Cedar Butte, South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Cedar Butte's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 20.4 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 32°C, 518 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCedar Butte
- Station IDUSC00391539
- Location43.58°N 101.02°W
- Elevation2,355 ft (718 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Cedar Butte is 60°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cedar Butte.
- Jan 35° 12°
- Feb 39° 15°
- Mar 50° 24°
- Apr 59° 34°
- May 70° 45°
- Jun 81° 55°
- Jul 90° 62°
- Aug 88° 60°
- Sep 80° 50°
- Oct 64° 37°
- Nov 49° 25°
- Dec 38° 16°
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 Cedar Butte each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.46 in), the least in December (0.44 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 12°F | 23.7°F | 0.46 | 6.6 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 39°F | 15°F | 26.6°F | 0.60 | 8.0 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 50°F | 24°F | 36.7°F | 0.88 | 6.0 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 34°F | 46.4°F | 2.37 | 5.6 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 45°F | 57.5°F | 3.44 | 0.4 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 81°F | 55°F | 67.7°F | 3.46 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 90°F | 62°F | 75.6°F | 2.62 | 0.0 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 88°F | 60°F | 73.9°F | 2.17 | 0.0 | 7 | 15 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 80°F | 50°F | 64.9°F | 1.63 | 0.0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 37°F | 50.1°F | 1.79 | 1.6 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 25°F | 36.7°F | 0.55 | 5.1 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 38°F | 16°F | 26.5°F | 0.44 | 6.7 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 36°F | 48.9°F | 20.41 | 40.0 | 79 | 45 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −11°C | −4.6°C | 12 mm | 17 cm |
| February | 4°C | −10°C | −3.0°C | 15 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 10°C | −5°C | 2.6°C | 22 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 8.0°C | 60 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 14.2°C | 87 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 16°C | 24.2°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 15°C | 23.3°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 10°C | 18.3°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 3°C | 10.1°C | 45 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 9°C | −4°C | 2.6°C | 14 mm | 13 cm |
| December | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 11 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00391539; 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 Cedar Butte?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00391539.
When is the last frost at Cedar Butte?
In Cedar Butte, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 22 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 61 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 22; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 169 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cedar Butte in zone 5a in ZIP code 57579, 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 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00391539; 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 Cedar Butte?
In a normal year in Cedar Butte, 45 days a year reach 90°F (9 of them 100°F or more), 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 79 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 45a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 42high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 79a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00391539.
How sunny is it at Cedar Butte?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Cedar Butte, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.0 |
| February | 74% | 2.9 |
| March | 72% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 75% | 6.1 |
| June | 82% | 6.9 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.2 |
| November | 76% | 2.2 |
| December | 72% | 1.7 |
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 Cedar Butte record?
A normal year at Cedar Butte brings 6,763 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 916 cooling degree days, 1% more 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 3,060 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,282 | 0 |
| February | 1,075 | 0 |
| March | 878 | 0 |
| April | 563 | 3 |
| May | 263 | 30 |
| June | 55 | 136 |
| July | 5 | 332 |
| August | 13 | 290 |
| September | 116 | 112 |
| October | 473 | 11 |
| November | 849 | 0 |
| December | 1,192 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,763 | 916 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00391539. 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 Cedar Butte's climate compare?
Cedar Butte is warmer than 94 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 30. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.9°F is warmer than 36%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cedar Butte is Dfa: continental, no dry season, 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 Cedar Butte share this climate record?
3 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.
- White River, SD512 people · 14 mi E
- Corn Creek, SD147 people · 10 mi W
- Norris, SD116 people · 11 mi SW
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 Cedar Butte's climate
What is the coldest month at Cedar Butte?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow at Cedar Butte?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Cedar Butte?
June, with 3.46 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cedar Butte in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cedar Butte in zone 5a in ZIP code 57579, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Cedar Butte?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 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
- Longvalley, SD25 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Mission, SD26 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Murdo, SD27 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Wood, SD27 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made