Plain, WA 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 Plain's primary NOAA station, PLAIN.
The climate verdict for Plain
Plain, Washington has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 46°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 46°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 27.2"
- annual precipitation · 117" snow
- 123 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Plain: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00456534 · Plain, WA 46°F mean · 27.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,509
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Davis
- PRCP-MID 27.2"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,206 HDD
- STN-1 USC00456534
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Davis, WV ( -0.1 °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 WA station list.
- Plain (this station) 46°F
- Cold Stevensville, MT 46°F
- Hot Cooksburg, PA 46°F
- Near Davis, WV 46°F
- Near Diamond Valley…, NV 46°F
Climate Living Index · Plain
Plain: 28/100 · grade F
Plain publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Plain, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 27.2 in · 7.8 from 35 in | 73/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 180 calendar days | 25/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.8°F · 21.7° from 67.5°F | 22/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 123 days/year | 8/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 117.3 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Plain · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Plain is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 26.9°F and warmest-month mean 66.1°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 66.1°F
- Coldest month
- 26.9°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 Plain sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Plain's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 78%
- Among 6,861 stations, Plain sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 37th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 32nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Plain compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Plain's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Plain's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 51 complete annual observations from 1939 to 2021, PLAIN warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Plain primary station fitted change +0.20 °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 | 34°F (1°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 4.6" | 31.5" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (5°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 3.0" | 17.4" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 48°F (9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 2.4" | 9.5" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.3" | 1.1" | 16.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 1.3" | 0.1" | 5.0 | 0.2 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 1.3 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 0.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 2.8 | 1.1 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.6" | 1.0" | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (5°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 4.6" | 14.6" | 24.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 32°F (0°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 5.0" | 42.1" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 180 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 20°F near December 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 18, then returns to freezing around October 22, covering 180 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 December 27, when 55% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 4 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 118 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 33°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Plain.
Where Plain Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 180 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 33°F between the normal high and low.
Plain 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: 31.5"
16.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 17.4"
12.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.5"
12.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
7.7 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
2.9 days with precipitation
2.8 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
10.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.6"
16.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 42.1"
16.7 days with precipitation
Plain's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 46% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 7%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 39.2°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 5.0"
- Driest month
- August, 0.4"
- Wettest three months
- December, November, January (52% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
How Plain's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 118 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 27.2" between them, or roughly 0.23 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Plain
Plain averages 117.3 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 43 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: 117.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 43 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 43% 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
September 22
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 22
50% probability date
Growing Season
123 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,206
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
219
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WA closest to Plain 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).
- Angelica, NY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Cass City, MI 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Flaming Gorge, UT 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Gardiner, ME 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (27.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Larned, KS 27.2" · 0.0" off
- Albion, NE 27.2" · 0.0" off
- Fairmont, NE 27.3" · 0.0" off
- Big Falls, MN 27.3" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Plain
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Plain's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,206 annual heating degree days against 219 for cooling. Its 39.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 123 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. Plain coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 27°F (-3°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Plain typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Plain snow peak
December
Plain averages 117.3 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Plain's climate
How much snow does Plain get? ▼
How cold does Plain get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Plain? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Plain's primary station: PLAIN (USC00456534). 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 Plain; 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 Plain 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.