Bridger, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bridger's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 11.5 inches of precipitation and 30 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 292 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBridger (2 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00241102
- Location45.33°N 108.91°W
- Elevation3,583 ft (1,092 m)
- Population716
On October 22, the normal high in Bridger is 57°F and the normal low 30°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 Bridger.
- Jan 35° 13°
- Feb 39° 15°
- Mar 50° 22°
- Apr 58° 30°
- May 67° 40°
- Jun 77° 47°
- Jul 87° 53°
- Aug 86° 50°
- Sep 75° 42°
- Oct 60° 32°
- Nov 46° 22°
- Dec 36° 14°
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 Bridger each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.25 in), the least in January (0.29 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 13°F | 24.2°F | 0.29 | 5.1 | 2 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 39°F | 15°F | 27.0°F | 0.33 | 4.5 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 50°F | 22°F | 36.4°F | 0.47 | 3.1 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 30°F | 43.8°F | 1.57 | 3.5 | 6 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 40°F | 53.5°F | 2.25 | 0.7 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 47°F | 62.1°F | 1.80 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 53°F | 70.2°F | 0.83 | 0.0 | 4 | 14 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 50°F | 68.3°F | 0.61 | 0.0 | 5 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 75°F | 42°F | 58.4°F | 1.15 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 32°F | 45.7°F | 1.23 | 2.0 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 22°F | 34.0°F | 0.60 | 4.7 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 36°F | 14°F | 25.1°F | 0.37 | 6.7 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 32°F | 45.7°F | 11.50 | 30.3 | 54 | 35 | 179 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −11°C | −4.3°C | 7 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 4°C | −9°C | −2.8°C | 8 mm | 11 cm |
| March | 10°C | −5°C | 2.4°C | 12 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 14°C | −1°C | 6.6°C | 40 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 20°C | 4°C | 11.9°C | 57 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 25°C | 8°C | 16.7°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 12°C | 21.2°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 10°C | 20.2°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 5°C | 14.7°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 0°C | 7.6°C | 31 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 8°C | −5°C | 1.1°C | 15 mm | 12 cm |
| December | 2°C | −10°C | −3.8°C | 9 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00241102; 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 Bridger?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September 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 USC00241102.
When is the last frost in Bridger?
In Bridger, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 24 in half of years and before September 7 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 141 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 241 year in 10 before September 7; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 129 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 154 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bridger in zone 5a in ZIP code 59029, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bridger's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (20 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 USC00241102; 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 Bridger?
In a normal year in Bridger, 35 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 179 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 54 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 179a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 54a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1900) is 112°F, on July 13, 2026; the lowest is −37°F, on December 24, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1978, with 20.25 in; the snowiest season is 1983–84, with 80.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00241102; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00241102. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bridger?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bridger, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and April the cloudiest (66%).
| 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 Bridger need?
A normal year in Bridger brings 7,414 heating degree days, 38% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 414 cooling degree days, 54% 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 2,121 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,266 | 0 |
| February | 1,064 | 0 |
| March | 887 | 0 |
| April | 636 | 0 |
| May | 365 | 8 |
| June | 132 | 47 |
| July | 23 | 182 |
| August | 45 | 145 |
| September | 228 | 30 |
| October | 600 | 2 |
| November | 930 | 0 |
| December | 1,238 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,414 | 414 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00241102. 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 Bridger been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.6°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.0°F | +1.3°F | 6.38 | 30.0 |
| 2022 | 44.6°F | −1.1°F | 11.67 | 45.1 |
| 2023 | 46.4°F | +0.7°F | 13.78 | 36.0 |
| 2024 | 47.7°F | +2.0°F | 10.87 | 23.5 |
| 2025 | 46.6°F | +0.9°F | 11.76 | 41.0 |
Over 71 complete years from 1911 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.4°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00241102; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bridger's climate compare?
Bridger is warmer than 110 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 10. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.7°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bridger is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Bridger 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.
- Pryor, MT639 people · 19 mi E
- Fromberg, MT423 people · 5 mi N
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 Bridger's climate
What is the coldest month in Bridger?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Bridger?
Yes: 30 inches in a normal year, falling on 13 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (6.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bridger?
May, with 2.25 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.29 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bridger in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bridger in zone 5a in ZIP code 59029, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bridger's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Bridger?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; 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
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Joliet, MT11 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Red Lodge, MT20 miles from this station, 43.4°F a year
- Columbus, MT28 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Clark (3 mi NE), WY29 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made