Culbertson, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Culbertson's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 14.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.3°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 30°C, 369 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCulbertson
- Station IDUSC00242122
- Location48.15°N 104.51°W
- Elevation1,940 ft (591 m)
- Population706
On October 22, the normal high in Culbertson is 55°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Culbertson.
- Jan 24° 2°
- Feb 30° 7°
- Mar 44° 18°
- Apr 59° 30°
- May 71° 40°
- Jun 79° 50°
- Jul 87° 56°
- Aug 87° 54°
- Sep 76° 44°
- Oct 59° 31°
- Nov 41° 18°
- Dec 28° 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 Culbertson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in June (2.88 in), the least in February (0.31 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 2°F | 13.3°F | 0.36 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 30°F | 7°F | 18.3°F | 0.31 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 44°F | 18°F | 31.0°F | 0.49 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 30°F | 44.7°F | 0.94 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 71°F | 40°F | 55.5°F | 2.25 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 79°F | 50°F | 64.6°F | 2.88 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 87°F | 56°F | 71.1°F | 2.73 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 54°F | 70.0°F | 1.40 | 6 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 76°F | 44°F | 59.6°F | 1.33 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 31°F | 45.0°F | 0.91 | 5 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 18°F | 29.0°F | 0.49 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 28°F | 7°F | 17.2°F | 0.43 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 30°F | 43.3°F | 14.52 | 74 | 31 | 191 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −17°C | −10.4°C | 9 mm |
| February | −1°C | −14°C | −7.6°C | 8 mm |
| March | 6°C | −8°C | −0.6°C | 12 mm |
| April | 15°C | −1°C | 7.1°C | 24 mm |
| May | 22°C | 5°C | 13.1°C | 57 mm |
| June | 26°C | 10°C | 18.1°C | 73 mm |
| July | 30°C | 13°C | 21.7°C | 69 mm |
| August | 30°C | 12°C | 21.1°C | 36 mm |
| September | 24°C | 6°C | 15.3°C | 34 mm |
| October | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 23 mm |
| November | 5°C | −8°C | −1.7°C | 12 mm |
| December | −2°C | −14°C | −8.2°C | 11 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00242122; 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 Culbertson?
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 USC00242122.
When is the last frost in Culbertson?
In Culbertson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 21 in half of years and after June 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before September 6 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 211 year in 10 after June 3; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before September 6; 9 in 10 before September 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 120 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 138 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 10 in half of springs and before September 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Culbertson in zone 4a in ZIP code 59218, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Culbertson's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −32°F (30 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 Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00242122; 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 Culbertson?
In a normal year in Culbertson, 31 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 191 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 74 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 191a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 70high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 74a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1900) is 113°F, on July 5, 1937; the lowest is −57°F, on February 16, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1906, with 22.38 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 39.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00242122; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00242122. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Culbertson?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Culbertson, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 1.6 |
| February | 83% | 2.8 |
| March | 77% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 77% | 6.5 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.6 |
| September | 78% | 4.1 |
| October | 73% | 2.6 |
| November | 72% | 1.6 |
| December | 70% | 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 Culbertson need?
A normal year in Culbertson brings 8,403 heating degree days, 56% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 522 cooling degree days, 42% 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 2,350 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,604 | 0 |
| February | 1,306 | 0 |
| March | 1,056 | 0 |
| April | 611 | 1 |
| May | 306 | 13 |
| June | 86 | 73 |
| July | 17 | 206 |
| August | 31 | 186 |
| September | 203 | 41 |
| October | 622 | 2 |
| November | 1,080 | 0 |
| December | 1,482 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,403 | 522 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00242122. 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 Culbertson been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.9°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.3°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2024 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 44.8°F | +1.5°F | 11.19 |
| 2025 | 43.9°F | +0.6°F | 14.23 |
Over 88 complete years from 1902 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.7°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00242122; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Culbertson's climate compare?
Culbertson is warmer than 53 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 57. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.3°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Culbertson is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Culbertson share this climate record?
Bainville has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Bainville, MT261 people · 13 mi E
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 Culbertson's climate
What is the coldest month in Culbertson?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 56°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Culbertson?
June, with 2.88 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Culbertson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Culbertson in zone 4a in ZIP code 59218, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Culbertson's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −32°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Culbertson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 21; in one year in ten it comes after June 3. Waiting until June 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Medicine Lake, MT23 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Wolf Point (29 mi ENE), MT29 miles from this station, 40.5°F a year
- Sidney, MT34 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Wolf Point (34 mi NE), MT40 miles from this station, 41.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made