Cooke City, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cooke City's normal year runs from 6°F December nights to 74°F July afternoons, with 26.6 inches of precipitation and 213 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 1.2°C, December lows of −14°C, July highs of 23°C, 675 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCooke City (2 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00241995
- Location45.01°N 109.98°W
- Elevation7,483 ft (2,281 m)
- Population (census place)94
On October 23, the normal high in Cooke City is 43°F and the normal low 22°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cooke City.
- Jan 24° 6°
- Feb 29° 7°
- Mar 37° 14°
- Apr 43° 21°
- May 54° 28°
- Jun 64° 35°
- Jul 74° 39°
- Aug 71° 38°
- Sep 62° 31°
- Oct 47° 24°
- Nov 31° 13°
- Dec 22° 6°
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 Cooke City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 74°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.16 in), the least in September (1.74 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 6°F | 15.0°F | 2.23 | 38.8 | 17 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 7°F | 18.0°F | 2.04 | 29.7 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 14°F | 25.3°F | 1.94 | 31.0 | 13 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 43°F | 21°F | 32.2°F | 2.29 | 22.4 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 54°F | 28°F | 40.9°F | 2.85 | 9.0 | 14 | <1 | 25 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 64°F | 35°F | 49.2°F | 3.16 | 3.4 | 15 | <1 | 11 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 74°F | 39°F | 56.3°F | 1.97 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 71°F | 38°F | 54.4°F | 1.82 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 62°F | 31°F | 46.6°F | 1.74 | 1.0 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 47°F | 24°F | 35.5°F | 2.23 | 13.4 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 11 h |
| November | 31°F | 13°F | 22.1°F | 2.17 | 26.5 | 13 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 22°F | 6°F | 14.3°F | 2.13 | 37.9 | 17 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 47°F | 22°F | 34.2°F | 26.57 | 213.1 | 159 | <1 | 272 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −15°C | −9.4°C | 57 mm | 99 cm |
| February | −2°C | −14°C | −7.8°C | 52 mm | 75 cm |
| March | 3°C | −10°C | −3.7°C | 49 mm | 79 cm |
| April | 6°C | −6°C | 0.1°C | 58 mm | 57 cm |
| May | 12°C | −2°C | 4.9°C | 72 mm | 23 cm |
| June | 18°C | 1°C | 9.6°C | 80 mm | 9 cm |
| July | 23°C | 4°C | 13.5°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22°C | 3°C | 12.4°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17°C | 0°C | 8.1°C | 44 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 57 mm | 34 cm |
| November | −1°C | −10°C | −5.5°C | 55 mm | 67 cm |
| December | −5°C | −14°C | −9.8°C | 54 mm | 96 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00241995; 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 Cooke City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in July and August. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00241995.
How hot and how cold does it get in Cooke City?
In a normal year in Cooke City, a 90°F day is rare, 272 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 159 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 272a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 101high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 159a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 65a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1967) is 90°F, on July 13, 2002; the lowest is −43°F, on February 5, 1982.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 31.20 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 418.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00241995; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00241995. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cooke City?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cooke City, 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 Cooke City need?
A normal year in Cooke City brings 11,222 heating degree days, 2.1 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Eleven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 463 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,550 | 0 |
| February | 1,316 | 0 |
| March | 1,231 | 0 |
| April | 984 | 0 |
| May | 746 | 0 |
| June | 474 | 0 |
| July | 271 | 1 |
| August | 329 | 0 |
| September | 552 | 0 |
| October | 913 | 0 |
| November | 1,287 | 0 |
| December | 1,570 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 11,222 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00241995. 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 Cooke City's climate compare?
Cooke City is warmer than 0 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 127. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 34.2°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cooke City is Dfc: continental, no dry season, cool 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.
Questions about Cooke City's climate
What is the coldest month in Cooke City?
December, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (74°F by day, 39°F at night).
Does it snow in Cooke City?
Yes: 213 inches in a normal year, falling on 91 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (38.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cooke City?
June, with 3.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 1.74 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cooke City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cooke City in zone 4a in ZIP code 59081, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cooke City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Silver Gate, MT1 miles from this station, 34.3°F a year
- Lamar Ranger Station, WY15 miles from this station, 37.3°F a year
- Mystic Lake, MT21 miles from this station, 41.6°F a year
- Tower Falls, WY22 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made