Austin, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Austin's primary NOAA station, AUSTIN 1 W.
The climate verdict for Austin
Dryness leads the climate profile for Austin, Montana, with 16.4 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 40°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 40°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.4"
- annual precipitation
- 102 days
- frost-free growing season
Austin: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00240375 · Austin, MT 40°F mean · 16.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 40°F
- RANK-COOL #412
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Paradise
- PRCP-DRY 16.4"
- SWING-MID 43°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,076 HDD
- STN-1 USC00240375
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Paradise, MI (+ 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.
- Austin (this station) 40°F
- Cold Ketchum Ranger…, ID 40°F
- Hot York Pond, NH 40°F
- Near Paradise, MI 40°F
- Near Covington, MI 40°F
Austin 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 · Austin
Austin: 11/100 · grade F
Austin publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Austin, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 16.4 in · 18.6 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 209 calendar days | 9/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 40.3°F · 27.2° from 67.5°F | 5/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 102 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Austin · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Austin is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 21.0°F and warmest-month mean 63.6°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
- 63.6°F
- Coldest month
- 21.0°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 Austin sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Austin's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 94%
- Among 6,861 stations, Austin sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Austin's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 47th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Austin compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Austin's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F (-1°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.8" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 32°F (0°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 1.0" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 42°F (5°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 50°F (10°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 1.7" | 23.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 60°F (16°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 2.3" | 11.4 | 0.0 |
| June | 68°F (20°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 2.7" | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| July | 78°F (26°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.2" | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| August | 78°F (26°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 1.1" | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| September | 67°F (20°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 1.3" | 4.8 | 0.2 |
| October | 51°F (11°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 1.3" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 37°F (3°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.3" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-1°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.9" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 81°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 209 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 12°F near February 4.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 5, then returns to freezing around October 10, covering 209 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 4, when 34% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 11 at 18%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 80 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 13 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Austin.
Where Austin Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 209 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Austin earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
6.2 days with precipitation
5.4 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
5.6 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
Austin spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 31% of the annual total and December through February 17%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Austin has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 42.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 2.7" and March 0.8". The three wettest months together take 41% 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.
How Austin's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 78 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 16.4" between them, or roughly 0.21 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 14
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 4
50% probability date
Growing Season
102 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,076
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
109
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Austin 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 (40°F here).
- Jamestown, ND 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Lake City, CO 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Los Alamos, NM 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Crosby, ND 40°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Spokane, WA 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Prescott, AZ 16.5" · 0.0" off
- Pleasant Grove, UT 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Beach, ND 16.5" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Austin's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Austin's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,076 annual heating degree days against 109 for cooling. Its 42.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 102 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 January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Austin's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 42.6°F. The annual average is 40°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Austin's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.4 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Austin's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Austin, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Austin's climate
How much rain does Austin get? ▼
How cold does Austin get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Austin? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Austin's primary station: AUSTIN 1 W (USC00240375). 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 Austin; 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 Austin 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.