Bear Ridge, SD 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 Bear Ridge's primary NOAA station, BEAR RIDGE.
The climate verdict for Bear Ridge
Bear Ridge, South Dakota has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 47°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 47°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 24.2"
- annual precipitation · 114" snow
- 133 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Bear Ridge: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00390554 · Bear Ridge, SD 47°F mean · 24.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 47°F
- RANK-COOL #1,784
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Jackson
- PRCP-DRY 24.2"
- SWING-MID 45°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,179 HDD
- STN-1 USC00390554
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Jackson, WI (+ 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 SD station list.
- Bear Ridge (this station) 47°F
- Hot Gillette, WY 47°F
- Near Jackson, WI 47°F
- Near Hay Springs, NE 47°F
- Near Rochester Wwtp, WI 47°F
Climate Living Index · Bear Ridge
Bear Ridge: 26/100 · grade F
Bear Ridge publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Bear Ridge, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 24.2 in · 10.8 from 35 in | 62/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.7°F · 20.8° from 67.5°F | 26/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 190 calendar days | 19/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 133 days/year | 14/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 114.2 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Bear Ridge · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Bear Ridge is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 26.6°F and warmest-month mean 71.2°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
- 71.2°F
- Coldest month
- 26.6°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 Bear Ridge sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Bear Ridge's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 74%
- Among 6,861 stations, Bear Ridge sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 33rd percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 56th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Bear Ridge compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Bear Ridge's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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) | 14°F (-10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.9" | 13.9" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.2" | 18.1" | 25.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (10°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.4" | 18.4" | 23.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 2.8" | 17.2" | 14.8 | 0.1 |
| May | 67°F (20°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 3.9" | 4.6" | 3.9 | 0.6 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.9 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 16.9 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.7 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 1.6" | 0.6" | 0.7 | 5.3 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 2.3" | 10.8" | 10.9 | 0.2 |
| November | 47°F (9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.1" | 13.7" | 21.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.9" | 16.9" | 28.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 190 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near February 4.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 190 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 May 22, when 39% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 30 at 18%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 95 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 34°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Bear Ridge.
Where Bear Ridge Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 190 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 34°F between the normal high and low.
Bear Ridge 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: 13.9"
7.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 18.1"
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 18.4"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 17.2"
9.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
12.5 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.8"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 13.7"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.9"
6.0 days with precipitation
Bear Ridge spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 34% of the annual total and December through February 12%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Bear Ridge has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 44.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 3.9" and December 0.9". The three wettest months together take 43% 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 Bear Ridge's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 95 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 24.2" between them, or roughly 0.26 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.
Winter brings real snow to Bear Ridge
Bear Ridge averages 114.2 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 37 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: 114.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 37 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 47% 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 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
133 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,179
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
551
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Bear Ridge 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 (47°F here).
- Allison, IA 47°F · 0.0°F off
- American Falls, ID 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Cherokee, IA 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Forsyth, MT 47°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (24.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Hill City, KS 24.2" · 0.0" off
- Miami, TX 24.1" · 0.0" off
- Lidgerwood, ND 24.2" · 0.0" off
- Gothenburg, NE 24.1" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Bear Ridge
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Bear Ridge's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,179 annual heating degree days against 551 for cooling. Its 44.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 133 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. Bear Ridge coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 27°F (-3°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Bear Ridge typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Bear Ridge snow peak
March
Bear Ridge averages 114.2 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Bear Ridge's climate
How much snow does Bear Ridge get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Bear Ridge get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Bear Ridge? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Bear Ridge's primary station: BEAR RIDGE (USC00390554). 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 Bear Ridge; 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 Bear Ridge 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.