Bear Ridge, South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Bear Ridge's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 24.2 inches of precipitation and 114 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.2°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 31°C, 614 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBear Ridge
- Station IDUSC00390554
- Location44.50°N 104.03°W
- Elevation3,900 ft (1,189 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Bear Ridge is 58°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bear Ridge.
- Jan 39° 14°
- Feb 40° 14°
- Mar 49° 22°
- Apr 58° 30°
- May 67° 40°
- Jun 79° 49°
- Jul 88° 55°
- Aug 87° 53°
- Sep 76° 44°
- Oct 61° 33°
- Nov 47° 23°
- Dec 39° 15°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Bear Ridge each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.89 in), the least in December (0.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 14°F | 26.6°F | 0.92 | 13.9 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 40°F | 14°F | 27.1°F | 1.17 | 18.1 | 8 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 49°F | 22°F | 35.6°F | 1.40 | 18.4 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 30°F | 43.7°F | 2.75 | 17.2 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 40°F | 53.6°F | 3.89 | 4.6 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 49°F | 63.9°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 10 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 55°F | 71.2°F | 2.32 | 0.0 | 8 | 17 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 87°F | 53°F | 70.1°F | 2.04 | 0.0 | 7 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 76°F | 44°F | 60.0°F | 1.57 | 0.6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 33°F | 46.6°F | 2.28 | 10.8 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 47°F | 23°F | 35.2°F | 1.14 | 13.7 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 39°F | 15°F | 27.2°F | 0.90 | 16.9 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 33°F | 46.7°F | 24.17 | 114.2 | 95 | 43 | 157 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −10°C | −3.0°C | 23 mm | 35 cm |
| February | 4°C | −10°C | −2.7°C | 30 mm | 46 cm |
| March | 10°C | −6°C | 2.0°C | 36 mm | 47 cm |
| April | 14°C | −1°C | 6.5°C | 70 mm | 44 cm |
| May | 20°C | 4°C | 12.0°C | 99 mm | 12 cm |
| June | 26°C | 9°C | 17.7°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 13°C | 21.8°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 12°C | 21.2°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 7°C | 15.6°C | 40 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 16°C | 0°C | 8.1°C | 58 mm | 27 cm |
| November | 9°C | −5°C | 1.8°C | 29 mm | 35 cm |
| December | 4°C | −9°C | −2.7°C | 23 mm | 43 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00390554; 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.
Which months are mildest at Bear Ridge?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00390554.
When is the last frost at Bear Ridge?
In Bear Ridge, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 27 in half of years and before September 11 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 171 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 271 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 132 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 154 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bear Ridge in zone 5a in ZIP code 82712, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (21 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00390554; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 at Bear Ridge?
In a normal year in Bear Ridge, 43 days a year reach 90°F (9 of them 100°F or more), 157 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 95 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 43a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 157a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 30high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 95a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 35a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 113°F, on July 17, 2005; the lowest is −31°F, on January 14, 2024.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 39.44 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 166.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00390554; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00390554. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Bear Ridge?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Bear Ridge, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 1.9 |
| February | 75% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 4.0 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 7.0 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 87% | 6.2 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 74% | 3.1 |
| November | 74% | 2.1 |
| December | 71% | 1.6 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Bear Ridge record?
A normal year at Bear Ridge brings 7,179 heating degree days, 34% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 551 cooling degree days, 39% 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 2,358 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,190 | 0 |
| February | 1,060 | 0 |
| March | 912 | 0 |
| April | 640 | 1 |
| May | 367 | 13 |
| June | 112 | 79 |
| July | 22 | 214 |
| August | 32 | 188 |
| September | 202 | 52 |
| October | 574 | 4 |
| November | 896 | 0 |
| December | 1,172 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,179 | 551 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00390554. 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.
Have recent years at Bear Ridge been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 48.6°F, 1.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.7°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.8°F | +3.1°F | 17.07 | 96.0 |
| 2022 | 47.4°F | +0.7°F | 20.19 | 94.2 |
| 2024 | 49.6°F | +2.9°F | 20.31 | 63.0 |
| 2025 | 48.6°F | +1.9°F | 26.15 | 57.8 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00390554. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bear Ridge's climate compare?
Bear Ridge is warmer than 67 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 61. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.7°F is warmer than 26%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bear Ridge is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. 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 Bear Ridge share this climate record?
Beulah 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.
- Beulah, WY0 people · 4 mi NW
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 Bear Ridge's climate
What is the coldest month at Bear Ridge?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow at Bear Ridge?
Yes: 114 inches in a normal year, falling on 37 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (18.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Bear Ridge?
May, with 3.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bear Ridge in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bear Ridge in zone 5a in ZIP code 82712, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Bear Ridge?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 30. Waiting until May 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Spearfish, SD8 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Belle Fourche, SD15 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Deadwood, SD17 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Lead, SD17 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made