Priest River Experiment Station, Idaho climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Priest River Experiment Station's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 32.6 inches of precipitation and 74 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.1°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 827 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPriest River Experiment Station
- Station IDUSC00107386
- Location48.35°N 116.84°W
- Elevation2,371 ft (723 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Priest River Experiment Station is 50°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 41%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Priest River Experiment Station.
- Jan 32° 22°
- Feb 37° 22°
- Mar 46° 26°
- Apr 57° 31°
- May 68° 39°
- Jun 74° 44°
- Jul 83° 48°
- Aug 83° 46°
- Sep 72° 39°
- Oct 54° 32°
- Nov 38° 27°
- Dec 31° 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 at Priest River Experiment Station each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in December (4.53 in), the least in August (0.87 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 22°F | 26.9°F | 3.95 | 21.8 | 16 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 37°F | 22°F | 29.4°F | 2.59 | 11.3 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 46°F | 26°F | 36.3°F | 3.40 | 5.4 | 14 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 31°F | 44.0°F | 2.50 | 0.3 | 13 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 68°F | 39°F | 53.3°F | 2.76 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 7 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 44°F | 58.9°F | 2.61 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 83°F | 48°F | 65.4°F | 0.97 | 0.0 | 6 | 8 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 46°F | 64.3°F | 0.87 | 0.0 | 5 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 72°F | 39°F | 55.5°F | 1.30 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 32°F | 43.1°F | 2.89 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 27°F | 32.7°F | 4.19 | 9.2 | 16 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 31°F | 22°F | 26.5°F | 4.53 | 25.7 | 17 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 33°F | 44.7°F | 32.56 | 73.9 | 142 | 17 | 190 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −5°C | −2.8°C | 100 mm | 55 cm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.4°C | 66 mm | 29 cm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 86 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 6.7°C | 64 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 20°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23°C | 7°C | 14.9°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 9°C | 18.6°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 8°C | 17.9°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 4°C | 13.1°C | 33 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 73 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 4°C | −3°C | 0.4°C | 106 mm | 23 cm |
| December | −1°C | −5°C | −3.1°C | 115 mm | 65 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00107386; 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.
Which months are mildest at Priest River Experiment Station?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00107386.
When is the last frost at Priest River Experiment Station?
In Priest River Experiment Station, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 20 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 13 in half of years and before September 1 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 201 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 131 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before September 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 114 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 146 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 4 in half of springs and before September 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Priest River Experiment Station in zone 6a in ZIP code 83856, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Idaho · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00107386; 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 at Priest River Experiment Station?
In a normal year in Priest River Experiment Station, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 190 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 142 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 190a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 142a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1898) is 108°F, on June 29, 2021; the lowest is −36°F, on December 30, 1968.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2012, with 47.26 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 173.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00107386; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00107386. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Priest River Experiment Station?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Priest River Experiment Station, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (48%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 50% | 1.0 |
| February | 60% | 1.9 |
| March | 59% | 2.9 |
| April | 65% | 4.4 |
| May | 71% | 5.7 |
| June | 70% | 6.0 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 5.9 |
| September | 79% | 4.2 |
| October | 68% | 2.4 |
| November | 53% | 1.2 |
| December | 48% | 0.8 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Priest River Experiment Station record?
A normal year at Priest River Experiment Station brings 7,538 heating degree days, 40% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 157 cooling degree days, 83% 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 1,559 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,180 | 0 |
| February | 997 | 0 |
| March | 891 | 0 |
| April | 632 | 0 |
| May | 363 | 2 |
| June | 199 | 15 |
| July | 64 | 77 |
| August | 79 | 59 |
| September | 292 | 5 |
| October | 680 | 0 |
| November | 968 | 0 |
| December | 1,193 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,538 | 157 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00107386. 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.
Have recent years at Priest River Experiment Station been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 46.6°F, 1.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.7°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.7°F | +2.0°F | 26.06 | 63.5 |
| 2022 | 44.8°F | +0.1°F | 31.58 | 97.7 |
| 2023 | 46.5°F | +1.8°F | 28.51 | 31.0 |
| 2024 | 46.6°F | +1.9°F | 34.16 | 52.2 |
Over 111 complete years from 1901 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.0°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00107386; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Priest River Experiment Station's climate compare?
Priest River Experiment Station is warmer than 29 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Idaho, and wetter than 75. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.7°F is warmer than 18%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Priest River Experiment Station 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 Priest River Experiment Station 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.
- Cusick, WA184 people · 21 mi W
- Coolin, ID24 people · 9 mi N
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 Priest River Experiment Station's climate
What is the coldest month at Priest River Experiment Station?
December, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 48°F at night).
Does it snow at Priest River Experiment Station?
Yes: 74 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (25.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Priest River Experiment Station?
December, with 4.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Priest River Experiment Station in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Priest River Experiment Station in zone 6a in ZIP code 83856, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Priest River Experiment Station?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 20; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Idaho climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sandpoint, ID13 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Newport, WA15 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Bayview Model Basin, ID29 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Bonners Ferry, ID34 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made