Malta, ID Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Malta's primary NOAA station, MALTA - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Malta
Dryness leads the climate profile for Malta, Idaho, with 9.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 46°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.
- 46°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 9.6"
- annual precipitation · 12" snow
- 100 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Malta: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00105567 · Malta, ID 46°F mean · 9.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,647
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Polson
- PRCP-ARID 9.6"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,122 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00105567
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Polson, MT (+ 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 ID station list.
- Malta (this station) 46°F
- Cold Jiggs, NV 46°F
- Hot Clarence, PA 46°F
- Near Polson, MT 46°F
- Near Clover Valley, NV 46°F
Climate Living Index · Malta
Malta: 21/100 · grade F
Malta publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Malta, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 11.9 inches/year | 60/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.2°F · 21.3° from 67.5°F | 24/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 197 calendar days | 16/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 9.6 in · 25.4 from 35 in | 11/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 100 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Malta · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Malta's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 68.0°F
- Coldest month
- 26.5°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 Malta sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Malta's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 76%
- Among 6,861 stations, Malta sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 94%
- Malta's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 42nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Malta compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Malta'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
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) | 17°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.7" | 4.2" | 28.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 42°F (5°C) | 20°F (-6°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 0.4" | 1.9" | 23.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.8" | 1.2" | 23.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (15°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.0" | 1.2" | 16.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 5.4 | 0.4 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.8 | 5.2 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.3 |
| August | 87°F (30°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 14.6 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 4.3 | 3.2 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 14.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.6" | 0.3" | 23.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 17°F (-9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.7" | 3.1" | 28.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 197 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 16°F near December 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 25, then returns to freezing around October 12, covering 197 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 May 17, when 25% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 3 at 12%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 65 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 23 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 40°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Malta.
Where Malta Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 197 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 10 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Malta 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: 4.2"
7.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.9"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
6.6 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
4.1 days with precipitation
4.1 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
5.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
6.1 days with precipitation
Malta spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 24% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Malta has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 1.5" and February 0.4". 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.
Malta is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 64 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 18% of the calendar, and they carry 9.6" between them. At roughly 0.15 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 May at about 8 wet days; the driest is September at about 4.
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 Malta, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 11.9 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 6 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
September 13
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 5
50% probability date
Growing Season
100 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,122
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
280
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ID closest to Malta 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 (46°F here).
- Cashton, WI 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Clarence, PA 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Eureka, NV 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Fremont, MI 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (9.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Wittmann, AZ 9.6" · 0.0" off
- Corrales, NM 9.6" · 0.0" off
- Grants, NM 9.7" · 0.1" off
- Del Norte, CO 9.7" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Malta's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Malta's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,122 annual heating degree days against 280 for cooling. Its 41.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 100 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 Malta's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 41.5°F. The annual average is 46°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Malta's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 9.6 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 11.9 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Malta wettest normal
May
May concentrates the scarce annual total (9.6 inches).
Malta driest normal
February
February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Malta's climate
How dry is Malta? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Malta get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Malta? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Malta's primary station: MALTA (USC00105567). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Malta area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 1650230). Match rule for Malta: 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 Malta 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.