Dunkirk (19 mi NNE), Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)'s normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 10.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.0°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 270 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDunkirk (19 mi NNE)
- Station IDUSC00242550
- Location48.72°N 111.48°W
- Elevation3,323 ft (1,013 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) is 53°F and the normal low 23°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dunkirk (19 mi NNE).
- Jan 29° 5°
- Feb 34° 7°
- Mar 43° 17°
- Apr 55° 27°
- May 65° 37°
- Jun 72° 45°
- Jul 82° 50°
- Aug 81° 49°
- Sep 70° 39°
- Oct 57° 26°
- Nov 41° 15°
- Dec 32° 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 at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (2.61 in), the least in February (0.28 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 5°F | 16.9°F | 0.33 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 34°F | 7°F | 20.2°F | 0.28 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 43°F | 17°F | 29.8°F | 0.42 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 27°F | 41.1°F | 0.99 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 37°F | 51.2°F | 1.67 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 72°F | 45°F | 58.7°F | 2.61 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 82°F | 50°F | 65.9°F | 1.10 | 6 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 81°F | 49°F | 64.9°F | 0.88 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| September | 70°F | 39°F | 54.6°F | 1.05 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 26°F | 41.3°F | 0.58 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 50 min |
| November | 41°F | 15°F | 28.2°F | 0.44 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| December | 32°F | 6°F | 18.9°F | 0.29 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 27°F | 41.0°F | 10.64 | 86 | 15 | 208 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −15°C | −8.4°C | 8 mm |
| February | 1°C | −14°C | −6.6°C | 7 mm |
| March | 6°C | −9°C | −1.2°C | 11 mm |
| April | 13°C | −3°C | 5.1°C | 25 mm |
| May | 18°C | 3°C | 10.7°C | 42 mm |
| June | 22°C | 7°C | 14.8°C | 66 mm |
| July | 28°C | 10°C | 18.8°C | 28 mm |
| August | 27°C | 9°C | 18.3°C | 22 mm |
| September | 21°C | 4°C | 12.6°C | 27 mm |
| October | 14°C | −3°C | 5.2°C | 15 mm |
| November | 5°C | −9°C | −2.1°C | 11 mm |
| December | 0°C | −15°C | −7.3°C | 7 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Goldbutte (7 mi N) (18 miles away), gets 86 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00242550; 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.
Which months are mildest at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00242550.
When is the last frost at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
In Dunkirk (19 mi NNE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 14 in half of years and before September 1 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 231 year in 10 after June 8; 9 in 10 after May 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 141 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before September 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 112 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 136 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 10 in half of springs and before September 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) in zone 4a in ZIP code 59444, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −32°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 Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00242550; 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 at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
In a normal year in Dunkirk (19 mi NNE), 15 days a year reach 90°F, 208 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 208a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 56high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1922) is 108°F, on August 5, 1961; the lowest is −48°F, on January 13, 2024.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1927, with 20.31 in; the snowiest season is 2017–18, with 80.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00242550; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00242550. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE), 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.3 |
| February | 69% | 2.3 |
| March | 70% | 3.5 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.9 |
| June | 78% | 6.6 |
| July | 87% | 7.1 |
| August | 85% | 5.8 |
| September | 79% | 4.2 |
| October | 73% | 2.6 |
| November | 67% | 1.5 |
| December | 62% | 1.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) record?
A normal year at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) brings 8,944 heating degree days, 66% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 220 cooling degree days, 76% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,600 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,490 | 0 |
| February | 1,254 | 0 |
| March | 1,091 | 0 |
| April | 719 | 0 |
| May | 430 | 4 |
| June | 207 | 18 |
| July | 70 | 98 |
| August | 91 | 88 |
| September | 324 | 12 |
| October | 735 | 0 |
| November | 1,106 | 0 |
| December | 1,427 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,944 | 220 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00242550. 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.
Have recent years at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 41.5°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.0°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.7°F | +0.7°F | 9.60 |
| 2022 | 40.3°F | −0.7°F | 9.19 |
| 2023 | 42.1°F | +1.1°F | 7.98 |
| 2024 | 41.6°F | +0.6°F | 11.25 |
| 2025 | 41.5°F | +0.5°F | 10.62 |
Over 66 complete years from 1922 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.8°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00242550; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)'s climate compare?
Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) is warmer than 19 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.0°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) 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 Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) share this climate record?
Eagle Creek Colony 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.
- Eagle Creek Colony, MT54 people · 12 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 Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Goldbutte (7 mi N) (18 miles away), records 86 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
June, with 2.61 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dunkirk (19 mi NNE) in zone 4a in ZIP code 59444, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −32°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come at Dunkirk (19 mi NNE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 8. Waiting until June 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sunburst, MT16 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Goldbutte (7 mi N), MT18 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Shelby, MT22 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Chester, MT27 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made