Minidoka Dam, ID 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 Minidoka Dam's primary NOAA station, MINIDOKA DAM.
The climate verdict for Minidoka Dam
Dryness leads the climate profile for Minidoka Dam, Idaho, with 9.8 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 49°F. At 39/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 4% of scores.
- 49°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 39/100
- comfort score, above 4% of station-mapped location scores
- 9.8"
- annual precipitation · 21" snow
- 138 days
- frost-free growing season
Minidoka Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00105980 · Minidoka Dam, ID 49°F mean · 9.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,333
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hazelton
- PRCP-ARID 9.8"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 39/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,483 HDD
- STN-1 USC00105980
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hazelton, ID (+ 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.
- Minidoka Dam (this station) 49°F
- Cold Rush, CO 49°F
- Hot Loveland, CO 49°F
- Near Hazelton, ID 49°F
- Near Webster, NY 49°F
Climate Living Index · Minidoka Dam
Minidoka Dam: 24/100 · grade F
Minidoka Dam publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Minidoka Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 39/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 20.5 inches/year | 48/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 48.6°F · 18.9° from 67.5°F | 34/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 138 days/year | 17/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 200 calendar days | 14/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 9.8 in · 25.2 from 35 in | 12/100 · F |
Minidoka Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Minidoka Dam'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
- 71.7°F
- Coldest month
- 27.6°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 Minidoka Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Minidoka Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 34th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 94%
- Minidoka Dam's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 54th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Minidoka Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Minidoka Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
39 4th percentile score exceeds 4% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 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
Minidoka Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 58 complete annual observations from 1951 to 2025, MINIDOKA DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Minidoka Dam primary station fitted change +0.18 °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 | 37°F (3°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.1" | 6.7" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 42°F (6°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.8" | 4.2" | 25.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 53°F (12°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.8" | 1.2" | 24.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (16°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.0" | 0.5" | 15.2 | 0.1 |
| May | 70°F (21°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.3" | 0.0" | 4.4 | 0.9 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.5 | 4.4 |
| July | 89°F (32°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 0.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.6 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.8 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 1.1 | 3.4 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 0.8" | 0.7" | 12.0 | 0.2 |
| November | 49°F (10°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 2.6" | 23.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 37°F (3°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.2" | 4.6" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Minidoka Dam works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 91°F by July 25 and hold at or above 90°F on 25 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 175 dates, bottoming at 18°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 16 through August 9, covering 25 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 15 to October 4.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 14, then returns to freezing around October 23, covering 175 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 January 11, when 28% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 15 at 6%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 66 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 25 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Minidoka Dam.
Where Minidoka Dam Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 10 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 36°F between the normal high and low.
Minidoka Dam 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: 6.7"
8.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.2"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
6.9 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
4.4 days with precipitation
1.7 days with precipitation
2.6 days with precipitation
3.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
7.6 days with precipitation
Minidoka Dam spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 12% of the annual total and December through February 32%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Minidoka Dam has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 44.1°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 1.3" and July 0.2". The three wettest months together take 37% 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.
Minidoka Dam is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 66 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 18% of the calendar, and they carry 9.8" 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 January at about 9 wet days; the driest is July at about 2.
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.
Winter brings real snow to Minidoka Dam
Minidoka Dam averages 20.5 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 14 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 20.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 14 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 21% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
138 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,483
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
541
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ID closest to Minidoka Dam 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).
- Antioch, IL 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Baker, NV 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Blissfield, MI 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Bloomingdale, MI 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (9.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- San Diego, CA 9.8" · 0.0" off
- Blanca, CO 9.8" · 0.0" off
- Castle Valley, UT 9.8" · 0.0" off
- John Day, OR 9.8" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Minidoka Dam
heating led · dry · mid swing
Minidoka Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,483 annual heating degree days against 541 for cooling. Its 44.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 138 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.
-
1. Minidoka Dam coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 28°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Minidoka Dam typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Minidoka Dam snow peak
January
Minidoka Dam averages 20.5 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Minidoka Dam's climate
How much snow does Minidoka Dam get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Minidoka Dam get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Minidoka Dam? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Minidoka Dam's primary station: MINIDOKA DAM (USC00105980). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Minidoka Dam; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Minidoka Dam 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.