Fessenden, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records

What is the weather like in Fessenden each month?

July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.22 in), the least in January (0.37 in).

When is the best weather to visit Fessenden?

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 (4).

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.

When is the last frost in Fessenden?

In Fessenden, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after May 26 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.

Last spring frost, half of years after

May 131 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 30

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 2 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.

The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fessenden in zone 4a in ZIP code 58438, the nearest ZIP area.

Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code

How hot and how cold does it get in Fessenden?

In a normal year in Fessenden, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 185 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 52 days bring measurable precipitation.

Days at 90°F or more

9a normal year

Days at 100°F or more

fewer than 1a normal year

Nights at 32°F or colder

185a normal year

Days that stay below freezing

93high of 32°F or less

Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation

52a normal year

Days with 1 inch of snow or more

12a normal year

The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1911) is 116°F, on July 7, 1936; the lowest is −47°F, on February 15, 1936.

The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 25.18 in; the snowiest season is 2003–04, with 62.0 inches.

How sunny is Fessenden?

Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fessenden, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (86%) and November the cloudiest (67%).

How much heating and cooling does Fessenden need?

A normal year in Fessenden brings 9,098 heating degree days, 69% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 364 cooling degree days, 60% 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 2,093 growing degree days a year above 50°F.

Which places near Fessenden share this climate record?

4 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.

• Bowdon, ND136 people · 13 mi S
• Heimdal, ND41 people · 10 mi N
• Cathay, ND19 people · 12 mi SE
• Hamberg, ND12 people · 10 mi NE

Nearby and next

• North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
• Harvey, ND16 miles from this station, 39.8°F a year
• Carrington, ND27 miles from this station, 39.8°F a year
• Tuttle (12 mi NNE), ND27 miles from this station, 39.2°F a year
• Minnewaukan, ND34 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
• Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side

Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made