Faith, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Faith's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 16.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 30°C, 409 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFaith Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00094056
- Location45.03°N 102.02°W
- Elevation2,580 ft (786 m)
- Population354
On October 23, the normal high in Faith is 55°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Faith.
- Jan 29° 10°
- Feb 33° 13°
- Mar 44° 22°
- Apr 56° 32°
- May 67° 43°
- Jun 78° 53°
- Jul 87° 59°
- Aug 85° 58°
- Sep 76° 48°
- Oct 59° 35°
- Nov 44° 23°
- Dec 32° 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 in Faith each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.20 in), the least in November (0.36 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 10°F | 19.6°F | 0.38 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 33°F | 13°F | 22.6°F | 0.50 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 44°F | 22°F | 33.3°F | 0.70 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 32°F | 44.3°F | 1.75 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 43°F | 55.0°F | 3.20 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 78°F | 53°F | 65.3°F | 2.68 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 59°F | 73.0°F | 2.15 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 58°F | 71.3°F | 1.43 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 76°F | 48°F | 61.9°F | 1.18 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 35°F | 46.8°F | 1.36 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 23°F | 33.3°F | 0.36 | 5 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 32°F | 13°F | 22.7°F | 0.40 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 34°F | 45.8°F | 16.09 | 96 | 31 | 168 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −12°C | −6.9°C | 10 mm |
| February | 0°C | −11°C | −5.2°C | 13 mm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 0.7°C | 18 mm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 44 mm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.8°C | 81 mm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.5°C | 68 mm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.8°C | 55 mm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 21.8°C | 36 mm |
| September | 24°C | 9°C | 16.6°C | 30 mm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 35 mm |
| November | 7°C | −5°C | 0.7°C | 9 mm |
| December | 0°C | −10°C | −5.2°C | 10 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Faith's own co-op station Faith station does: 56 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094056; 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 Faith?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September 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 USW00094056.
When is the last frost in Faith?
In Faith, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 19 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 71 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Faith in zone 4b in ZIP code 57626, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Faith's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°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 South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00094056; 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 Faith?
In a normal year in Faith, 31 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 168 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 96 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 168a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 96a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094056.
How sunny is Faith?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Faith, 4.2 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% | 1.9 |
| February | 79% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 74% | 6.0 |
| June | 80% | 6.8 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.0 |
| September | 82% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.0 |
| November | 75% | 2.0 |
| December | 73% | 1.5 |
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 Faith need?
A normal year in Faith brings 7,631 heating degree days, 42% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 657 cooling degree days, 28% 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 2,566 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,407 | 0 |
| February | 1,187 | 0 |
| March | 985 | 0 |
| April | 622 | 1 |
| May | 323 | 13 |
| June | 82 | 92 |
| July | 8 | 256 |
| August | 22 | 218 |
| September | 165 | 72 |
| October | 568 | 4 |
| November | 953 | 0 |
| December | 1,310 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,631 | 657 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094056. 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 Faith been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 47.0°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.8°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.0°F | +2.2°F | 11.34 |
| 2023 | 47.0°F | +1.2°F | 22.31 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094056. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Faith's climate compare?
Faith is warmer than 53 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 2. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.8°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Faith 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.
What do Faith's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Faith. This page uses Faith Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faith station USC00392852 | 1 mi SW | 2,592 ft | 46.4°F | 11°F | 87°F | 19.1 | 56 | May 6 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Faith's climate
What is the coldest month in Faith?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Faith?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Faith's NOAA station; Faith's own co-op station Faith station records 56 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Faith?
May, with 3.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 0.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Faith in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Faith in zone 4b in ZIP code 57626, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Faith's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Faith?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 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
- Dupree, SD21 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Glad Valley (2 mi W), SD27 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Maurine (12 mi SW), SD29 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Red Owl, SD35 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made