Fort Belknap (2 mi SW), Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)'s normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 13.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.9°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 29°C, 343 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Belknap (2 mi SW)
- Station IDUSC00243118
- Location48.46°N 108.78°W
- Elevation2,527 ft (770 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) is 53°F and the normal low 27°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Belknap (2 mi SW).
- Jan 27° 6°
- Feb 32° 8°
- Mar 42° 18°
- Apr 56° 29°
- May 66° 40°
- Jun 74° 49°
- Jul 84° 54°
- Aug 84° 52°
- Sep 72° 42°
- Oct 57° 30°
- Nov 42° 19°
- Dec 31° 9°
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 Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.48 in), the least in February (0.32 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 6°F | 16.5°F | 0.40 | – | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 32°F | 8°F | 20.2°F | 0.32 | – | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 42°F | 18°F | 30.3°F | 0.52 | – | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 29°F | 42.4°F | 1.15 | – | <1 | 21 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 66°F | 40°F | 52.8°F | 1.86 | – | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 49°F | 61.6°F | 3.48 | – | 2 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 54°F | 69.2°F | 1.59 | – | 8 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 84°F | 52°F | 67.9°F | 1.23 | – | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 72°F | 42°F | 56.8°F | 0.96 | – | 2 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 30°F | 43.4°F | 0.97 | – | <1 | 20 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 19°F | 30.5°F | 0.62 | – | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 31°F | 9°F | 20.0°F | 0.39 | – | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 30°F | 42.6°F | 13.49 | – | 19 | 195 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.6°C | 10 mm |
| February | 0°C | −13°C | −6.6°C | 8 mm |
| March | 6°C | −8°C | −0.9°C | 13 mm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 5.8°C | 29 mm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 47 mm |
| June | 24°C | 9°C | 16.4°C | 88 mm |
| July | 29°C | 12°C | 20.7°C | 40 mm |
| August | 29°C | 11°C | 19.9°C | 31 mm |
| September | 22°C | 5°C | 13.8°C | 24 mm |
| October | 14°C | −1°C | 6.3°C | 25 mm |
| November | 6°C | −7°C | −0.8°C | 16 mm |
| December | 0°C | −13°C | −6.7°C | 10 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00243118; 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 Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00243118.
When is the last frost at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
In Fort Belknap (2 mi SW), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 16 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 22 in half of years and before September 10 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 161 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 10; 9 in 10 before October 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 128 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 146 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before September 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) in zone 4a in ZIP code 59526, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00243118; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
In a normal year in Fort Belknap (2 mi SW), 19 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 195 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 195a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 73high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00243118.
How sunny is it at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW), 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.5 |
| February | 78% | 2.6 |
| March | 75% | 3.8 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 78% | 6.6 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 5.8 |
| September | 79% | 4.2 |
| October | 74% | 2.7 |
| November | 71% | 1.6 |
| December | 69% | 1.1 |
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 Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) record?
A normal year at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) brings 8,474 heating degree days, 58% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 347 cooling degree days, 62% 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 1,966 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,503 | 0 |
| February | 1,254 | 0 |
| March | 1,077 | 0 |
| April | 677 | 0 |
| May | 383 | 4 |
| June | 133 | 31 |
| July | 26 | 154 |
| August | 49 | 137 |
| September | 268 | 20 |
| October | 673 | 1 |
| November | 1,037 | 0 |
| December | 1,395 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,474 | 347 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00243118. 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.
How does Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)'s climate compare?
Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) is warmer than 40 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.6°F is warmer than 11%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) 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.
Which places near Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) share this climate record?
Fort Belknap Agency has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Fort Belknap Agency, MT1,434 people · 5 mi SE
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 Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 54°F at night).
What is the rainiest month at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
June, with 3.48 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.32 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Belknap (2 mi SW) in zone 4a in ZIP code 59526, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Fort Belknap (2 mi SW)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 16; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Harlem, MT5 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Chinook, MT22 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Chinook (35 mi SE), MT22 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Zortman, MT39 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made