Carter (14 mi W), Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Carter (14 mi W)'s normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 13.8 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.6°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 29°C, 351 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCarter (14 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00241525
- Location47.79°N 111.22°W
- Elevation3,450 ft (1,052 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Carter (14 mi W) is 53°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carter (14 mi W).
- Jan 33° 13°
- Feb 36° 14°
- Mar 45° 21°
- Apr 55° 29°
- May 65° 38°
- Jun 73° 46°
- Jul 85° 51°
- Aug 83° 50°
- Sep 72° 43°
- Oct 56° 32°
- Nov 43° 23°
- 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 at Carter (14 mi W) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in June (2.61 in), the least in February (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 13°F | 23.2°F | 0.46 | 7.1 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 36°F | 14°F | 24.9°F | 0.43 | 6.9 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 45°F | 21°F | 32.9°F | 0.59 | 7.5 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 29°F | 42.2°F | 1.60 | 5.3 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 38°F | 51.5°F | 2.48 | 1.6 | 9 | <1 | 7 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 73°F | 46°F | 59.4°F | 2.61 | 0.2 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 85°F | 51°F | 67.8°F | 1.19 | 0.0 | 6 | 12 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 50°F | 66.6°F | 1.19 | 0.0 | 5 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 72°F | 43°F | 57.0°F | 1.18 | 0.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 32°F | 44.2°F | 1.05 | 2.1 | 5 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 23°F | 32.9°F | 0.58 | 6.1 | 4 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 34°F | 15°F | 24.2°F | 0.44 | 5.7 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 31°F | 43.9°F | 13.80 | 42.5 | 70 | 27 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −10°C | −4.9°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −3.9°C | 11 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.5°C | 15 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 41 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 18°C | 3°C | 10.8°C | 63 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 23°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 66 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 29°C | 11°C | 19.9°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 10°C | 19.2°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 6°C | 13.9°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 27 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 6°C | −5°C | 0.5°C | 15 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 1°C | −10°C | −4.3°C | 11 mm | 14 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00241525; 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 Carter (14 mi W)?
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 USC00241525.
When is the last frost at Carter (14 mi W)?
In Carter (14 mi W), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 23 in half of years and before September 8 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 231 year in 10 after June 9; 9 in 10 after May 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 231 year in 10 before September 8; 9 in 10 before October 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 120 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 145 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carter (14 mi W) in zone 4b in ZIP code 59440, 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 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (24 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 USC00241525; 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 Carter (14 mi W)?
In a normal year in Carter (14 mi W), 27 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 70 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 27a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 42high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 70a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 18a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1982) is 107°F, on July 19, 2007; the lowest is −37°F, on January 12, 2024.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 19.13 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 67.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00241525; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00241525. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Carter (14 mi W)?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Carter (14 mi W), 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 1.5 |
| February | 73% | 2.5 |
| March | 71% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.6 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 85% | 5.9 |
| September | 78% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 2.7 |
| November | 68% | 1.6 |
| December | 66% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Carter (14 mi W) record?
A normal year at Carter (14 mi W) brings 7,962 heating degree days, 48% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 301 cooling degree days, 67% 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 1,824 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,297 | 0 |
| February | 1,123 | 0 |
| March | 994 | 0 |
| April | 686 | 0 |
| May | 424 | 4 |
| June | 190 | 24 |
| July | 47 | 133 |
| August | 66 | 116 |
| September | 263 | 23 |
| October | 645 | 2 |
| November | 963 | 0 |
| December | 1,265 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,962 | 301 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00241525. 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 Carter (14 mi W) been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 45.4°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.9°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.9°F | +1.0°F | 9.38 | – |
| 2022 | 44.3°F | +0.4°F | 11.75 | – |
| 2024 | 45.4°F | +1.5°F | 13.86 | – |
Over 33 complete years from 1983 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.3°F per century (+0.01°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00241525; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Carter (14 mi W)'s climate compare?
Carter (14 mi W) is warmer than 71 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.9°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Carter (14 mi W) 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 Carter (14 mi W) share this climate record?
Floweree has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Floweree, MT17 people · 10 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 Carter (14 mi W)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Carter (14 mi W)?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow at Carter (14 mi W)?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (7.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Carter (14 mi W)?
June, with 2.61 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carter (14 mi W) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carter (14 mi W) in zone 4b in ZIP code 59440, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come at Carter (14 mi W)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 9. Waiting until June 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Brady 27 ENE (The Knees), MT20 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Great Falls 16ST, MT21 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Great Falls, MT23 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Fort Benton, MT26 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made