Howard Prairie Dam, OR 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 Howard Prairie Dam's primary NOAA station, HOWARD PRAIRIE DAM.
The climate verdict for Howard Prairie Dam
Howard Prairie Dam, Oregon has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 44°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 44°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 31.3"
- annual precipitation · 118" snow
- 108 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Howard Prairie Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00354060 · Howard Prairie Dam, OR 44°F mean · 31.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Ridgway
- PRCP-MID 31.3"
- SWING-MID 34°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,688 HDD
- STN-1 USC00354060
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Ridgway, CO (+ 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 OR station list.
- Howard Prairie… (this station) 44°F
- Cold Truckee Ranger…, CA 44°F
- Hot Ouray, CO 44°F
- Near Ridgway, CO 44°F
- Near Sunriver, OR 44°F
Climate Living Index · Howard Prairie Dam
Howard Prairie Dam: 26/100 · grade F
Howard Prairie Dam publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Howard Prairie Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 31.3 in · 3.7 from 35 in | 87/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 192 calendar days | 18/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.1°F · 23.4° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 108 days/year | 2/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 117.6 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Howard Prairie Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Howard Prairie Dam is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 28.8°F and warmest-month mean 62.9°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
- 62.9°F
- Coldest month
- 28.8°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 Howard Prairie Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Howard Prairie Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 85%
- Among 6,861 stations, Howard Prairie Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 41st percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 84%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Howard Prairie Dam is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Howard Prairie Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Howard Prairie Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Howard Prairie Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 49 complete annual observations from 1961 to 2025, HOWARD PRAIRIE DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Howard Prairie Dam primary station fitted change +0.20 °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 | 36°F (2°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 4.7" | 25.4" | 29.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 3.8" | 23.5" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 45°F (7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 3.7" | 16.0" | 28.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 2.7" | 9.2" | 22.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 60°F (16°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 2.0" | 1.2" | 10.8 | 0.0 |
| June | 68°F (20°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.0" | 0.1" | 2.6 | 0.5 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 2.7 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 0.7" | 0.1" | 2.5 | 0.6 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.0" | 1.0" | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.0" | 14.8" | 23.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 35°F (2°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 5.9" | 26.3" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 81°F around July 26, short of 90°F on every date, while 192 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 22°F near December 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 29, then returns to freezing around October 21, covering 192 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 March 2, when 51% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 13 at 6%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 118 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 23 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 34°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Howard Prairie Dam.
Where Howard Prairie Dam Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 192 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 34°F between the normal high and low.
Howard Prairie Dam 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: 25.4"
14.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 23.5"
13.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.0"
15.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.2"
13.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
10.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
5.2 days with precipitation
2.2 days with precipitation
2.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
3.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.8"
13.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 26.3"
15.5 days with precipitation
Howard Prairie Dam's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 46% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 6%. 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 34.1°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 5.9"
- Driest month
- August, 0.4"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, November (47% 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.
How Howard Prairie Dam's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 118 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 31.3" between them, or roughly 0.27 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Howard Prairie Dam
Howard Prairie Dam averages 117.6 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 45 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: 117.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 45 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 38% 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 24
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 8
50% probability date
Growing Season
108 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,688
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
89
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside OR closest to Howard Prairie Dam 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 (44°F here).
- Aberdeen, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Belfast, ME 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Bushnell, NE 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Cambridge, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (31.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Cherokee, OK 31.3" · 0.0" off
- Beatrice, NE 31.3" · 0.0" off
- Ely, MN 31.3" · 0.0" off
- Rising Star, TX 31.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Howard Prairie Dam
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Howard Prairie Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,688 annual heating degree days against 89 for cooling. Its 34.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 108 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. Howard Prairie Dam coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 29°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Howard Prairie Dam typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Howard Prairie Dam snow peak
December
Howard Prairie Dam averages 117.6 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Howard Prairie Dam's climate
How much snow does Howard Prairie Dam get? ▼
How cold does Howard Prairie Dam get in winter? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Howard Prairie Dam's primary station: HOWARD PRAIRIE DAM (USC00354060). 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 Howard Prairie Dam; 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 Howard Prairie Dam 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.