Bonesteel, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bonesteel's normal year runs from 11°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 25.9 inches of precipitation and 37 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.7°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 30°C, 659 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBonesteel
- Station IDUSC00390778
- Location43.08°N 98.95°W
- Elevation1,985 ft (605 m)
- Population259
On October 23, the normal high in Bonesteel is 58°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bonesteel.
- Jan 31° 11°
- Feb 36° 14°
- Mar 47° 23°
- Apr 58° 34°
- May 69° 45°
- Jun 80° 57°
- Jul 87° 62°
- Aug 85° 60°
- Sep 76° 51°
- Oct 62° 37°
- Nov 47° 24°
- Dec 34° 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 in Bonesteel each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 11°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.30 in), the least in December (0.33 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 11°F | 21.0°F | 0.40 | 5.5 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 36°F | 14°F | 24.6°F | 0.73 | 5.9 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 23°F | 34.7°F | 1.42 | 5.5 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 34°F | 45.7°F | 3.10 | 7.7 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 45°F | 57.1°F | 4.30 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 80°F | 57°F | 68.4°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 87°F | 62°F | 74.1°F | 3.16 | 0.0 | 7 | 10 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 85°F | 60°F | 72.4°F | 2.79 | 0.0 | 5 | 9 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 51°F | 63.6°F | 2.91 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 37°F | 49.7°F | 1.97 | 2.0 | 5 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 24°F | 35.5°F | 0.92 | 6.9 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 34°F | 15°F | 24.4°F | 0.33 | 3.7 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 36°F | 47.6°F | 25.93 | 37.2 | 62 | 26 | 162 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −12°C | −6.1°C | 10 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −4.1°C | 19 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 8°C | −5°C | 1.5°C | 36 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 79 mm | 20 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.6°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 3°C | 9.8°C | 50 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 23 mm | 18 cm |
| December | 1°C | −10°C | −4.2°C | 8 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00390778; 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 Bonesteel?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00390778.
When is the last frost in Bonesteel?
In Bonesteel, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 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 31 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 159 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 178 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bonesteel in zone 5a in ZIP code 57317, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00390778; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 in Bonesteel?
In a normal year in Bonesteel, 26 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 162 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 62 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 162a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 56high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 62a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 109°F, on July 10, 1966; the lowest is −32°F, on January 29, 1966.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 32.98 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 79.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00390778; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00390778. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bonesteel?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bonesteel, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.0 |
| February | 77% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.6 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.1 |
| November | 74% | 2.1 |
| December | 70% | 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 much heating and cooling does Bonesteel need?
A normal year in Bonesteel brings 7,112 heating degree days, 32% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 812 cooling degree days, 11% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,900 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,364 | 0 |
| February | 1,131 | 0 |
| March | 939 | 0 |
| April | 580 | 3 |
| May | 270 | 26 |
| June | 46 | 149 |
| July | 9 | 292 |
| August | 14 | 245 |
| September | 132 | 88 |
| October | 484 | 8 |
| November | 885 | 0 |
| December | 1,258 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,112 | 812 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00390778. 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.
How does Bonesteel's climate compare?
Bonesteel is warmer than 80 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 73. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.6°F is warmer than 30%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bonesteel is Dwa: continental, dry-winter, 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 Bonesteel 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.
- Naper, NE83 people · 11 mi SW
- Herrick, SD77 people · 12 mi W
- St. Charles, SD11 people · 7 mi W
- Anoka, NE10 people · 11 mi SE
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 Bonesteel's climate
What is the coldest month in Bonesteel?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 11°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Bonesteel?
Yes: 37 inches in a normal year, falling on 14 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (7.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bonesteel?
May, with 4.30 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bonesteel in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bonesteel in zone 5a in ZIP code 57317, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Bonesteel?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 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
- Butte, NE12 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Pickstown, SD21 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Gregory, SD27 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Academy (2 mi NE), SD29 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made