Cavalier, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cavalier's normal year runs from −4°F January nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 20.0 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.4°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 25°C, 509 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCavalier (7 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00321435
- Location48.86°N 97.70°W
- Elevation899 ft (274 m)
- Population1,220
On October 22, the normal high in Cavalier is 48°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cavalier.
- Jan 13° -4°
- Feb 18° -1°
- Mar 31° 13°
- Apr 49° 29°
- May 65° 41°
- Jun 74° 53°
- Jul 78° 57°
- Aug 77° 54°
- Sep 68° 45°
- Oct 52° 32°
- Nov 34° 17°
- 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 Cavalier each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.77 in), the least in January (0.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°F | −4°F | 4.4°F | 0.34 | 7.4 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 18°F | −1°F | 8.5°F | 0.34 | 4.6 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 31°F | 13°F | 22.1°F | 0.71 | 5.7 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 49°F | 29°F | 38.9°F | 1.11 | 3.4 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 41°F | 52.7°F | 2.87 | 0.9 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 53°F | 63.2°F | 3.77 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 78°F | 57°F | 67.1°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 77°F | 54°F | 65.5°F | 2.25 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| September | 68°F | 45°F | 56.5°F | 2.31 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 52°F | 32°F | 42.1°F | 1.66 | 2.5 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| November | 34°F | 17°F | 25.5°F | 0.72 | 5.9 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| December | 20°F | 3°F | 11.4°F | 0.50 | 8.7 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 48°F | 28°F | 38.1°F | 20.02 | 39.1 | 86 | 4 | 192 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −10°C | −20°C | −15.3°C | 9 mm | 19 cm |
| February | −8°C | −18°C | −13.1°C | 9 mm | 12 cm |
| March | −1°C | −10°C | −5.5°C | 18 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 10°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 28 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 18°C | 5°C | 11.5°C | 73 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.3°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 14°C | 19.5°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 12°C | 18.6°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 42 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 1°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 18 mm | 15 cm |
| December | −7°C | −16°C | −11.4°C | 13 mm | 22 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00321435; 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 Cavalier?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00321435.
When is the last frost in Cavalier?
In Cavalier, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 17 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 121 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cavalier in zone 4a in ZIP code 58220, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cavalier's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −30°F (27 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 USC00321435; 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 Cavalier?
In a normal year in Cavalier, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 192 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 192a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 110high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1934) is 110°F, on July 11, 1936; the lowest is −41°F, on January 22, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1964, with 26.34 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 72.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00321435; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00321435. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cavalier?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cavalier, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (87%) and November the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 1.6 |
| February | 87% | 2.9 |
| March | 80% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 80% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 3.8 |
| October | 67% | 2.4 |
| November | 64% | 1.4 |
| December | 65% | 1.1 |
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 Cavalier need?
A normal year in Cavalier brings 10,022 heating degree days, 87% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 273 cooling degree days, 70% 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 1,853 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,877 | 0 |
| February | 1,582 | 0 |
| March | 1,332 | 0 |
| April | 783 | 0 |
| May | 393 | 12 |
| June | 112 | 57 |
| July | 42 | 106 |
| August | 65 | 79 |
| September | 275 | 19 |
| October | 713 | 1 |
| November | 1,187 | 0 |
| December | 1,662 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,022 | 273 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00321435. 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 Cavalier been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 39.5°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 38.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.4°F | +3.3°F | 17.41 | 24.8 |
| 2022 | 36.2°F | −1.9°F | 24.53 | 63.7 |
| 2023 | 39.5°F | +1.4°F | 11.56 | 52.7 |
| 2024 | 42.0°F | +3.9°F | 24.62 | 29.5 |
| 2025 | 39.5°F | +1.4°F | 19.41 | 35.2 |
Over 72 complete years from 1935 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.3°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 USC00321435; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cavalier's climate compare?
Cavalier is warmer than 5 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 38.1°F is warmer than 3%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cavalier is Dwb: continental, dry-winter, 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 Cavalier share this climate record?
6 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.
- Walhalla, ND867 people · 11 mi W
- Neche, ND333 people · 11 mi NE
- Mountain, ND81 people · 14 mi SW
- Bathgate, ND47 people · 10 mi E
- Hamilton, ND42 people · 12 mi E
- Hensel, ND32 people · 12 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 Cavalier's climate
What is the coldest month in Cavalier?
January, with a normal high of 13°F and a normal low of −4°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Cavalier?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (8.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cavalier?
June, with 3.77 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cavalier in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cavalier in zone 4a in ZIP code 58220, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cavalier's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −30°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Cavalier?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 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
- Pembina, ND22 miles from this station, 38.4°F a year
- Langdon, ND30 miles from this station, 37.1°F a year
- Grafton, ND33 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Hallock, MN35 miles from this station, 39.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made