Cooperstown, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cooperstown's normal year runs from −3°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 22.0 inches of precipitation and 42 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.1°C, January lows of −19°C, July highs of 26°C, 559 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCooperstown
- Station IDUSC00321766
- Location47.41°N 98.04°W
- Elevation1,380 ft (421 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population960
On October 23, the normal high in Cooperstown is 49°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cooperstown.
- Jan 16° -3°
- Feb 21° 1°
- Mar 34° 15°
- Apr 52° 29°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 75° 52°
- Jul 79° 56°
- Aug 78° 53°
- Sep 69° 45°
- Oct 54° 32°
- Nov 36° 17°
- Dec 22° 4°
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 Cooperstown each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −3°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.75 in), the least in January (0.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°F | −3°F | 6.7°F | 0.47 | 8.4 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 21°F | 1°F | 10.8°F | 0.63 | 7.0 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 34°F | 15°F | 24.5°F | 0.74 | 7.5 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 29°F | 40.5°F | 1.19 | 2.5 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.7°F | 3.04 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 5 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 52°F | 63.6°F | 3.43 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 79°F | 56°F | 67.6°F | 3.75 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 78°F | 53°F | 65.8°F | 3.16 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 69°F | 45°F | 57.0°F | 2.09 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 32°F | 42.7°F | 1.98 | 1.1 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| November | 36°F | 17°F | 26.3°F | 0.78 | 5.9 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 22°F | 4°F | 13.0°F | 0.74 | 9.7 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 29°F | 39.3°F | 22.00 | 42.2 | 77 | 5 | 188 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9°C | −19°C | −14.1°C | 12 mm | 21 cm |
| February | −6°C | −17°C | −11.8°C | 16 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 1°C | −10°C | −4.2°C | 19 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 30 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 50 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 2°C | −8°C | −3.2°C | 20 mm | 15 cm |
| December | −5°C | −16°C | −10.6°C | 19 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00321766; 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 Cooperstown?
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 USC00321766.
When is the last frost in Cooperstown?
In Cooperstown, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 23 in half of years and before September 10 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 171 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 231 year in 10 before September 10; 9 in 10 before October 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 128 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 147 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 7 in half of springs and before October 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cooperstown in zone 4a in ZIP code 58425, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cooperstown's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (19 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00321766; 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 Cooperstown?
In a normal year in Cooperstown, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 188 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 77 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 188a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 99high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 77a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1903) is 118°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −47°F, on February 15, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 29.53 in; the snowiest season is 2010–11, with 73.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00321766; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00321766. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cooperstown?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cooperstown, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (86%) and November the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 1.8 |
| February | 86% | 3.0 |
| March | 78% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.7 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.0 |
| October | 69% | 2.5 |
| November | 67% | 1.6 |
| December | 68% | 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 much heating and cooling does Cooperstown need?
A normal year in Cooperstown brings 9,619 heating degree days, 79% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 307 cooling degree days, 66% 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 1,929 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,809 | 0 |
| February | 1,517 | 0 |
| March | 1,257 | 0 |
| April | 736 | 1 |
| May | 364 | 12 |
| June | 106 | 62 |
| July | 37 | 118 |
| August | 65 | 90 |
| September | 262 | 24 |
| October | 691 | 1 |
| November | 1,161 | 0 |
| December | 1,613 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,619 | 307 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00321766. 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 Cooperstown's climate compare?
Cooperstown is warmer than 19 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 64. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.3°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cooperstown 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 Cooperstown share this climate record?
7 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.
- Finley, ND391 people · 12 mi NE
- Hannaford, ND118 people · 9 mi SW
- Sharon, ND87 people · 15 mi NE
- Dazey, ND74 people · 17 mi SW
- Luverne, ND26 people · 12 mi SE
- Sibley, ND20 people · 13 mi S
- Jessie, ND3 people · 13 mi NW
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 Cooperstown's climate
What is the coldest month in Cooperstown?
January, with a normal high of 16°F and a normal low of −3°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Cooperstown?
Yes: 42 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cooperstown?
July, with 3.75 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cooperstown in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cooperstown in zone 4a in ZIP code 58425, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cooperstown's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Cooperstown?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 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
- Colgate, ND21 miles from this station, 38.7°F a year
- McHenry (3 mi W), ND30 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Valley City, ND31 miles from this station, 40.5°F a year
- Mayville, ND33 miles from this station, 39.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made