Faulkton, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Faulkton's normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 22.0 inches of precipitation and 44 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.7°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 29°C, 559 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFaulkton (1 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00392927
- Location45.04°N 99.13°W
- Elevation1,597 ft (487 m)
- Population818
On October 23, the normal high in Faulkton is 55°F and the normal low 31°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 Faulkton.
- Jan 24° 4°
- Feb 29° 8°
- Mar 41° 19°
- Apr 56° 31°
- May 68° 44°
- Jun 78° 54°
- Jul 85° 59°
- Aug 83° 57°
- Sep 74° 47°
- Oct 59° 34°
- Nov 42° 21°
- Dec 29° 10°
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 Faulkton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.59 in), the least in December (0.57 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 4°F | 14.2°F | 0.67 | 7.6 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 8°F | 18.4°F | 0.80 | 9.3 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 41°F | 19°F | 30.1°F | 1.02 | 6.8 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 31°F | 43.6°F | 2.02 | 7.1 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 56.0°F | 3.24 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 78°F | 54°F | 66.2°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 85°F | 59°F | 71.6°F | 2.74 | 0.0 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 83°F | 57°F | 69.8°F | 2.67 | 0.0 | 8 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 47°F | 60.8°F | 2.04 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 34°F | 46.3°F | 1.86 | 0.9 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 21°F | 31.5°F | 0.78 | 3.4 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 10°F | 19.4°F | 0.57 | 8.6 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 32°F | 44.0°F | 22.00 | 43.7 | 88 | 22 | 172 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −15°C | −9.9°C | 17 mm | 19 cm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.6°C | 20 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 5°C | −7°C | −1.1°C | 26 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 51 mm | 18 cm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 13.3°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 12°C | 19.0°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 22.0°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 14°C | 21.0°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 8°C | 16.0°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 47 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 6°C | −6°C | −0.3°C | 20 mm | 9 cm |
| December | −2°C | −12°C | −7.0°C | 14 mm | 22 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00392927; 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 Faulkton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00392927.
When is the last frost in Faulkton?
In Faulkton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 15 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 101 year in 10 after May 25; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 156 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Faulkton in zone 4b in ZIP code 57438, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Faulkton's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00392927; 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 Faulkton?
In a normal year in Faulkton, 22 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 172 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 88 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 172a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 73high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 88a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 114°F, on July 20, 1934; the lowest is −41°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 29.50 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 84.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00392927; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00392927. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Faulkton?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Faulkton, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 1.9 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 75% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.5 |
| July | 85% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 2.8 |
| November | 73% | 1.9 |
| December | 70% | 1.4 |
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 Faulkton need?
A normal year in Faulkton brings 8,205 heating degree days, 53% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 586 cooling degree days, 35% 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 2,492 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,575 | 0 |
| February | 1,306 | 0 |
| March | 1,080 | 0 |
| April | 643 | 1 |
| May | 303 | 22 |
| June | 70 | 106 |
| July | 16 | 219 |
| August | 28 | 179 |
| September | 181 | 56 |
| October | 583 | 4 |
| November | 1,007 | 0 |
| December | 1,414 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,205 | 586 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00392927. 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 Faulkton been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 45.4°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.0°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.1°F | +3.1°F | 18.20 | 18.6 |
| 2022 | 43.8°F | −0.3°F | 23.72 | – |
| 2023 | 45.4°F | +1.4°F | 29.50 | 64.0 |
Over 101 complete years from 1894 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00392927; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Faulkton's climate compare?
Faulkton is warmer than 22 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 44. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.0°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Faulkton 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 Faulkton share this climate record?
7 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.
- Cresbard, SD101 people · 13 mi NE
- Brentwood Colony, SD61 people · 12 mi NW
- Evergreen Colony, SD59 people · 7 mi NE
- Orient, SD51 people · 10 mi S
- Seneca, SD23 people · 18 mi W
- Blumengard Colony, SD0 people · 14 mi N
- Thunderbird Colony, SD0 people · 12 mi NW
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 Faulkton's climate
What is the coldest month in Faulkton?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Faulkton?
Yes: 44 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (9.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Faulkton?
June, with 3.59 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.57 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Faulkton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Faulkton in zone 4b in ZIP code 57438, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Faulkton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Faulkton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 25. Waiting until May 25 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
- Mellette, SD28 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Ipswich, SD29 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Roscoe, SD30 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Redfield, SD32 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made