La Grande, OR Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from La Grande's primary NOAA station, LA GRANDE.
The climate verdict for La Grande
Dryness leads the climate profile for La Grande, Oregon, with 17.4 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 49°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 49°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 17.4"
- annual precipitation · 9" snow
- 148 days
- frost-free days per growing season
La Grande: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00354622 · La Grande, OR 49°F mean · 17.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,539
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Kent
- PRCP-DRY 17.4"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,132 HDD
- STN-1 USC00354622
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Kent, OR (+ 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.
- Hot Castle Rock, CO 50°F
- Near Gallup, NM 50°F
- La Grande (this station) 49°F
- Cold Kodachrome Basi…, UT 49°F
- Near Kent, OR 49°F
Climate Living Index · La Grande
La Grande: 43/100 · grade D
La Grande publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for La Grande, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 9.4 inches/year | 64/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 144 calendar days | 51/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 49.4°F · 18.1° from 67.5°F | 38/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 17.4 in · 17.6 from 35 in | 37/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 148 days/year | 24/100 · F |
La Grande · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
La Grande is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 31.5°F and warmest-month mean 70.3°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
- 70.3°F
- Coldest month
- 31.5°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 La Grande sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for La Grande's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 37th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 77%
- La Grande's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 70%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for La Grande is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How La Grande compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
La Grande's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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
La Grande's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 103 complete annual observations from 1893 to 2021, LA GRANDE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.07°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- La Grande primary station fitted change +0.07 °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 | 39°F (4°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 1.7" | 3.3" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 44°F (7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.2" | 1.0" | 22.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.7" | 0.8" | 19.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.8" | 0.1" | 10.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 2.3 | 0.3 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 2.1 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 0.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 12.4 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.2 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.9 | 3.2 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 10.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.9" | 1.2" | 17.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 1.9" | 3.0" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 90°F around July 30, short of 90°F on every date, while 144 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 23°F near December 27.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 25, then returns to freezing around November 3, covering 144 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 December 1, when 36% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 20 at 10%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 95 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 16 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 La Grande.
Where La Grande Stands Nationally
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 34°F between the normal high and low.
La Grande earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.3"
9.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
10.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
9.9 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
3.0 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
10.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.0"
11.2 days with precipitation
La Grande spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 15% of the annual total and December through February 27%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. La Grande has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.8°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 2.2" and July 0.6". The three wettest months together take 35% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
La Grande is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 95 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 26% of the calendar, and they carry 17.4" between them. At roughly 0.18 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is December at about 11 wet days; the driest is August at about 3.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Snow reaches La Grande, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 9.4 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 11 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 6
50% probability date
Growing Season
148 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,132
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
477
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside OR closest to La Grande 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 (49°F here).
- Adrian, MI 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Albany, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Callaway, NE 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Capulin, NM 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (17.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Cottonwood, SD 17.4" · 0.0" off
- Estes Park, CO 17.4" · 0.0" off
- Dulce, NM 17.4" · 0.0" off
- Riggins, ID 17.4" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How La Grande's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
La Grande's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,132 annual heating degree days against 477 for cooling. Its 38.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 148 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 La Grande's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.8°F. The annual average is 49°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
La Grande's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 17.4 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 9.4 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from La Grande'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 La Grande, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about La Grande's climate
How much rain does La Grande get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does La Grande get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in La Grande? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from La Grande's primary station: LA GRANDE (USC00354622). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 4140350). Match rule for La Grande: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for La Grande 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.