Gardiner, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gardiner's normal year runs from 17°F December nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 13.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.9°C, December lows of −8°C, July highs of 31°C, 353 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGardiner
- Station IDUSC00243378
- Location45.03°N 110.70°W
- Elevation5,275 ft (1,608 m)
- Population (census place)791
On October 23, the normal high in Gardiner is 56°F and the normal low 32°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gardiner.
- Jan 35° 17°
- Feb 38° 18°
- Mar 49° 25°
- Apr 57° 32°
- May 67° 39°
- Jun 77° 46°
- Jul 87° 53°
- Aug 86° 52°
- Sep 76° 44°
- Oct 60° 34°
- Nov 44° 24°
- Dec 34° 17°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Gardiner each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in May (1.97 in), the least in February (0.63 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 17°F | 25.8°F | 0.77 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 38°F | 18°F | 28.3°F | 0.63 | – | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 49°F | 25°F | 36.9°F | 0.91 | – | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 32°F | 44.5°F | 0.92 | – | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 39°F | 53.0°F | 1.97 | – | <1 | 6 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 46°F | 61.9°F | 1.89 | – | 2 | 1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 53°F | 70.2°F | 1.33 | – | 13 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 52°F | 68.9°F | 0.98 | – | 10 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 76°F | 44°F | 59.9°F | 1.24 | – | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 34°F | 47.1°F | 1.48 | – | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 24°F | 33.8°F | 0.96 | – | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 34°F | 17°F | 25.3°F | 0.81 | – | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 34°F | 46.3°F | 13.89 | – | 26 | 167 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −8°C | −3.4°C | 20 mm |
| February | 4°C | −8°C | −2.1°C | 16 mm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.7°C | 23 mm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 23 mm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.7°C | 50 mm |
| June | 25°C | 8°C | 16.6°C | 48 mm |
| July | 31°C | 12°C | 21.2°C | 34 mm |
| August | 30°C | 11°C | 20.5°C | 25 mm |
| September | 24°C | 7°C | 15.5°C | 31 mm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 8.4°C | 38 mm |
| November | 7°C | −4°C | 1.0°C | 24 mm |
| December | 1°C | −8°C | −3.7°C | 21 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Yellowstone Park Mammoth (4 miles away), gets 72 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00243378; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Gardiner?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June 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 USC00243378.
When is the last frost in Gardiner?
In Gardiner, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 21 in half of years and after June 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 27 in half of years and before September 12 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 211 year in 10 after June 9; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 271 year in 10 before September 12; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 128 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 153 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gardiner in zone 4b in ZIP code 59030, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Gardiner's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (23 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00243378; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 in Gardiner?
In a normal year in Gardiner, 26 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 167 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 167a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 37high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00243378.
How sunny is Gardiner?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gardiner, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.7 |
| February | 73% | 2.8 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 66% | 4.8 |
| May | 67% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.6 |
| July | 84% | 7.2 |
| August | 83% | 6.1 |
| September | 79% | 4.6 |
| October | 69% | 2.9 |
| November | 66% | 1.8 |
| December | 63% | 1.3 |
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 much heating and cooling does Gardiner need?
A normal year in Gardiner brings 7,194 heating degree days, 34% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 407 cooling degree days, 55% 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 2,145 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,215 | 0 |
| February | 1,029 | 0 |
| March | 870 | 0 |
| April | 615 | 0 |
| May | 375 | 4 |
| June | 138 | 45 |
| July | 20 | 181 |
| August | 28 | 147 |
| September | 183 | 28 |
| October | 556 | 1 |
| November | 935 | 0 |
| December | 1,231 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,194 | 407 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00243378. 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 Gardiner's climate compare?
Gardiner is warmer than 120 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.3°F is warmer than 25%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gardiner is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. 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 Gardiner share this climate record?
Mammoth 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.
- Mammoth, WY50 people · 4 mi S
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 Gardiner's climate
What is the coldest month in Gardiner?
December, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Gardiner?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Gardiner's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Yellowstone Park Mammoth (4 miles away), records 72 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Gardiner?
May, with 1.97 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.63 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gardiner in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gardiner in zone 4b in ZIP code 59030, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Gardiner's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Gardiner?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 21; in one year in ten it comes after June 9. Waiting until June 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Yellowstone Park Mammoth, WY4 miles from this station, 40.8°F a year
- Tower Falls, WY16 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- Lamar Ranger Station, WY25 miles from this station, 37.3°F a year
- West Yellowstone, MT32 miles from this station, 35.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made