Bottineau, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bottineau's normal year runs from −4°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 19.2 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.7°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 26°C, 488 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBottineau
- Station IDUSC00320941
- Location48.82°N 100.45°W
- Elevation1,619 ft (494 m)
- Population2,194
On October 23, the normal high in Bottineau is 48°F and the normal low 27°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 Bottineau.
- Jan 15° -4°
- Feb 20° 0°
- Mar 33° 14°
- Apr 51° 28°
- May 65° 41°
- Jun 74° 52°
- Jul 79° 56°
- Aug 79° 54°
- Sep 69° 44°
- Oct 53° 30°
- Nov 34° 16°
- Dec 20° 3°
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 Bottineau each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.87 in), the least in January (0.53 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°F | −4°F | 5.6°F | 0.53 | 9.1 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 20°F | 0°F | 9.7°F | 0.53 | 6.9 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 33°F | 14°F | 23.3°F | 0.76 | 7.3 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 28°F | 39.8°F | 1.07 | 4.0 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 41°F | 53.1°F | 2.58 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 52°F | 62.8°F | 3.87 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 79°F | 56°F | 67.7°F | 2.75 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 79°F | 54°F | 66.5°F | 2.61 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| September | 69°F | 44°F | 56.7°F | 1.52 | 0.1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 30°F | 41.3°F | 1.50 | 4.1 | 7 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| November | 34°F | 16°F | 24.9°F | 0.78 | 8.2 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| December | 20°F | 3°F | 11.4°F | 0.70 | 9.0 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 49°F | 28°F | 38.6°F | 19.20 | 49.8 | 92 | 6 | 196 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9°C | −20°C | −14.7°C | 13 mm | 23 cm |
| February | −7°C | −18°C | −12.4°C | 13 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 0°C | −10°C | −4.8°C | 19 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.3°C | 27 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 18°C | 5°C | 11.7°C | 66 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 23°C | 11°C | 17.1°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 38 mm | 10 cm |
| November | 1°C | −9°C | −3.9°C | 20 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −7°C | −16°C | −11.4°C | 18 mm | 23 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00320941; 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 Bottineau?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August 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 USC00320941.
When is the last frost in Bottineau?
In Bottineau, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 13 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 151 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 133 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 150 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bottineau in zone 3b in ZIP code 58318, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bottineau's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (26 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00320941; 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 in Bottineau?
In a normal year in Bottineau, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 196 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 92 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 196a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 107high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 92a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 111°F, on July 12, 1936; the lowest is −51°F, on February 13, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 30.32 in; the snowiest season is 1975–76, with 74.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00320941; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00320941. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bottineau?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bottineau, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (86%) and November the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 1.7 |
| February | 86% | 2.9 |
| March | 79% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 82% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.0 |
| October | 70% | 2.5 |
| November | 69% | 1.5 |
| December | 70% | 1.2 |
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 Bottineau need?
A normal year in Bottineau brings 9,917 heating degree days, 85% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 319 cooling degree days, 65% 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 1,911 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,841 | 0 |
| February | 1,548 | 0 |
| March | 1,293 | 0 |
| April | 758 | 0 |
| May | 379 | 10 |
| June | 121 | 54 |
| July | 40 | 124 |
| August | 60 | 104 |
| September | 275 | 26 |
| October | 736 | 1 |
| November | 1,203 | 0 |
| December | 1,663 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,917 | 319 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00320941. 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 Bottineau been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 41.0°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 38.6°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.0°F | +2.4°F | 16.85 | – |
| 2022 | 36.3°F | −2.3°F | 21.21 | – |
| 2023 | 40.0°F | +1.4°F | 15.94 | – |
| 2024 | 41.0°F | +2.4°F | 22.73 | – |
Over 98 complete years from 1906 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.0°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00320941; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bottineau's climate compare?
Bottineau is warmer than 11 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 41. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 38.6°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bottineau 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 Bottineau share this climate record?
2 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.
- Souris, ND39 people · 12 mi NW
- Gardena, ND23 people · 9 mi S
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 Bottineau's climate
What is the coldest month in Bottineau?
January, with a normal high of 15°F and a normal low of −4°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Bottineau?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bottineau?
June, with 3.87 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.53 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bottineau in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bottineau in zone 3b in ZIP code 58318, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bottineau's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Bottineau?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lake Metigoshe State Park, ND12 miles from this station, 37.1°F a year
- Willow City, ND17 miles from this station, 37.6°F a year
- Upham, ND19 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
- Westhope, ND27 miles from this station, 40.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made