Moscow, Idaho climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Moscow's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 86°F August afternoons, with 27.8 inches of precipitation and 51 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.0°C, December lows of −6°C, August highs of 30°C, 706 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMoscow U Of I
- Station IDUSC00106152
- Location46.73°N 116.96°W
- Elevation2,660 ft (811 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population26,894
On October 14, the normal high in Moscow is 62°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Moscow.
- Jan 37° 22°
- Feb 42° 24°
- Mar 50° 28°
- Apr 58° 32°
- May 67° 38°
- Jun 73° 42°
- Jul 84° 45°
- Aug 86° 45°
- Sep 76° 40°
- Oct 61° 33°
- Nov 45° 27°
- Dec 36° 22°
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 Moscow each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in November (3.52 in), the least in July (0.66 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 22°F | 29.8°F | 3.33 | 14.5 | 16 | <1 | 25 | 9 h |
| February | 42°F | 24°F | 32.9°F | 2.56 | 8.6 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 50°F | 28°F | 39.0°F | 3.05 | 4.9 | 16 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 32°F | 45.0°F | 2.75 | 1.0 | 13 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 38°F | 52.6°F | 2.60 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 15 h |
| June | 73°F | 42°F | 57.7°F | 1.73 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 84°F | 45°F | 64.9°F | 0.66 | 0.0 | 4 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 45°F | 65.4°F | 0.70 | 0.0 | 4 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 76°F | 40°F | 57.9°F | 1.01 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 33°F | 46.6°F | 2.40 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| November | 45°F | 27°F | 36.2°F | 3.52 | 6.0 | 16 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 36°F | 22°F | 29.0°F | 3.47 | 15.5 | 16 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 33°F | 46.4°F | 27.78 | 50.9 | 136 | 23 | 139 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −5°C | −1.2°C | 85 mm | 37 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.5°C | 65 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 10°C | −2°C | 3.9°C | 77 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 70 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 20°C | 3°C | 11.4°C | 66 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 23°C | 6°C | 14.3°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 7°C | 18.3°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 7°C | 18.6°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 4°C | 14.4°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 0°C | 8.1°C | 61 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 7°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 89 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 2°C | −6°C | −1.7°C | 88 mm | 39 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00106152; 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 Moscow?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July and September. Of those, July 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 USC00106152.
How hot and how cold does it get in Moscow?
In a normal year in Moscow, 23 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 139 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 136 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 23a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 139a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 20high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 136a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 109°F, on August 4, 1961; the lowest is −42°F, on December 30, 1968.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 39.22 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 109.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00106152; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00106152. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Moscow?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Moscow, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.3 |
| February | 64% | 2.2 |
| March | 64% | 3.3 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 75% | 6.0 |
| June | 78% | 6.8 |
| July | 91% | 7.5 |
| August | 88% | 6.2 |
| September | 83% | 4.5 |
| October | 73% | 2.8 |
| November | 61% | 1.5 |
| December | 55% | 1.0 |
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 Moscow need?
A normal year in Moscow brings 6,948 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 196 cooling degree days, 78% 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 1,648 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,091 | 0 |
| February | 899 | 0 |
| March | 805 | 0 |
| April | 600 | 0 |
| May | 388 | 3 |
| June | 232 | 13 |
| July | 80 | 75 |
| August | 72 | 84 |
| September | 232 | 21 |
| October | 569 | 0 |
| November | 866 | 0 |
| December | 1,116 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,948 | 196 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00106152. 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 Moscow been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.8°F, 3.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.4°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.6°F | +2.2°F | 23.31 | 67.2 |
| 2022 | 47.2°F | +0.8°F | 33.46 | 67.5 |
| 2023 | 48.9°F | +2.5°F | 20.12 | 33.9 |
| 2024 | 49.0°F | +2.6°F | 24.70 | 28.4 |
| 2025 | 49.8°F | +3.4°F | 25.30 | 38.8 |
Over 110 complete years from 1894 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.0°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00106152; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Moscow's climate compare?
Moscow is warmer than 41 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Idaho, and wetter than 70. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.4°F is warmer than 25%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Moscow 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 Moscow share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Colfax, WA2,692 people · 21 mi NW
- Albion, WA547 people · 15 mi W
- Colton, WA401 people · 14 mi SW
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 Moscow's climate
What is the coldest month in Moscow?
December, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is August (86°F by day, 45°F at night).
Does it snow in Moscow?
Yes: 51 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (15.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Moscow?
November, with 3.52 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.66 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Moscow in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Moscow in zone 6b in ZIP code 83844. By the same method at Moscow's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
Nearby and next
- Idaho climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pullman, WA7 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Potlatch, ID17 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Lewiston, ID25 miles from this station, 53.8°F a year
- Dworshak Fish Hatchery, ID34 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made