Bigfork (13 mi S), Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Bigfork (13 mi S)'s normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 21.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.2°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 27°C, 544 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBigfork (13 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00240755
- Location47.88°N 114.03°W
- Elevation2,979 ft (908 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Bigfork (13 mi S) is 52°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bigfork (13 mi S).
- Jan 34° 25°
- Feb 37° 26°
- Mar 45° 30°
- Apr 53° 35°
- May 63° 43°
- Jun 70° 49°
- Jul 80° 55°
- Aug 79° 54°
- Sep 69° 47°
- Oct 55° 38°
- Nov 42° 32°
- Dec 34° 26°
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 Bigfork (13 mi S) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.18 in), the least in February (1.03 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 25°F | 29.6°F | 1.72 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 37°F | 26°F | 31.2°F | 1.03 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 45°F | 30°F | 37.4°F | 1.33 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 35°F | 44.2°F | 1.76 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 63°F | 43°F | 53.1°F | 2.52 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 70°F | 49°F | 59.5°F | 3.18 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 80°F | 55°F | 67.6°F | 1.34 | 6 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 79°F | 54°F | 66.8°F | 1.11 | 5 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 69°F | 47°F | 58.1°F | 1.73 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 38°F | 46.6°F | 2.41 | 8 | <1 | 6 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 32°F | 36.8°F | 1.73 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 34°F | 26°F | 30.1°F | 1.56 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 39°F | 46.8°F | 21.42 | 100 | 5 | 127 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −4°C | −1.3°C | 44 mm |
| February | 3°C | −4°C | −0.4°C | 26 mm |
| March | 7°C | −1°C | 3.0°C | 34 mm |
| April | 12°C | 2°C | 6.8°C | 45 mm |
| May | 17°C | 6°C | 11.7°C | 64 mm |
| June | 21°C | 10°C | 15.3°C | 81 mm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 34 mm |
| August | 26°C | 12°C | 19.3°C | 28 mm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.5°C | 44 mm |
| October | 13°C | 3°C | 8.1°C | 61 mm |
| November | 5°C | 0°C | 2.7°C | 44 mm |
| December | 1°C | −3°C | −1.1°C | 40 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, SKQ Dam (17 miles away), gets 34 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00240755; 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 Bigfork (13 mi S)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00240755.
When is the last frost at Bigfork (13 mi S)?
In Bigfork (13 mi S), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before September 30 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 11 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 165 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 200 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bigfork (13 mi S) in zone 5b in ZIP code 59911, 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 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (24 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 Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00240755; 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 Bigfork (13 mi S)?
In a normal year in Bigfork (13 mi S), 5 days a year reach 90°F, 127 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 100 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 127a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 34high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 100a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1938) is 101°F, on August 4, 1961; the lowest is −21°F, on February 2, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1964, with 31.84 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 128.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00240755; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00240755. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Bigfork (13 mi S)?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Bigfork (13 mi S), 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.1 |
| February | 60% | 2.0 |
| March | 62% | 3.2 |
| April | 66% | 4.5 |
| May | 69% | 5.6 |
| June | 71% | 6.2 |
| July | 87% | 7.3 |
| August | 84% | 6.0 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 54% | 1.3 |
| December | 51% | 0.9 |
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 Bigfork (13 mi S) record?
A normal year at Bigfork (13 mi S) brings 6,877 heating degree days, 28% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 249 cooling degree days, 73% 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 1,807 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,099 | 0 |
| February | 946 | 0 |
| March | 854 | 0 |
| April | 624 | 0 |
| May | 372 | 2 |
| June | 182 | 19 |
| July | 40 | 119 |
| August | 44 | 100 |
| September | 217 | 10 |
| October | 570 | 0 |
| November | 845 | 0 |
| December | 1,083 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,877 | 249 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00240755. 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 Bigfork (13 mi S) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 48.8°F, 2.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.8°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.2°F | +1.4°F | – |
| 2022 | 46.2°F | −0.6°F | – |
| 2023 | 47.8°F | +1.0°F | 14.24 |
| 2024 | 47.8°F | +1.0°F | – |
| 2025 | 48.8°F | +2.0°F | – |
Over 45 complete years from 1942 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.5°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00240755; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bigfork (13 mi S)'s climate compare?
Bigfork (13 mi S) is warmer than 126 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 118. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.8°F is warmer than 27%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bigfork (13 mi S) 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 Bigfork (13 mi S) share this climate record?
5 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Woods Bay, MT696 people · 10 mi N
- Bear Dance, MT262 people · 2 mi N
- Rollins, MT110 people · 8 mi W
- Dayton, MT103 people · 11 mi W
- Lake Mary Ronan, MT63 people · 16 mi W
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 Bigfork (13 mi S)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Bigfork (13 mi S)?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow at Bigfork (13 mi S)?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, SKQ Dam (17 miles away), records 34 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Bigfork (13 mi S)?
June, with 3.18 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bigfork (13 mi S) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bigfork (13 mi S) in zone 5b in ZIP code 59911, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Bigfork (13 mi S)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Swan Lake, MT9 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Polson, MT16 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- SKQ Dam, MT17 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Creston, MT22 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made