City (1 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00102875
- Location45.84°N 115.46°W
- Elevation4,058 ft (1,237 m)
- Population (census place)270
On October 23, the normal high in Elk City is 54°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 41%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elk City.
- Jan 35° 15°
- Feb 41° 16°
- Mar 47° 21°
- Apr 53° 27°
- May 63° 33°
- Jun 71° 40°
- Jul 83° 43°
- Aug 83° 39°
- Sep 74° 32°
- Oct 58° 28°
- Nov 43° 22°
- Dec 33° 14°
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 Elk City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.55 in), the least in August (1.09 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 15°F | 24.9°F | 3.39 | 29.2 | 17 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 41°F | 16°F | 28.2°F | 2.34 | 14.0 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 47°F | 21°F | 34.1°F | 2.75 | 19.0 | 15 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 27°F | 40.2°F | 2.89 | 10.2 | 16 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 63°F | 33°F | 47.9°F | 3.11 | 1.1 | 15 | <1 | 16 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 71°F | 40°F | 55.4°F | 3.55 | 0.1 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 43°F | 62.5°F | 1.21 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 83°F | 39°F | 61.0°F | 1.09 | 0.0 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 32°F | 53.2°F | 1.61 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 28°F | 43.4°F | 2.60 | 1.9 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 22°F | 32.1°F | 3.32 | 17.3 | 15 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 33°F | 14°F | 23.6°F | 2.78 | 26.4 | 15 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 27°F | 42.2°F | 30.64 | 119.2 | 154 | 16 | 242 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −10°C | −3.9°C | 86 mm | 74 cm |
| February | 5°C | −9°C | −2.1°C | 59 mm | 36 cm |
| March | 8°C | −6°C | 1.2°C | 70 mm | 48 cm |
| April | 12°C | −3°C | 4.6°C | 73 mm | 26 cm |
| May | 17°C | 0°C | 8.8°C | 79 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 21°C | 5°C | 13.0°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 6°C | 16.9°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 4°C | 16.1°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 0°C | 11.8°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | −2°C | 6.3°C | 66 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 6°C | −6°C | 0.1°C | 84 mm | 44 cm |
| December | 1°C | −10°C | −4.7°C | 71 mm | 67 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00102875; 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 Elk City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00102875.
How hot and how cold does it get in Elk City?
In a normal year in Elk City, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 242 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 154 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 242a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 32high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 154a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1914) is 103°F, on August 4, 1961; the lowest is −48°F, on February 5, 1982.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 49.84 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 220.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00102875; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00102875. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elk City?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elk City, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (58%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.6 |
| February | 67% | 2.5 |
| March | 68% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 5.1 |
| May | 70% | 5.9 |
| June | 74% | 6.6 |
| July | 87% | 7.4 |
| August | 85% | 6.2 |
| September | 80% | 4.6 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 62% | 1.7 |
| December | 58% | 1.2 |
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 Elk City need?
A normal year in Elk City brings 8,358 heating degree days, 56% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 69 cooling degree days, 92% 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 1,152 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,245 | 0 |
| February | 1,030 | 0 |
| March | 958 | 0 |
| April | 745 | 0 |
| May | 529 | 0 |
| June | 294 | 6 |
| July | 117 | 40 |
| August | 145 | 21 |
| September | 357 | 1 |
| October | 671 | 0 |
| November | 986 | 0 |
| December | 1,282 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,358 | 69 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00102875. 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 Elk City's climate compare?
Elk City is warmer than 9 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Idaho, and wetter than 73. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.2°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elk City 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 Elk City's climate
What is the coldest month in Elk City?
December, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 43°F at night).
Does it snow in Elk City?
Yes: 119 inches in a normal year, falling on 72 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (29.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Elk City?
June, with 3.55 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 1.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elk City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elk City in zone 5b in ZIP code 83525, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elk City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
Nearby and next
- Idaho climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Red River Ranger Station, ID11 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Fenn Ranger Station, ID18 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Dixie N, ID19 miles from this station, 35.8°F a year
- Dixie, ID19 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made