Dickinson, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dickinson's normal year runs from 3°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 17.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.6°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 28°C, 446 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDickinson
- Station IDUSC00322188
- Location46.89°N 102.78°W
- Elevation2,460 ft (750 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population25,695
On October 23, the normal high in Dickinson is 53°F and the normal low 26°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 Dickinson.
- Jan 27° 3°
- Feb 31° 7°
- Mar 41° 17°
- Apr 54° 28°
- May 66° 40°
- Jun 75° 50°
- Jul 83° 55°
- Aug 83° 53°
- Sep 73° 43°
- Oct 57° 29°
- Nov 42° 17°
- Dec 30° 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 Dickinson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 3°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.17 in), the least in January (0.40 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 3°F | 14.6°F | 0.40 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 31°F | 7°F | 18.6°F | 0.53 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 41°F | 17°F | 29.1°F | 0.68 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 28°F | 41.2°F | 1.56 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 40°F | 52.7°F | 2.59 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 50°F | 62.4°F | 3.17 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 83°F | 55°F | 69.1°F | 2.69 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 83°F | 53°F | 67.9°F | 1.86 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 43°F | 57.5°F | 1.73 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 29°F | 42.9°F | 1.33 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 17°F | 29.6°F | 0.59 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 30°F | 7°F | 18.4°F | 0.43 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 29°F | 42.0°F | 17.56 | 91 | 20 | 201 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −16°C | −9.7°C | 10 mm |
| February | −1°C | −14°C | −7.4°C | 13 mm |
| March | 5°C | −8°C | −1.6°C | 17 mm |
| April | 12°C | −2°C | 5.1°C | 40 mm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.5°C | 66 mm |
| June | 24°C | 10°C | 16.9°C | 81 mm |
| July | 28°C | 13°C | 20.6°C | 68 mm |
| August | 28°C | 12°C | 19.9°C | 47 mm |
| September | 23°C | 6°C | 14.2°C | 44 mm |
| October | 14°C | −2°C | 6.1°C | 34 mm |
| November | 5°C | −8°C | −1.3°C | 15 mm |
| December | −1°C | −14°C | −7.6°C | 11 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Dickinson's own co-op station Dickinson Ranch Headquarters does: 44 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00322188; 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 Dickinson?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00322188.
When is the last frost in Dickinson?
In Dickinson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 20 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 22 in half of years and before September 8 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 201 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 8; 9 in 10 before October 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 123 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 141 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 10 in half of springs and before September 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dickinson in zone 4b in ZIP code 58601, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dickinson's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (20 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 USC00322188; 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 Dickinson?
In a normal year in Dickinson, 20 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 201 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 91 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 20a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 201a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 70high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 91a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 114°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −47°F, on January 31, 1893.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1998, with 24.04 in; the snowiest season is 1946–47, with 71.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00322188; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00322188. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dickinson?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dickinson, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 1.8 |
| February | 78% | 2.8 |
| March | 73% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.9 |
| June | 79% | 6.7 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 84% | 5.8 |
| September | 80% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 2.8 |
| November | 73% | 1.8 |
| December | 70% | 1.3 |
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 Dickinson need?
A normal year in Dickinson brings 8,755 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 406 cooling degree days, 55% 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 2,024 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,561 | 0 |
| February | 1,301 | 0 |
| March | 1,113 | 0 |
| April | 714 | 0 |
| May | 389 | 7 |
| June | 133 | 55 |
| July | 39 | 164 |
| August | 56 | 146 |
| September | 258 | 33 |
| October | 687 | 1 |
| November | 1,062 | 0 |
| December | 1,443 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,755 | 406 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00322188. 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 Dickinson's climate compare?
Dickinson is warmer than 58 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.0°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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.
- South Heart, ND414 people · 10 mi W
- Gladstone, ND279 people · 10 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.
What do Dickinson's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Dickinson. This page uses Dickinson; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson Ranch Headquarters USC00322193 | 21 mi N | 2,380 ft | 42.1°F | 4°F | 84°F | 17.6 | 44 | May 18 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Dickinson's climate
What is the coldest month in Dickinson?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 3°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Dickinson?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Dickinson's NOAA station; Dickinson's own co-op station Dickinson Ranch Headquarters records 44 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Dickinson?
June, with 3.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.40 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dickinson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dickinson in zone 4b in ZIP code 58601, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dickinson's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Dickinson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 20; 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
- Dickinson in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Theodore Roosevelt Airport, ND6 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Taylor, ND16 miles from this station, 42.5°F a year
- Richardton, ND22 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- New England, ND25 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made