Lava Hot Springs, Idaho climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lava Hot Springs's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 18.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.2°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 31°C, 464 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLava Hot Springs
- Station IDUSC00105143
- Location42.62°N 112.01°W
- Elevation4,595 ft (1,401 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population375
On October 23, the normal high in Lava Hot Springs is 56°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lava Hot Springs.
- Jan 32° 14°
- Feb 37° 17°
- Mar 47° 25°
- Apr 56° 31°
- May 66° 39°
- Jun 76° 45°
- Jul 87° 51°
- Aug 86° 49°
- Sep 75° 41°
- Oct 60° 32°
- Nov 44° 24°
- Dec 33° 15°
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 Lava Hot Springs each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.27 in), the least in July (0.76 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 14°F | 23.0°F | 1.99 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 37°F | 17°F | 26.8°F | 1.32 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 25°F | 36.0°F | 1.91 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 31°F | 43.7°F | 1.76 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 39°F | 52.4°F | 2.27 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 45°F | 60.5°F | 1.32 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 87°F | 51°F | 69.1°F | 0.76 | 5 | 15 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 86°F | 49°F | 67.2°F | 1.05 | 6 | 10 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 41°F | 57.8°F | 1.43 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 32°F | 45.8°F | 1.40 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 24°F | 34.0°F | 1.34 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 15°F | 24.1°F | 1.70 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 32°F | 45.0°F | 18.25 | 102 | 28 | 178 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −10°C | −5.0°C | 51 mm |
| February | 3°C | −8°C | −2.9°C | 34 mm |
| March | 8°C | −4°C | 2.2°C | 49 mm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 45 mm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 58 mm |
| June | 25°C | 7°C | 15.8°C | 34 mm |
| July | 31°C | 11°C | 20.6°C | 19 mm |
| August | 30°C | 9°C | 19.6°C | 27 mm |
| September | 24°C | 5°C | 14.3°C | 36 mm |
| October | 15°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 36 mm |
| November | 7°C | −5°C | 1.1°C | 34 mm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.4°C | 43 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, McCammon (10 miles away), gets 45 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00105143; 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 Lava Hot Springs?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00105143.
When is the last frost in Lava Hot Springs?
In Lava Hot Springs, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 21 in half of years and after June 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 21 in half of years and before September 3 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 211 year in 10 after June 11; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 211 year in 10 before September 3; 9 in 10 before October 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 118 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 152 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lava Hot Springs in zone 6b in ZIP code 83246, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Idaho · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00105143; 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 Lava Hot Springs?
In a normal year in Lava Hot Springs, 28 days a year reach 90°F, 178 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 102 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 28a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 178a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 102a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00105143.
How sunny is Lava Hot Springs?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lava Hot Springs, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (88%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.9 |
| February | 68% | 2.8 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.3 |
| May | 77% | 6.5 |
| June | 84% | 7.5 |
| July | 88% | 7.5 |
| August | 88% | 6.6 |
| September | 85% | 5.2 |
| October | 79% | 3.5 |
| November | 69% | 2.1 |
| December | 60% | 1.5 |
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 Lava Hot Springs need?
A normal year in Lava Hot Springs brings 7,555 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 300 cooling degree days, 67% 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 1,912 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,304 | 0 |
| February | 1,068 | 0 |
| March | 901 | 0 |
| April | 639 | 0 |
| May | 395 | 3 |
| June | 168 | 32 |
| July | 21 | 148 |
| August | 37 | 105 |
| September | 230 | 12 |
| October | 594 | 0 |
| November | 930 | 0 |
| December | 1,269 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,555 | 300 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00105143. 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 Lava Hot Springs been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 43.1°F, 1.9°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 45.0°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.9°F | +0.9°F | 18.47 |
| 2022 | 43.1°F | −1.9°F | 17.64 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00105143. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lava Hot Springs's climate compare?
Lava Hot Springs is warmer than 30 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Idaho, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.0°F is warmer than 19%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lava Hot Springs 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 Lava Hot Springs share this climate record?
Bancroft 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.
- Bancroft, ID314 people · 9 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 Lava Hot Springs's climate
What is the coldest month in Lava Hot Springs?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Lava Hot Springs?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Lava Hot Springs's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, McCammon (10 miles away), records 45 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Lava Hot Springs?
May, with 2.27 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lava Hot Springs in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lava Hot Springs in zone 6b in ZIP code 83246, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Lava Hot Springs?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 21; in one year in ten it comes after June 11. Waiting until June 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Idaho climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- McCammon, ID10 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Grace, ID14 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Downey, ID15 miles from this station, 45.6°F a year
- Soda Springs, ID22 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made