Gardiner, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Gardiner's primary NOAA station, GARDINER.
The climate verdict for Gardiner
Dryness leads the climate profile for Gardiner, Montana, with 13.9 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 46°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 46°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 13.9"
- precipitation, annual total
- 129 days
- frost-free growing season
Gardiner: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00243378 · Gardiner, MT 46°F mean · 13.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,647
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Weare
- PRCP-DRY 13.9"
- SWING-MID 45°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,194 HDD
- STN-1 USC00243378
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Weare, NH (+ 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.
- Gardiner (this station) 46°F
- Cold Fremont, MI 46°F
- Hot Hart, MI 46°F
- Near Weare, NH 46°F
- Near Ithaca Cornell…, NY 46°F
Gardiner 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 · Gardiner
Gardiner: 23/100 · grade F
Gardiner publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Gardiner, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 179 calendar days | 26/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.3°F · 21.2° from 67.5°F | 24/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 13.9 in · 21.1 from 35 in | 24/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 129 days/year | 11/100 · F |
Gardiner · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Gardiner is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 25.3°F and warmest-month mean 70.2°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
- 70.2°F
- Coldest month
- 25.3°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 Gardiner sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Gardiner's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 76%
- Among 6,861 stations, Gardiner sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 85%
- Gardiner's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 58th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Gardiner compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Gardiner's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F (2°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 0.8" | 29.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (4°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.6" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 23.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.9" | 15.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.0" | 6.1 | 0.1 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.9" | 0.8 | 2.1 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 1.3" | 0.0 | 12.5 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.0" | 0.0 | 10.0 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 1.2" | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| October | 60°F (15°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.5" | 12.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.0" | 23.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 34°F (1°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.8" | 28.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 27, short of 90°F on every date, while 179 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 16°F near December 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 18, then returns to freezing around October 23, covering 179 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.
The widest day
August 7 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 35°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Gardiner.
Where Gardiner Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 179 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 14 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Gardiner earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Gardiner spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 30% of the annual total and December through February 16%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Gardiner has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 44.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 2.0" and February 0.6". The three wettest months together take 38% 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 21
50% probability date
Growing Season
129 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,194
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
407
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Gardiner 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 (46°F here).
- Binghamton, NY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Chewelah, WA 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Delanson, NY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Douglas, WY 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (13.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Oak City, UT 13.9" · 0.0" off
- Winston, NM 13.9" · 0.0" off
- Galena, AK 13.9" · 0.0" off
- College, AK 13.9" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Gardiner's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Gardiner's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,194 annual heating degree days against 407 for cooling. Its 44.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 129 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.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Gardiner's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 44.9°F. The annual average is 46°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Gardiner's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 13.9 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Gardiner wettest normal
May
May concentrates the scarce annual total (13.9 inches).
Gardiner driest normal
February
February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Gardiner's climate
How dry is Gardiner? ▼
How cold does Gardiner get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Gardiner? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Gardiner's primary station: GARDINER (USC00243378). 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 3029950), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Gardiner: 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 Gardiner 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.