Alberton, MT 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 Alberton's primary NOAA station, ALBERTON.
The climate verdict for Alberton
Dryness leads the climate profile for Alberton, Montana, with 18.7 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
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 18.7"
- annual precipitation · 49" snow
- 130 days
- frost-free growing season
Alberton: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00240075 · Alberton, MT 45°F mean · 18.7" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,372
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fort Hall
- PRCP-DRY 18.7"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,414 HDD
- STN-1 USC00240075
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fort Hall, ID (+ 0 °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 MT station list.
- Alberton (this station) 45°F
- Cold Liberty, NY 45°F
- Hot Livingston Miss…, MT 45°F
- Near Fort Hall, ID 45°F
- Near Lamoille Yost, NV 45°F
Alberton sits in Montana, the #6 coldest U.S. state at 43.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Alberton
Alberton: 22/100 · grade F
Alberton publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Alberton, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 18.7 in · 16.3 from 35 in | 42/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.4°F · 22.1° from 67.5°F | 21/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 49.4 inches/year | 21/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 198 calendar days | 15/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 130 days/year | 12/100 · F |
Alberton · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Alberton is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 25.7°F and warmest-month mean 67.7°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 67.7°F
- Coldest month
- 25.7°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 Alberton sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Alberton's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 80%
- Among 6,861 stations, Alberton sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 75%
- Alberton's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 44th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Alberton compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Alberton'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 | 35°F (1°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 1.4" | 10.3" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (5°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.5" | 11.1" | 27.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 1.7" | 6.0" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (15°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.7" | 1.4" | 18.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.0" | 0.1" | 6.4 | 0.4 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 3.0 |
| July | 87°F (30°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.2 |
| August | 87°F (30°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 12.7 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 1.1" | 0.1" | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 1.2" | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 2.0" | 6.4" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 33°F (0°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 1.6" | 12.8" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 90°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 198 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 17°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 25, then returns to freezing around October 11, covering 198 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 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 27 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 138 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 31 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 40°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Alberton.
Where Alberton Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 198 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 40°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Alberton 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: 10.3"
13.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.1"
12.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.0"
14.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
13.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
12.4 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
5.0 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
7.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
12.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.4"
13.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.8"
14.4 days with precipitation
Alberton spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 21% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Alberton has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 42°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 2.2" and July 0.9". The three wettest months together take 33% 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.
Rain reaches Alberton in small, frequent amounts
Alberton records about 137 days with measurable precipitation a year and 18.7" in total, which works out to roughly 0.14 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 38% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: December, about 14 of them.
- Fewest: July, about 5.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.14 inches.
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 Alberton
Alberton averages 49.4 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 39 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: 49.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 39 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 26% 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 18
50% probability date
Growing Season
130 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,414
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
282
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Alberton 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).
- Beloit, WI 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Deadwood, SD 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Hall, ID 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Harbor Beach, MI 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (18.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Harrold, SD 18.6" · 0.0" off
- Mcallen, TX 18.7" · 0.0" off
- Oakland, CA 18.7" · 0.0" off
- Bridgeport, NE 18.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Alberton
heating led · dry · mid swing
Alberton's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,414 annual heating degree days against 282 for cooling. Its 42.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 130 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. Alberton coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 26°F (-4°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Alberton typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Alberton snow peak
December
Alberton averages 49.4 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Alberton's climate
How much snow does Alberton get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Alberton get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Alberton? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Alberton's primary station: ALBERTON (USC00240075). 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 3000700). Match rule for Alberton: 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 Alberton 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.