Augusta, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Augusta's normal year runs from 16°F February nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 15.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.4°C, February lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 394 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAugusta
- Station IDUSC00240364
- Location47.49°N 112.40°W
- Elevation4,070 ft (1,241 m)
- Population (census place)222
On October 8, the normal high in Augusta is 63°F and the normal low 36°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Augusta.
- Jan 39° 17°
- Feb 40° 16°
- Mar 47° 24°
- Apr 55° 31°
- May 65° 39°
- Jun 72° 47°
- Jul 82° 51°
- Aug 82° 50°
- Sep 73° 42°
- Oct 59° 34°
- Nov 45° 26°
- Dec 38° 18°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Augusta each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; February the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.01 in), the least in January (0.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 17°F | 28.0°F | 0.45 | – | <1 | 26 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 40°F | 16°F | 27.7°F | 0.69 | – | <1 | 25 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 47°F | 24°F | 35.3°F | 0.71 | – | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 31°F | 43.2°F | 1.64 | – | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 39°F | 51.8°F | 2.67 | – | <1 | 9 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 47°F | 59.3°F | 3.01 | – | 1 | 1 | 16 h |
| July | 82°F | 51°F | 66.9°F | 1.17 | – | 8 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 50°F | 65.7°F | 1.18 | – | 7 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 42°F | 57.4°F | 1.38 | – | 2 | 5 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 34°F | 46.2°F | 1.40 | – | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 45°F | 26°F | 35.3°F | 0.70 | – | <1 | 23 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 38°F | 18°F | 28.2°F | 0.51 | – | <1 | 27 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 33°F | 45.4°F | 15.51 | – | 17 | 177 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −8°C | −2.2°C | 11 mm |
| February | 4°C | −9°C | −2.4°C | 18 mm |
| March | 8°C | −5°C | 1.8°C | 18 mm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 42 mm |
| May | 18°C | 4°C | 11.0°C | 68 mm |
| June | 22°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 76 mm |
| July | 28°C | 11°C | 19.4°C | 30 mm |
| August | 28°C | 10°C | 18.7°C | 30 mm |
| September | 23°C | 6°C | 14.1°C | 35 mm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 36 mm |
| November | 7°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 18 mm |
| December | 4°C | −8°C | −2.1°C | 13 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Choteau (25 miles away), gets 48 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00240364; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Augusta?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September.
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 USC00240364.
When is the last frost in Augusta?
In Augusta, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 19 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 21 in half of years and before September 4 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 191 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after May 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 211 year in 10 before September 4; 9 in 10 before October 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 125 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 145 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Augusta in zone 4b in ZIP code 59410, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00240364; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 in Augusta?
In a normal year in Augusta, 17 days a year reach 90°F and 177 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- 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
- 177a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 26high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 103°F, on August 12, 1940; the lowest is −48°F, on February 15, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1909, with 23.91 in; the snowiest season is 1919–20, with 97.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00240364; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00240364. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Augusta?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Augusta, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.4 |
| February | 69% | 2.4 |
| March | 66% | 3.5 |
| April | 66% | 4.6 |
| May | 67% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.4 |
| July | 87% | 7.3 |
| August | 83% | 5.9 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.6 |
| November | 61% | 1.5 |
| December | 60% | 1.1 |
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 much heating and cooling does Augusta need?
A normal year in Augusta brings 7,358 heating degree days, 37% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 252 cooling degree days, 72% 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 1,802 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,146 | 0 |
| February | 1,043 | 0 |
| March | 921 | 0 |
| April | 653 | 0 |
| May | 414 | 5 |
| June | 192 | 20 |
| July | 54 | 111 |
| August | 69 | 92 |
| September | 248 | 22 |
| October | 586 | 2 |
| November | 891 | 0 |
| December | 1,141 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,358 | 252 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00240364. 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.
How does Augusta's climate compare?
Augusta is warmer than 101 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 84. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.4°F is warmer than 21%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Augusta is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Augusta share this climate record?
Gilman has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Gilman, MT17 people · 2 mi NE
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 Augusta's climate
What is the coldest month in Augusta?
February, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Augusta?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Augusta's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Choteau (25 miles away), records 48 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Augusta?
June, with 3.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Augusta in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Augusta in zone 4b in ZIP code 59410, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Augusta?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gibson Dam, MT18 miles from this station, 40.5°F a year
- Fairfield, MT21 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Rogers Pass (9 mi NNE), MT22 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Choteau, MT25 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made