Elk Rvr, ID Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Elk Rvr's primary NOAA station, ELK RVR.
The climate verdict for Elk Rvr
Elk Rvr, Idaho has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 45°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 45°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 39.2"
- annual precipitation
- 130 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Elk Rvr: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00102892 · Elk Rvr, ID 45°F mean · 39.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,235
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Priest Rvr
- PRCP-MID 39.2"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,519 HDD
- STN-1 USC00102892
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Priest Rvr Exp Stn, ID ( -0.1 °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.
- Elk Rvr (this station) 45°F
- Cold Priest Rvr, ID 45°F
- Hot Wapiti, WY 45°F
- Near El Vado Dam, NM 45°F
- Near Snake Creek Pow…, UT 45°F
Climate Living Index · Elk Rvr
Elk Rvr: 32/100 · grade F
Elk Rvr publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Elk Rvr, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 39.2 in · 4.2 from 35 in | 85/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 186 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.8°F · 22.7° from 67.5°F | 19/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 130 days/year | 12/100 · F |
Elk Rvr · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Elk Rvr is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 27.1°F and warmest-month mean 65.1°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
- 65.1°F
- Coldest month
- 27.1°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 Elk Rvr sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Elk Rvr's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 82%
- Among 6,861 stations, Elk Rvr sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 56th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 73%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Elk Rvr is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Elk Rvr compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Elk Rvr's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F (1°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 5.1" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (4°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 4.0" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 46°F (8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 3.3" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 53°F (12°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 38°F (4°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 3.2" | 9.2 | 0.3 |
| June | 71°F (22°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 2.7" | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 0.9" | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 0.9" | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.5" | 4.1 | 1.0 |
| October | 56°F (13°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.4" | 19.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.8" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 33°F (0°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 5.7" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 30, short of 90°F on every date, while 186 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 20°F near December 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 23, then returns to freezing around October 21, covering 186 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.
The widest day
July 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Elk Rvr.
Where Elk Rvr Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 186 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 36°F between the normal high and low.
Elk Rvr earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Elk Rvr's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 38% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 12%. 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 38°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 5.7"
- Driest month
- August, 0.9"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, November (40% 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
130 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,519
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
190
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ID closest to Elk Rvr 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 (45°F here).
- Dannemora, NY 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Estherville, IA 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Hamilton, MT 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Harrison, NE 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (39.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Coggon, IA 39.1" · 0.0" off
- Boone, IA 39.1" · 0.0" off
- Bethany, MO 39.1" · 0.0" off
- Waukon, IA 39.2" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Elk Rvr's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Elk Rvr's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,519 annual heating degree days against 190 for cooling. Its 38.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 130 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.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Elk Rvr's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.0°F. The annual average is 45°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Elk Rvr's 39.2 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Elk Rvr's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Elk Rvr, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Elk Rvr's climate
How much rain does Elk Rvr get? ▼
How cold does Elk Rvr get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Elk Rvr? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Elk Rvr's primary station: ELK RVR (USC00102892). 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 Elk Rvr; 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 Elk Rvr 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.