Pilot Rock, Oregon climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pilot Rock's normal year runs from 26°F December nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 15.0 inches of precipitation and 10 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.1°C, December lows of −4°C, July highs of 33°C, 382 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPilot Rock (1 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00356634
- Location45.48°N 118.83°W
- Elevation1,720 ft (524 m)
- Population1,313
On October 24, the normal high in Pilot Rock is 63°F and the normal low 35°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 Pilot Rock.
- Jan 45° 26°
- Feb 49° 27°
- Mar 57° 32°
- Apr 63° 36°
- May 72° 43°
- Jun 80° 48°
- Jul 91° 53°
- Aug 90° 52°
- Sep 80° 45°
- Oct 67° 37°
- Nov 53° 30°
- Dec 44° 26°
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 Pilot Rock each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.09 in), the least in July (0.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 26°F | 35.8°F | 1.40 | 3.7 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 9 h |
| February | 49°F | 27°F | 38.4°F | 1.25 | 2.1 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 57°F | 32°F | 44.3°F | 1.79 | 0.5 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 36°F | 49.5°F | 1.64 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 72°F | 43°F | 57.3°F | 2.09 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 80°F | 48°F | 63.6°F | 1.56 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 91°F | 53°F | 71.7°F | 0.27 | 0.0 | 3 | 17 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 90°F | 52°F | 71.0°F | 0.41 | 0.0 | 2 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 80°F | 45°F | 62.7°F | 0.60 | 0.0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 67°F | 37°F | 51.6°F | 1.07 | 0.1 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 53°F | 30°F | 41.4°F | 1.50 | 1.1 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 44°F | 26°F | 34.9°F | 1.44 | 2.6 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 38°F | 51.9°F | 15.02 | 10.1 | 94 | 44 | 118 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 36 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 10°C | −3°C | 3.6°C | 32 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 45 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 17°C | 2°C | 9.7°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 22°C | 6°C | 14.1°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 9°C | 17.6°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 12°C | 22.1°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 11°C | 21.7°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 7°C | 17.1°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 3°C | 10.9°C | 27 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 38 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 37 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00356634; 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 Pilot Rock?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. 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 USC00356634.
When is the last frost in Pilot Rock?
In Pilot Rock, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 16 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 71 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 16; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pilot Rock in zone 6b in ZIP code 97868, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pilot Rock's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (25 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 USC00356634; 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 Pilot Rock?
In a normal year in Pilot Rock, 44 days a year reach 90°F (7 of them 100°F or more), 118 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 94 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 118a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 15high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 94a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1909) is 116°F, on July 25, 1928; the lowest is −21°F, on January 27, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1912, with 22.05 in; the snowiest season is 1921–22, with 49.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00356634; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00356634. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pilot Rock?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pilot Rock, 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 Pilot Rock need?
A normal year in Pilot Rock brings 5,333 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 567 cooling degree days, 38% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,597 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 904 | 0 |
| February | 745 | 0 |
| March | 643 | 0 |
| April | 464 | 1 |
| May | 255 | 17 |
| June | 105 | 63 |
| July | 16 | 223 |
| August | 19 | 205 |
| September | 123 | 54 |
| October | 418 | 3 |
| November | 708 | 0 |
| December | 933 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,333 | 567 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00356634. 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 Pilot Rock been warmer than normal lately?
Over 72 complete years from 1910 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pilot Rock's climate compare?
Pilot Rock is warmer than 52 of the other 104 places with their own NOAA record in Oregon, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.9°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pilot Rock is Csa: temperate, dry-summer, hot 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 Pilot Rock share this climate record?
2 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.
- Ukiah, OR223 people · 24 mi S
- McKay, OR87 people · 7 mi E
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 Pilot Rock's climate
What is the coldest month in Pilot Rock?
December, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Pilot Rock?
Yes: 10 inches in a normal year, falling on 3 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pilot Rock?
May, with 2.09 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pilot Rock in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pilot Rock in zone 6b in ZIP code 97868, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Pilot Rock's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Pilot Rock?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oregon climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pendleton, OR15 miles from this station, 52.0°F a year
- Meacham, OR19 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Hermiston, OR32 miles from this station, 53.9°F a year
- Heppner, OR37 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made