Elm Springs (3 mi ESE), South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)'s normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 18.6 inches of precipitation and 37 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.1°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 31°C, 473 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElm Springs (3 mi ESE)
- Station IDUSC00392647
- Location44.32°N 102.47°W
- Elevation2,645 ft (806 m)
On October 24, the normal high in Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) is 57°F and the normal low 30°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 Elm Springs (3 mi ESE).
- Jan 32° 10°
- Feb 36° 12°
- Mar 47° 22°
- Apr 58° 31°
- May 68° 43°
- Jun 79° 53°
- Jul 88° 60°
- Aug 87° 57°
- Sep 78° 47°
- Oct 61° 34°
- Nov 46° 21°
- Dec 35° 13°
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 Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.89 in), the least in January (0.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 10°F | 21.2°F | 0.45 | 4.4 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 36°F | 12°F | 24.0°F | 0.59 | 5.6 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 22°F | 34.7°F | 1.01 | 6.3 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 31°F | 44.5°F | 2.01 | 6.6 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 43°F | 55.5°F | 3.89 | 0.8 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 53°F | 66.3°F | 3.11 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 60°F | 73.8°F | 2.06 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 87°F | 57°F | 72.3°F | 1.55 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 78°F | 47°F | 62.3°F | 1.26 | 0.0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 34°F | 47.4°F | 1.57 | 3.0 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 21°F | 33.8°F | 0.60 | 3.9 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 13°F | 23.7°F | 0.51 | 6.1 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 34°F | 46.6°F | 18.61 | 36.7 | 81 | 37 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −12°C | −6.0°C | 11 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 2°C | −11°C | −4.4°C | 15 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 8°C | −6°C | 1.5°C | 26 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 51 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 99 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 26°C | 12°C | 19.1°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 15°C | 23.2°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 14°C | 22.4°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 8°C | 16.8°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 1°C | 8.6°C | 40 mm | 8 cm |
| November | 8°C | −6°C | 1.0°C | 15 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 2°C | −11°C | −4.6°C | 13 mm | 15 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00392647; 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 Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00392647.
When is the last frost at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
In Elm Springs (3 mi ESE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 18 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 81 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) in zone 4b in ZIP code 57791, 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 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (23 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 South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00392647; 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 Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
In a normal year in Elm Springs (3 mi ESE), 37 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 81 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 51high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 81a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1923) is 112°F, on July 16, 2006; the lowest is −44°F, on January 22, 1927.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 28.69 in; the snowiest season is 1985–86, with 60.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00392647; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00392647. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE), 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.0 |
| February | 77% | 3.0 |
| March | 74% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.1 |
| May | 74% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.9 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.1 |
| November | 76% | 2.1 |
| December | 74% | 1.6 |
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 Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) record?
A normal year at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) brings 7,401 heating degree days, 38% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 741 cooling degree days, 18% 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 2,699 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,358 | 0 |
| February | 1,149 | 0 |
| March | 941 | 0 |
| April | 615 | 1 |
| May | 314 | 20 |
| June | 73 | 112 |
| July | 10 | 283 |
| August | 20 | 245 |
| September | 158 | 77 |
| October | 549 | 5 |
| November | 935 | 0 |
| December | 1,280 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,401 | 741 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00392647. 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 Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 47.2°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.6°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 46.4°F | −0.2°F | 13.52 | 16.2 |
| 2023 | 47.2°F | +0.6°F | 21.36 | 35.5 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00392647. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)'s climate compare?
Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) is warmer than 66 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.6°F is warmer than 26%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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.
Questions about Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
Yes: 37 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (6.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
May, with 3.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elm Springs (3 mi ESE) in zone 4b in ZIP code 57791, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Elm Springs (3 mi ESE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wasta, SD17 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Plainview (6 mi SSW), SD19 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Red Owl, SD27 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Hereford (12 mi SW), SD32 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made