Headquarters, Idaho climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Headquarters's normal year runs from 20°F December nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 40.9 inches of precipitation and 119 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.9°C, December lows of −7°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,039 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHeadquarters
- Station IDUSC00104150
- Location46.63°N 115.81°W
- Elevation3,200 ft (975 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Headquarters is 52°F and the normal low 27°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 42%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Headquarters.
- Jan 35° 19°
- Feb 39° 20°
- Mar 46° 23°
- Apr 52° 27°
- May 63° 34°
- Jun 70° 40°
- Jul 80° 44°
- Aug 80° 42°
- Sep 70° 35°
- Oct 56° 28°
- Nov 42° 25°
- Dec 33° 20°
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 Headquarters each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in December (5.58 in), the least in July (0.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 19°F | 26.7°F | 4.75 | 32.8 | 19 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| February | 39°F | 20°F | 29.9°F | 4.17 | 16.6 | 16 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 46°F | 23°F | 34.3°F | 4.57 | 16.5 | 17 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 27°F | 39.5°F | 3.66 | 4.2 | 14 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 63°F | 34°F | 48.6°F | 3.49 | 0.8 | 13 | <1 | 10 | 15 h |
| June | 70°F | 40°F | 55.0°F | 2.66 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 80°F | 44°F | 62.0°F | 0.90 | 0.0 | 5 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 80°F | 42°F | 60.6°F | 1.03 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 35°F | 52.6°F | 1.43 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 28°F | 41.8°F | 3.42 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 25°F | 33.2°F | 5.23 | 16.0 | 17 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 33°F | 20°F | 26.4°F | 5.58 | 31.6 | 19 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 30°F | 42.6°F | 40.89 | 118.7 | 156 | 10 | 208 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −7°C | −2.9°C | 121 mm | 83 cm |
| February | 4°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 106 mm | 42 cm |
| March | 8°C | −5°C | 1.3°C | 116 mm | 42 cm |
| April | 11°C | −3°C | 4.2°C | 93 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 17°C | 1°C | 9.2°C | 89 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 21°C | 5°C | 12.8°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 7°C | 16.7°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 5°C | 15.9°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 2°C | 11.4°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | −2°C | 5.4°C | 87 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 5°C | −4°C | 0.7°C | 133 mm | 41 cm |
| December | 1°C | −7°C | −3.1°C | 142 mm | 80 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00104150; 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 Headquarters?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00104150.
How hot and how cold does it get at Headquarters?
In a normal year in Headquarters, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 208 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 156 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 208a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 28high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 156a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1959) is 108°F, on August 5, 1961; the lowest is −28°F, on December 31, 1968.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 56.14 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 219.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00104150; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00104150. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Headquarters?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Headquarters, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.3 |
| February | 58% | 2.0 |
| March | 59% | 3.1 |
| April | 64% | 4.4 |
| May | 68% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.4 |
| July | 89% | 7.4 |
| August | 86% | 6.2 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 67% | 2.6 |
| November | 56% | 1.4 |
| December | 52% | 1.0 |
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 Headquarters record?
A normal year at Headquarters brings 8,243 heating degree days, 53% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 73 cooling degree days, 92% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,114 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,186 | 0 |
| February | 984 | 0 |
| March | 952 | 0 |
| April | 766 | 0 |
| May | 511 | 1 |
| June | 306 | 6 |
| July | 133 | 41 |
| August | 161 | 23 |
| September | 373 | 2 |
| October | 719 | 0 |
| November | 956 | 0 |
| December | 1,196 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,243 | 73 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00104150. 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 Headquarters's climate compare?
Headquarters is warmer than 13 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Idaho, and wetter than 78. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.6°F is warmer than 11%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Headquarters 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 Headquarters's climate
What is the coldest month at Headquarters?
December, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 44°F at night).
Does it snow at Headquarters?
Yes: 119 inches in a normal year, falling on 52 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (32.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Headquarters?
December, with 5.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Headquarters in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Headquarters in zone 6a in ZIP code 83546, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
Nearby and next
- Idaho climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pierce, ID9 miles from this station, 43.6°F a year
- Elk River, ID21 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Dworshak Fish Hatchery, ID26 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Kamiah, ID30 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made