Fontenelle Dam, WY Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Fontenelle Dam's primary NOAA station, FONTENELLE DAM.
The climate verdict for Fontenelle Dam
Dryness leads the climate profile for Fontenelle Dam, Wyoming, with 7.5 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 38°F. At 29/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 1% of scores.
- 38°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 29/100
- comfort score, above 1% of station-mapped location scores
- 7.5"
- annual precipitation · 27" snow
Fontenelle Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00483396 · Fontenelle Dam, WY 38°F mean · 7.5" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 38°F
- RANK-COOL #206
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Clarksburg
- PRCP-ARID 7.5"
- SWING-WIDE 50°F
- COMF-LOW 29/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,854 HDD
- STN-1 USC00483396
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Clarksburg, MI (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every WY station list.
- Fontenelle Dam (this station) 38°F
- Cold Shirley Basin, WY 38°F
- Hot Van Buren, ME 38°F
- Near Clarksburg, MI 38°F
- Near Grand Portage, MN 38°F
Fontenelle Dam sits in Wyoming, the #5 coldest U.S. state at 43.3°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Fontenelle Dam
Fontenelle Dam: 7/100 · grade F
Fontenelle Dam publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Fontenelle Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 29/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 26.5 inches/year | 42/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 7.5 in · 27.4 from 35 in | 6/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 38.2°F · 29.3° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 240 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
Fontenelle Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Fontenelle Dam's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 64.1°F
- Coldest month
- 14.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Fontenelle Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Fontenelle Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 97%
- Among 6,861 stations, Fontenelle Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 97%
- Fontenelle Dam's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 81%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Fontenelle Dam is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Fontenelle Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Fontenelle Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
29 1st percentile score exceeds 1% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Fontenelle Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 30 complete annual observations from 1966 to 2025, FONTENELLE DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.45°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Fontenelle Dam primary station fitted change +0.45 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F (-2°C) | 0°F (-18°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 0.3" | 5.4" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (0°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 0.4" | 6.6" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.5" | 3.8" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 52°F (11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.8" | 2.2" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 63°F (17°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.4" | 0.6" | 16.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 74°F (23°C) | 38°F (4°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 5.9 | 0.5 |
| July | 83°F (29°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 0.5" | 0.0" | 1.0 | 2.6 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 2.1 | 0.9 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 13.2 | 0.1 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 0.7" | 1.3" | 26.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.3" | 2.1" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 0°F (-18°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 0.3" | 4.5" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 26, short of 90°F on every date, while 240 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -1°F near December 24.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 17, then returns to freezing around September 21, covering 240 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 20, when 25% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 14 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 58 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 21 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 39°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Fontenelle Dam.
Where Fontenelle Dam Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 240 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 8 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Fontenelle Dam earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 5.4"
3.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.6"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.8"
4.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.2"
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
8.2 days with precipitation
5.0 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
4.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
3.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.5"
3.8 days with precipitation
Fontenelle Dam spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 27% of the annual total and December through February 13%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Fontenelle Dam has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 50°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 1.4" and December 0.3". The three wettest months together take 41% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Fontenelle Dam is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 58 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 16% of the calendar, and they carry 7.5" between them. At roughly 0.13 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is May at about 8 wet days; the driest is January at about 3.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Fontenelle Dam
Fontenelle Dam averages 26.5 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 15 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 26.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 15 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 35% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,854
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
109
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WY closest to Fontenelle Dam on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (38°F here).
- Northome, MN 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Powers Lake, ND 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Fortuna, ND 38°F · 0.1°F off
- Mohall, ND 38°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (7.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Delano, CA 7.5" · 0.0" off
- Kettleman City, CA 7.5" · 0.0" off
- Quincy, WA 7.5" · 0.1" off
- Sunnyside, WA 7.7" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Fontenelle Dam
heating led · dry · mid swing
Fontenelle Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,854 annual heating degree days against 109 for cooling. Its 50.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Fontenelle Dam. That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
-
1. Fontenelle Dam coldest normal
January
Averaging 14°F (-10°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Fontenelle Dam typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Fontenelle Dam snow peak
February
Fontenelle Dam averages 26.5 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Fontenelle Dam's climate
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Fontenelle Dam's primary station: FONTENELLE DAM (USC00483396). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Fontenelle Dam; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Fontenelle Dam comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.