Average McCall Weather for Your Visit
The Best Rental Cabins, Homes, Lakefront Estates and Romantic Getaways in McCall, Donnelly, Cascade & New Meadows
While the weather forecast for McCall might not be the most straightforward, it‘s easy to get a good idea as to what the current conditions will be on your visit to McCall. Regardless, pack layers and a rain jacket because just like anywhere in the mountains, you never quite know what to expect!
Whether you are making plans on Monday night or Sunday night for your short term vacation rental stay, looking at the annual weather patterns in McCall can help make planning your time spent up here match your ideal expectations for your trip.
Valley County has the splendor of all 4 seasons. The summer season is short but sweet, a tad on the warmer side, mostly dry, with a low dew point, and usually clear blue skies. Temps cool at night for the short fall season and transitions quickly into winter.
You can expect rain during the fall, with times of heavy rain, and occasional showers. Fall colors in McCall last a few weeks before the mountain snow starts to gently fall. The winters are long, mighty cold, freezing even. You can expect snow during most weeks of winter and for the sky to be partly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 5°F to 85°F and is rarely below -10°F or above 90°F.
When you plan your trip to McCall, we always recommend purchasing travel insurance to help insulate against any unforeseen inclement weather and you can make adjustments to your trip to the area. This is especially important in the winter and shoulder seasons as deep snowfalls are possible.
What is considered the warm season generally lasts nearly 3 months, from June 20 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 70°F. The hottest day of the year is historically July 31, with an average high of 80°F and low of 46°F.
Spring and fall are considered the shoulder season here in McCall, where temps are transitioning between the primary seasons with drastic fluctuations in the weather conditions from day to night. Don’t be surprised by a 50 degree swing during the shoulder season, so pack with layers in mind and keep a healthy attitude when it gets bitter cold, it’s hard not to complain when you are wearing shorts and a t-shirt when it is 33 degrees outside.
Some of us love the chilly frost, enjoying a cold Saturday night in the hot tub, but that definition of cold is subjective. Up here in Central Idaho, situated just above 5000ft, the cold season lasts for about 6 months, give or take, from Early November to late May.
It’s even possible to get a few snowfalls in June, with an average daily high temperature below 38°F. The coldest day of the year is January 1, with an average low temperature of 10°F and high of 32°F. And in the extreme, -20 is not uncommon. When in doubt, check the weather report before your group heads up for the winter adventure.
The best time of year to visit McCall and Valley County Idaho will depend entirely on your goals for this moment in time. You might not know this about McCall but this is the mecca of all things outdoors. Truly a rare and unique place on earth, there are a lot of things to do in McCall, located in the Mountain Timezone, that allows you to maximize your enjoyment of your time in the area depending on what you want to experience.
The chance of wet days, rain, snow, or a combination of both in McCall varies throughout the year. Precipitation is challenging to forecast in Valley County, and can change from minute to minute. There are two weather stations near enough to the area to have a fairly accurate meteorological forecast of what the weather report holds to be true.
The rainy season duration is typically 8 months long, from October 23 to June 20, with a greater than 21% chance of having rain during this time span. The greatest chance of a rain or snow day peaks on December 1 at 36%. It’s not uncommon for there to be severe weather and thunderstorms during this time.
The drier season lasts nearly 4 months, from June 20 to October 23. The smallest chance of a wet day is 6% on July 26, a great day to be out on the water, wakeboarding on Payette Lake or Lake Cascade.
Rain alone, not hail, or mixed with sleet is the most common for just over 7 months, from April 4 to November 21. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 28% on May 29.
Snow alone is the most common for 3 months, from Mid November to February 21. But like anything, we have seen it rain just after it snowed, and vice versa. The highest chance of a day with snow alone is 20% on December 27.
Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 1.4 months, from February 21 to April 4. The highest chance of a day with mixed snow and rain is 15% on March 17.
The chance of precipitation varies from day to day, in which various types of precipitation are observed: rain, snow, and mixed both rain and snow. So, like anything else in life, it’s a crapshoot, so we say, “Prepare for anything, and then have fun.”
To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. McCall experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.
The rainy period of the year lasts for 11 months, from August 19 to July 16, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around May 23, with an average total accumulation of 1.9 inches.
The rainless period of the year lasts for 1.1 months, from July 16 to August 19. The least rain falls around August 2, with an average total accumulation of 0.4 inches.
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average liquid-equivalent snowfall.
The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount. Which means that if it rains 1″ you will potentially get 5″ to 10″ of snow for that H20 equivalent in liquid form. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.
As with rainfall, we consider new snow accumulation over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. The percent chance of snow showers in McCall experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall according to NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric organization.
The snowy period of the year lasts for a grueling 6 months, starting in early November to the end of May, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least .5″ to 1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around December 30, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 1.9 inches.
Some of us are prone to greater degrees of UV exposure, and knowing what the UV index for the area will help you prepare for your time in these higher elevations. Sunblock and sunscreen only works when you apply them, so make sure you pack plenty of your UV blocking protection and reapply regularly.
The earliest sunrise is at 5:57 AM on June 15, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 33 minutes later at 8:30 AM on November 6. The earliest sunset is at 5:02 PM on December 9, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 32 minutes later at 9:34 PM on June 26.
We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.
The perceived humidity level in McCall, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.
Prepare yourself during your vacation to experience super dry conditions, which by all accounts is 0% percent for most of the entire year. Great for Snow, ideal skiers seeking powder days, and blue skies. Consider bringing a humidifier with you to add extra moisture while you are staying at one of our vacation rental homes here in McCall.
Another unique characteristic of McCall and Valley County is the average low hourly wind speed here does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.5 miles per hour of 4.6 miles per hour year round. Mind you, Valley County does get crazy wind gusts that will last several hours, and naturally storms that blow-in and down power lines in the process are all par for the course of life.
The direction is fairly consistent and steady generally blowing South, South East during the winter months, and has an even split of the percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions. (North East (NE), South South East (SSE), South West (SW), North West (NW), East South East (ESE) and the ever gentle breeze we call the south wind).
In McCall, clouds come, and clouds go, and sometimes, clouds will stay and put a damper on your vacation fun. The average percentage of the sky covered by clouds varies greatly and the seasonal variation over the course of the year where you will have perfectly clear skies, and then shortly thereafter have clouds roll in and obscure the heavens above. Only minutes later to vanish and leave behind crystal clear sparkles of the stars above.
McCall ID is designated as one of the countries Dark Night Locations, ideal for those aspiring astronomers, or anyone just plain interested in seeing the milky way galaxy with the naked eye. The clearer part of the year in McCall Idaho begins around June 13 and lasts for 4 months, ending around October 11. The clearest day of the year is historically on July 28, where the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 18% of the time. So grab your telescope and aim for the stars.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for about 8 months, ending around June 13. On January 10, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 67% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 33% of the time, but like anything, during the cold weather, the sky at night is so crisp that it seems like you can pluck the stars right out of the night sky.
The best time of the year to visit McCall depends on what you’re looking for in your holiday. For excellent winter sports, visit us in the heart of winter when the snow is fresh and fun to play in. For those looking for a relaxing getaway in the sun, you’ll want to visit in July or August.
Regardless of when you choose to visit us, be sure to pack layers and a rain jacket because you never quite know what the next day will bring. One thing we do know, so long as you’re flexible with the weather, we’re sure you’ll love your visit to McCall, Idaho!
