Fortine, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Fortine's primary NOAA station, FORTINE 1 N.
The climate verdict for Fortine
Dryness leads the climate profile for Fortine, Montana, with 15.1 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 44°F. At 39/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 4% of scores.
- 44°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 39/100
- comfort score, above 4% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.1"
- annual precipitation · 41" snow
- 125 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Fortine: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00243139 · Fortine, MT 44°F mean · 15.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Virginia City
- PRCP-DRY 15.1"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 39/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,857 HDD
- STN-1 USC00243139
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Virginia City, MT (+ 0 °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 MT station list.
- Fortine (this station) 44°F
- Cold Idaho City, ID 44°F
- Hot Hill City, SD 44°F
- Near Virginia City, MT 44°F
- Near Yellowpine, ID 44°F
Fortine sits in Montana, the #6 coldest U.S. state at 43.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Fortine
Fortine: 19/100 · grade F
Fortine publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Fortine, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 39/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 15.1 in · 19.9 from 35 in | 28/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 40.9 inches/year | 27/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.9°F · 23.6° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 196 calendar days | 16/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 125 days/year | 9/100 · F |
Fortine · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Fortine is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 23.0°F and warmest-month mean 66.8°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 66.8°F
- Coldest month
- 23.0°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 Fortine sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Fortine's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 85%
- Among 6,861 stations, Fortine sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 83%
- Fortine's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 52nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Fortine compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Fortine's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
39 4th percentile score exceeds 4% 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%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F (-1°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.8" | 9.1" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 35°F (2°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.7" | 5.9" | 26.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 46°F (8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.8" | 5.6" | 25.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.2" | 2.1" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 1.9" | 0.3" | 6.3 | 0.1 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.8" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 8.0 |
| August | 83°F (29°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 6.5 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.2" | 0.0" | 5.2 | 0.8 |
| October | 55°F (13°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 0.9" | 0.7" | 17.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 39°F (4°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 1.3" | 7.9" | 24.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 1.1" | 9.3" | 29.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 196 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 16°F near December 24.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 25, then returns to freezing around October 13, covering 196 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 June 5, when 34% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 5 at 14%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 92 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 37°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Fortine.
Where Fortine Stands Nationally
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 37°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 196 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Fortine 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: 9.1"
8.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.9"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.6"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
6.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
8.8 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
4.2 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.9"
10.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.3"
9.8 days with precipitation
Fortine runs a summer-peaked wet season
35% of Fortine's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 2.8", on a 43.8°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, May, July, taking 41% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.7".
- Winter share: 17% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Fortine is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 92 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 25% of the calendar, and they carry 15.1" between them. At roughly 0.16 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 November at about 10 wet days; the driest is August at about 4.
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 Fortine
Fortine averages 40.9 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 27 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: 40.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 27 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 27% 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
September 18
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
125 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,857
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
209
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Fortine 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 (44°F here).
- Bethel, ME 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Colton, NY 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Dayton, WY 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Del Norte, CO 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Fossil, OR 15.1" · 0.0" off
- Grace, ID 15.1" · 0.0" off
- Lacrosse, WA 15.1" · 0.0" off
- Fillmore, UT 15.0" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Fortine
heating led · dry · mid swing
Fortine's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,857 annual heating degree days against 209 for cooling. Its 43.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 125 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Fortine coldest normal
December
Averaging 23°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Fortine typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Fortine snow peak
December
Fortine averages 40.9 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Fortine's climate
How much snow does Fortine get? ▼
How cold does Fortine get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Fortine? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Fortine's primary station: FORTINE 1 N (USC00243139). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 3028150), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Fortine: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Fortine 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.