La Grande, Oregon climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
La Grande's normal year runs from 24°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 17.4 inches of precipitation and 9 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.7°C, December lows of −4°C, July highs of 30°C, 442 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLa Grande
- Station IDUSC00354622
- Location45.32°N 118.07°W
- Elevation2,755 ft (840 m)
- Population13,058
On October 23, the normal high in La Grande is 59°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for La Grande.
- Jan 39° 25°
- Feb 44° 27°
- Mar 52° 31°
- Apr 59° 35°
- May 68° 43°
- Jun 75° 49°
- Jul 86° 55°
- Aug 87° 53°
- Sep 77° 45°
- Oct 62° 36°
- Nov 48° 30°
- Dec 39° 24°
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 La Grande each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.24 in), the least in July (0.60 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 25°F | 31.9°F | 1.67 | 3.3 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 44°F | 27°F | 35.4°F | 1.23 | 1.0 | 8 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 52°F | 31°F | 41.1°F | 1.72 | 0.8 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 35°F | 47.0°F | 1.83 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 43°F | 55.2°F | 2.24 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 75°F | 49°F | 61.8°F | 1.37 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 86°F | 55°F | 70.3°F | 0.60 | 0.0 | 4 | 12 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 53°F | 69.9°F | 0.67 | 0.0 | 3 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 77°F | 45°F | 61.0°F | 0.67 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 62°F | 36°F | 49.0°F | 1.58 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 48°F | 30°F | 38.8°F | 1.94 | 1.2 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 39°F | 24°F | 31.5°F | 1.88 | 3.0 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 38°F | 49.4°F | 17.40 | 9.4 | 95 | 31 | 136 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −4°C | −0.1°C | 42 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 31 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 11°C | −1°C | 5.1°C | 44 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 9°C | 16.6°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 13°C | 21.3°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 12°C | 21.1°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 7°C | 16.1°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 2°C | 9.4°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 3.8°C | 49 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 4°C | −4°C | −0.3°C | 48 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00354622; 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 La Grande?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00354622.
When is the last frost in La Grande?
In La Grande, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 17 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 61 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts La Grande in zone 6b in ZIP code 97850, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, La Grande's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Oregon · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00354622; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 La Grande?
In a normal year in La Grande, 31 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 136 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 95 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 136a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 95a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1965) is 108°F, on June 30, 2021; the lowest is −18°F, on December 23, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 22.84 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 61.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00354622; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00354622. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is La Grande?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around La Grande, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (93%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.4 |
| February | 65% | 2.3 |
| March | 68% | 3.5 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 77% | 6.2 |
| June | 82% | 7.1 |
| July | 93% | 7.7 |
| August | 91% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.0 |
| November | 64% | 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 La Grande need?
A normal year in La Grande brings 6,132 heating degree days, 14% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 477 cooling degree days, 47% 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 2,278 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,025 | 0 |
| February | 829 | 0 |
| March | 741 | 0 |
| April | 542 | 0 |
| May | 315 | 10 |
| June | 145 | 49 |
| July | 27 | 193 |
| August | 30 | 181 |
| September | 162 | 43 |
| October | 496 | 0 |
| November | 785 | 0 |
| December | 1,037 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,132 | 477 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00354622. 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.
Has La Grande been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 51.7°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.4°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.7°F | +2.3°F | – | – |
Over 103 complete years from 1893 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00354622; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does La Grande's climate compare?
La Grande is warmer than 30 of the other 104 places with their own NOAA record in Oregon, and wetter than 35. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.4°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, La Grande 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.
Which places near La Grande share this climate record?
Island City has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Island City, OR1,131 people · 2 mi NE
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 La Grande's climate
What is the coldest month in La Grande?
December, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in La Grande?
Yes: 9 inches in a normal year, falling on 11 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in La Grande?
May, with 2.24 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.60 in.
What plant hardiness zone is La Grande in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts La Grande in zone 6b in ZIP code 97850, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at La Grande's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in La Grande?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oregon climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Union, OR13 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Elgin, OR19 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Meacham, OR22 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Wallowa, OR32 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made