Joseph, Oregon climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Joseph's normal year runs from 18°F December nights to 80°F August afternoons, with 16.9 inches of precipitation and 54 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.8°C, December lows of −8°C, August highs of 27°C, 430 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationJoseph
- Station IDUSC00354329
- Location45.35°N 117.22°W
- Elevation4,184 ft (1,275 m)
- Population1,175
On October 22, the normal high in Joseph is 53°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Joseph.
- Jan 35° 19°
- Feb 39° 19°
- Mar 46° 26°
- Apr 52° 30°
- May 61° 39°
- Jun 68° 44°
- Jul 79° 49°
- Aug 80° 49°
- Sep 71° 43°
- Oct 56° 34°
- Nov 43° 25°
- Dec 35° 18°
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 Joseph each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.61 in), the least in August (0.70 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 19°F | 26.9°F | 1.26 | 10.7 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 39°F | 19°F | 29.2°F | 1.06 | 9.2 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 46°F | 26°F | 36.3°F | 1.43 | 10.1 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 30°F | 41.1°F | 1.92 | 6.3 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 61°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 2.61 | 1.1 | 14 | <1 | 8 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 68°F | 44°F | 56.3°F | 1.91 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 49°F | 64.0°F | 0.85 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 80°F | 49°F | 64.5°F | 0.70 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 43°F | 57.0°F | 1.12 | 0.1 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 1.39 | 1.2 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 25°F | 33.9°F | 1.39 | 7.3 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 35°F | 18°F | 26.2°F | 1.29 | 8.2 | 14 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 16.93 | 54.2 | 128 | 7 | 187 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −7°C | −2.8°C | 32 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 4°C | −7°C | −1.6°C | 27 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 36 mm | 26 cm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 5.1°C | 49 mm | 16 cm |
| May | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 66 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 20°C | 7°C | 13.5°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 9°C | 17.8°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 10°C | 18.1°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 6°C | 13.9°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 35 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 1.1°C | 35 mm | 19 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −3.2°C | 33 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00354329; 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 Joseph?
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 USC00354329.
When is the last frost in Joseph?
In Joseph, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 24 in half of years and after July 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 10 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 July 6; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 10; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 126 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 4 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Joseph in zone 6a in ZIP code 97846, 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 USC00354329; 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 Joseph?
In a normal year in Joseph, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 187 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 187a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 35high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 100°F, on July 10, 1917; the lowest is −34°F, on December 18, 1924.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1914, with 24.57 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 92.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00354329; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00354329. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Joseph?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Joseph, 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 Joseph need?
A normal year in Joseph brings 7,749 heating degree days, 44% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 184 cooling degree days, 80% 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 1,511 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,183 | 0 |
| February | 1,002 | 0 |
| March | 892 | 0 |
| April | 717 | 0 |
| May | 476 | 3 |
| June | 271 | 11 |
| July | 102 | 72 |
| August | 90 | 75 |
| September | 262 | 21 |
| October | 620 | 0 |
| November | 933 | 0 |
| December | 1,202 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,749 | 184 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00354329. 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 Joseph's climate compare?
Joseph is warmer than 4 of the other 104 places with their own NOAA record in Oregon, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.2°F is warmer than 16%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Joseph is Dfb: continental, no dry season, 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 Joseph 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.
- Enterprise, OR2,083 people · 6 mi NW
- Wallowa Lake, OR116 people · 3 mi S
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 Joseph's climate
What is the coldest month in Joseph?
December, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is August (80°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow in Joseph?
Yes: 54 inches in a normal year, falling on 41 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Joseph?
May, with 2.61 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.70 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Joseph in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Joseph in zone 6a in ZIP code 97846, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Joseph?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 24; in one year in ten it comes after July 6. Waiting until July 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oregon climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wallowa, OR21 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Enterprise (20 mi NNE), OR25 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Union, OR33 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Halfway, OR33 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made