Billings, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Billings's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 14.3 inches of precipitation and 57 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.0°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 31°C, 363 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBillings International Airport
- Station IDUSW00024033
- Location45.81°N 108.54°W
- Elevation3,581 ft (1,092 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population121,483
On October 23, the normal high in Billings is 55°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Billings.
- Jan 36° 18°
- Feb 39° 20°
- Mar 49° 27°
- Apr 57° 35°
- May 67° 44°
- Jun 77° 52°
- Jul 87° 59°
- Aug 86° 58°
- Sep 74° 49°
- Oct 59° 37°
- Nov 46° 27°
- Dec 36° 19°
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 Billings each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.36 in), the least in January (0.55 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 18°F | 27.0°F | 0.55 | 10.6 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| February | 39°F | 20°F | 29.4°F | 0.57 | 9.1 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 49°F | 27°F | 38.0°F | 0.90 | 8.2 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 35°F | 45.8°F | 1.72 | 7.5 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 2.36 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 52°F | 64.7°F | 2.22 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 59°F | 73.3°F | 1.22 | 0.0 | 8 | 14 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 58°F | 71.6°F | 0.87 | 0.0 | 6 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 49°F | 61.4°F | 1.36 | 0.3 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 37°F | 47.9°F | 1.37 | 4.5 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 27°F | 36.2°F | 0.60 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 36°F | 19°F | 27.6°F | 0.57 | 9.8 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 37°F | 48.2°F | 14.31 | 57.4 | 97 | 32 | 142 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −8°C | −2.8°C | 14 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 4°C | −7°C | −1.4°C | 14 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 3.3°C | 23 mm | 21 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.7°C | 44 mm | 19 cm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 60 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 25°C | 11°C | 18.2°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 15°C | 22.9°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 22.0°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 9°C | 16.3°C | 35 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 8.8°C | 35 mm | 11 cm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 15 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 2°C | −7°C | −2.4°C | 14 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024033; 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 Billings?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USW00024033.
When is the last frost in Billings?
In Billings, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 26 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 41 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Billings in zone 5a across its 2 ZIP code areas (5a in 59102, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Billings's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00024033; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Billings ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Billings's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 5a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Billings?
In a normal year in Billings, 32 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 142 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 97 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 32a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 142a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 97a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 18a normal year
The highest temperature in Billings's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1934) is 111°F, on July 12, 2026; the lowest is −38°F, on February 15, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1978, with 26.81 in; the snowiest season is 2017–18, with 106.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024033; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record BILthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Billings, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 45°F. The muggiest month is June, with an average dew point of 47°F; the driest air comes in December (13°F). December is the windiest month (13.1 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (62%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°F | 58% | 46% | 12.9 mph | 42% | 25% |
| February | 16°F | 57% | 41% | 11.1 mph | 41% | 27% |
| March | 25°F | 53% | 36% | 10.5 mph | 34% | 29% |
| April | 32°F | 51% | 34% | 10.6 mph | 37% | 24% |
| May | 43°F | 56% | 37% | 9.4 mph | 37% | 21% |
| June | 47°F | 47% | 30% | 8.9 mph | 53% | 9% |
| July | 47°F | 41% | 24% | 8.8 mph | 60% | 5% |
| August | 42°F | 40% | 24% | 8.8 mph | 62% | 9% |
| September | 35°F | 48% | 32% | 10.0 mph | 56% | 17% |
| October | 25°F | 54% | 40% | 11.5 mph | 47% | 23% |
| November | 17°F | 58% | 47% | 12.4 mph | 46% | 25% |
| December | 13°F | 60% | 50% | 13.1 mph | 44% | 25% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024033. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Billings?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Billings, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and April the cloudiest (66%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 304th (with 25 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.9 |
| February | 76% | 2.8 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 66% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.7 |
| June | 77% | 6.7 |
| July | 85% | 7.1 |
| August | 84% | 6.0 |
| September | 80% | 4.6 |
| October | 72% | 2.9 |
| November | 70% | 1.9 |
| December | 67% | 1.4 |
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 Billings need?
A normal year in Billings brings 6,754 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 663 cooling degree days, 27% 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 2,596 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,180 | 0 |
| February | 995 | 0 |
| March | 839 | 0 |
| April | 577 | 1 |
| May | 314 | 14 |
| June | 90 | 81 |
| July | 12 | 269 |
| August | 25 | 231 |
| September | 168 | 62 |
| October | 534 | 5 |
| November | 864 | 0 |
| December | 1,158 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,754 | 663 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024033. 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.
Has Billings been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.1°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.9°F | +1.7°F | 10.13 | 46.7 |
| 2022 | 47.5°F | −0.7°F | 15.28 | 60.3 |
| 2023 | 49.4°F | +1.2°F | 17.46 | 44.5 |
| 2024 | 50.3°F | +2.1°F | 11.96 | 32.7 |
| 2025 | 49.1°F | +0.9°F | 18.28 | 79.1 |
Over 73 complete years from 1937 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.1°F per century (+0.23°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024033; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Billings's climate compare?
Billings is warmer than 138 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 53. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.2°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Billings is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Billings share this climate record?
4 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.
- Lockwood, MT7,474 people · 7 mi E
- Laurel, MT7,251 people · 15 mi SW
- Acton, MT56 people · 11 mi NW
- Mountain View Colony, MT49 people · 20 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.
What do Billings's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Billings. This page uses Billings International Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billings Water Treatment Plant USC00240802 | 4 mi E | 3,097 ft | 47.2°F | 14°F | 86°F | 15.4 | 35 | May 10 |
| Billings Weather Office USC00240801 | 3 mi S | 3,185 ft | 48.0°F | 15°F | 89°F | 14.8 | 48 | May 5 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Billings's climate
What is the coldest month in Billings?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Billings?
Yes: 57 inches in a normal year, falling on 39 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Billings?
May, with 2.36 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.55 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Billings in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Billings in zone 5a across its 2 ZIP code areas (5a in 59102, the largest). By the same method at Billings's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Billings?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Billings in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Huntley, MT16 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Joliet, MT32 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Rapelje, MT36 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Columbus, MT37 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