Wapiti, WY 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 Wapiti's primary NOAA station, WAPITI 1WSW.
The climate verdict for Wapiti
Dryness leads the climate profile for Wapiti, Wyoming, with 10.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 45°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 45°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 10.3"
- annual precipitation · 31" snow
- 121 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Wapiti: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00489467 · Wapiti, WY 45°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 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,304
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Snake Creek Pow…
- PRCP-ARID 10.3"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,509 HDD
- STN-1 USC00489467
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Snake Creek Powerhouse, UT ( -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 WY station list.
- Wapiti (this station) 45°F
- Cold Arthur, NV 45°F
- Hot Chandlers Valley, PA 45°F
- Near Snake Creek Pow…, UT 45°F
- Near Elk Rvr, ID 45°F
Wapiti sits in Wyoming, the #5 coldest U.S. state at 43.3°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Wapiti
Wapiti: 18/100 · grade F
Wapiti publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Wapiti, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 30.6 inches/year | 38/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.0°F · 22.5° from 67.5°F | 20/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 196 calendar days | 16/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 10.3 in · 24.7 from 35 in | 13/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 121 days/year | 7/100 · F |
Wapiti · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Wapiti'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
- 67.0°F
- Coldest month
- 28.1°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 Wapiti sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Wapiti's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 81%
- Among 6,861 stations, Wapiti sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 93%
- Wapiti's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 31st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Wapiti compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Wapiti's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F (4°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.5" | 5.7" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 39°F (4°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.4" | 3.9" | 25.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 47°F (8°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.5" | 4.3" | 24.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 53°F (12°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.1" | 4.4" | 19.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 62°F (17°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.4" | 0.7" | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 2.2 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 1.1" | 0.2" | 3.9 | 0.1 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.9" | 3.6" | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.6" | 4.1" | 22.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 38°F (3°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.6" | 3.7" | 27.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 196 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 17°F near February 9.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 1, then returns to freezing around October 19, covering 196 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 June 3, when 24% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 8 at 10%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 60 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 12 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Wapiti.
Where Wapiti Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 10 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 196 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Wapiti 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: 5.7"
3.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.9"
3.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.3"
4.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
7.3 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.6"
4.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.1"
4.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.7"
3.8 days with precipitation
Wapiti spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 30% of the annual total and December through February 15%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Wapiti has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 1.4" and February 0.4". 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.
Wapiti is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 59 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 16% of the calendar, and they carry 10.3" between them. At roughly 0.17 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 May at about 7 wet days; the driest is January at about 3.
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.
Winter brings real snow to Wapiti
Wapiti averages 30.6 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 16 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: 30.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 16 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 30% 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 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 27
50% probability date
Growing Season
121 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,509
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
229
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WY closest to Wapiti 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 (45°F here).
- Alexandria, SD 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Bangor, ME 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Busby, MT 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Chiloquin, OR 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (10.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Animas, NM 10.3" · 0.0" off
- Lima, MT 10.3" · 0.0" off
- Prineville, OR 10.3" · 0.0" off
- Lybrook, NM 10.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Wapiti
heating led · dry · mid swing
Wapiti's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,509 annual heating degree days against 229 for cooling. Its 38.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 121 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. Wapiti coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 28°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Wapiti typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Wapiti snow peak
January
Wapiti averages 30.6 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Wapiti's climate
How much snow does Wapiti get? ▼
How cold does Wapiti get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Wapiti? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Wapiti's primary station: WAPITI 1WSW (USC00489467). 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 Wapiti; 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 Wapiti 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.