Prineville, OR Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Prineville's primary NOAA station, PRINEVILLE.
The climate verdict for Prineville
Dryness leads the climate profile for Prineville, Oregon, with 10.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 49°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.
- 49°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 10.3"
- annual precipitation · 9" snow
- 113 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Prineville: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00356883 · Prineville, OR 49°F mean · 10.3" 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 #2,539
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Augustine
- PRCP-ARID 10.3"
- SWING-MID 35°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,992 HDD
- STN-1 USC00356883
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Augustine, NM ( -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 OR station list.
- Hot Yosemite Village, CA 50°F
- Near Sandia Park, NM 50°F
- Prineville (this station) 49°F
- Cold Fence Lake, NM 49°F
- Near Augustine, NM 49°F
Climate Living Index · Prineville
Prineville: 32/100 · grade F
Prineville publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Prineville, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 8.8 inches/year | 65/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 49.4°F · 18.1° from 67.5°F | 38/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 168 calendar days | 34/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 10.3 in · 24.7 from 35 in | 13/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 113 days/year | 4/100 · F |
Prineville · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Prineville'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
- 68.0°F
- Coldest month
- 32.9°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 Prineville sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Prineville's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 37th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 93%
- Prineville's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 82%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Prineville is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Prineville compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Prineville'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
Prineville's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 47 complete annual observations from 1949 to 2022, PRINEVILLE 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.
- Prineville 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 | 43°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.1" | 1.8" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 48°F (9°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.8" | 3.2" | 23.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 55°F (13°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 0.9" | 0.9" | 23.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (16°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.8" | 0.3" | 16.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 7.6 | 0.5 |
| June | 76°F (25°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 12.3 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 10.8 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| October | 65°F (18°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 15.5 | 0.1 |
| November | 51°F (11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 1.2" | 1.1" | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 42°F (5°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 1.3" | 1.5" | 25.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 168 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 23°F near December 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 10, then returns to freezing around October 26, covering 168 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 November 24, when 29% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 27 at 7%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 75 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 31 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 39°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Prineville.
Where Prineville Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 10 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 39°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Prineville 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: 1.8"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.2"
7.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
7.8 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
2.1 days with precipitation
2.4 days with precipitation
2.8 days with precipitation
6.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
7.8 days with precipitation
Prineville spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 16% of the annual total and December through February 31%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Prineville has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 35.1°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 1.4" and September 0.3". The three wettest months together take 38% 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.
Prineville is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 73 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 20% of the calendar, and they carry 10.3" between them. At roughly 0.14 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 November at about 8 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.
Snow reaches Prineville, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 8.8 inches of snow a year here, most likely in February. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 7 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 22
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
113 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,992
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
323
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside OR closest to Prineville 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).
- Adrian, MI 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Albany, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Callaway, NE 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Capulin, NM 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (10.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Van Horn, TX 10.3" · 0.0" off
- Visalia, CA 10.3" · 0.0" off
- Animas, NM 10.3" · 0.0" off
- Lima, MT 10.3" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Prineville's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Prineville's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,992 annual heating degree days against 323 for cooling. Its 35.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 113 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.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Prineville's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 35.1°F. The annual average is 49°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Prineville's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 10.3 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 8.8 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Prineville wettest normal
May
May concentrates the scarce annual total (10.3 inches).
Prineville driest normal
September
September is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Prineville's climate
How dry is Prineville? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Prineville get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Prineville? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Prineville's primary station: PRINEVILLE (USC00356883). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 4159850). Match rule for Prineville: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Prineville 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.