Divide, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Divide's primary NOAA station, DIVIDE.
The climate verdict for Divide
Dryness leads the climate profile for Divide, Montana, with 11.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 41°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 41°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 11.3"
- annual precipitation · 15" snow
- 89 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Divide: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00242421 · Divide, MT 41°F mean · 11.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 41°F
- RANK-COOL #480
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Millegan
- PRCP-ARID 11.3"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,841 HDD
- STN-1 USC00242421
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Millegan, MT (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MT station list.
- Divide (this station) 41°F
- Hot Lifton Pumping, ID 41°F
- Near Millegan, MT 41°F
- Near Holden Village, WA 41°F
- Near Chilly Barton F…, ID 41°F
Divide sits in Montana, the #6 coldest U.S. state at 43.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Divide
Divide: 13/100 · grade F
Divide publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Divide, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 15.2 inches/year | 56/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 11.3 in · 23.7 from 35 in | 16/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 40.9°F · 26.6° from 67.5°F | 7/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 218 calendar days | 6/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 89 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Divide · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Divide's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 63.9°F
- Coldest month
- 20.0°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Divide sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Divide's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 93%
- Among 6,861 stations, Divide sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 91%
- Divide's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 53rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Divide compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Divide's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F (0°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 0.3" | 2.4" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.6" | 2.0" | 27.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 45°F (7°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.7" | 2.6" | 29.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 52°F (11°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.9" | 0.8" | 25.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 62°F (17°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.8" | 0.1" | 12.2 | 0.1 |
| June | 70°F (21°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.1" | 0.0" | 2.9 | 0.3 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 4.6 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 0.8 | 2.1 |
| September | 70°F (21°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 1.1" | 0.1" | 10.1 | 0.1 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 0.8" | 0.9" | 24.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (5°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 0.5" | 1.7" | 28.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 31°F (0°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 0.5" | 4.6" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 218 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 8°F near December 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 7, then returns to freezing around October 3, covering 218 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 6, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 15 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 60 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 31 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 37°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Divide.
Where Divide Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 218 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Divide earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 2.4"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
2.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
8.2 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.7"
3.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
3.2 days with precipitation
Divide runs a summer-peaked wet season
37% of Divide's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 2.1", on a 43.9°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, May, September, taking 44% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 12% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Divide is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 59 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 16% of the calendar, and they carry 11.3" between them. At roughly 0.19 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is June at about 10 wet days; the driest is February at about 3.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Divide
Divide averages 15.2 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 11 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 15.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 11 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 13% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 7
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 10
50% probability date
Growing Season
89 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,841
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
102
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Divide on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (41°F here).
- Danforth, ME 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Fessenden, ND 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Munising, MI 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Ottertail, MN 41°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (11.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Murphy, ID 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Bowie, AZ 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Lordsburg, NM 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Northway, AK 11.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Divide
heating led · dry · mid swing
Divide's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,841 annual heating degree days against 102 for cooling. Its 43.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 89 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Divide coldest normal
December
Averaging 20°F (-7°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Divide typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Divide snow peak
December
Divide averages 15.2 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Divide's climate
How much snow does Divide get? ▼
How cold does Divide get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Divide? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Divide's primary station: DIVIDE (USC00242421). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Divide; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Divide comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.