Columbia, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Columbia's normal year runs from 0°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 22.5 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.1°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 28°C, 570 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationColumbia (8 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00391873
- Location45.72°N 98.30°W
- Elevation1,305 ft (398 m)
- From the center8 miles
- Population157
On October 23, the normal high in Columbia is 53°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Columbia.
- Jan 22° 0°
- Feb 26° 5°
- Mar 39° 18°
- Apr 55° 31°
- May 68° 45°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 83° 60°
- Aug 81° 57°
- Sep 73° 47°
- Oct 58° 33°
- Nov 41° 19°
- Dec 27° 7°
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 Columbia each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 0°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.62 in), the least in February (0.44 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 0°F | 10.9°F | 0.47 | 7.7 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 5°F | 15.4°F | 0.44 | 6.8 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 18°F | 28.5°F | 0.87 | 6.1 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 31°F | 43.1°F | 1.77 | 3.6 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 45°F | 56.5°F | 3.41 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 66.7°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 60°F | 71.5°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 81°F | 57°F | 69.2°F | 2.62 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 47°F | 59.9°F | 2.38 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 33°F | 45.3°F | 2.11 | 0.7 | 7 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 19°F | 30.0°F | 0.68 | 5.7 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 27°F | 7°F | 17.1°F | 0.50 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 32°F | 42.9°F | 22.46 | 37.8 | 85 | 9 | 179 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −18°C | −11.7°C | 12 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −3°C | −15°C | −9.2°C | 11 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −1.9°C | 22 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 45 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.7°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.5°C | 60 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 54 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5°C | −7°C | −1.1°C | 17 mm | 14 cm |
| December | −3°C | −14°C | −8.3°C | 13 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00391873; 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 Columbia?
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 USC00391873.
When is the last frost in Columbia?
In Columbia, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 in half of years and before September 18 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 71 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 162 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Columbia in zone 4a in ZIP code 57433, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Columbia's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (28 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 USC00391873; 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 Columbia?
In a normal year in Columbia, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 179 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 85 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 179a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 85high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 85a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 108°F, on July 10, 1966; the lowest is −45°F, on February 8, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2009, with 32.12 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 79.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00391873; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00391873. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Columbia?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Columbia, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 1.9 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 75% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.5 |
| July | 85% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 2.8 |
| November | 73% | 1.9 |
| December | 70% | 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 Columbia need?
A normal year in Columbia brings 8,589 heating degree days, 60% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 558 cooling degree days, 39% fewer 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 2,436 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,675 | 0 |
| February | 1,387 | 0 |
| March | 1,132 | 0 |
| April | 656 | 1 |
| May | 287 | 23 |
| June | 61 | 113 |
| July | 15 | 216 |
| August | 30 | 159 |
| September | 197 | 43 |
| October | 614 | 2 |
| November | 1,050 | 0 |
| December | 1,485 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,589 | 558 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00391873. 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 Columbia been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 44.0°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.9°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.9°F | +2.0°F | 23.58 | – |
| 2024 | 45.4°F | +2.5°F | 20.56 | – |
| 2025 | 44.0°F | +1.1°F | 23.91 | – |
Over 50 complete years from 1952 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 USC00391873; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Columbia's climate compare?
Columbia is warmer than 10 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 47. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.9°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Columbia 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 Columbia 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.
- Claremont, SD106 people · 14 mi E
- Westport, SD83 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 Columbia's climate
What is the coldest month in Columbia?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 0°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Columbia?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 29 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (7.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Columbia?
July, with 3.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Columbia in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Columbia in zone 4a in ZIP code 57433, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Columbia's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Columbia?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; 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
- Aberdeen, SD19 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Ellendale, ND22 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Britton, SD27 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Andover, SD29 miles from this station, 44.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made