Garrison, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Garrison's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 17.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.0°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 27°C, 452 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGarrison
- Station IDUSW00094041
- Location47.65°N 101.44°W
- Elevation1,910 ft (582 m)
- Population1,465
On October 23, the normal high in Garrison is 50°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Garrison.
- Jan 21° 2°
- Feb 25° 5°
- Mar 37° 17°
- Apr 53° 29°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 74° 51°
- Jul 81° 56°
- Aug 81° 54°
- Sep 71° 45°
- Oct 54° 32°
- Nov 38° 19°
- Dec 25° 7°
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 Garrison each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.54 in), the least in February (0.49 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 2°F | 11.0°F | 0.60 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 25°F | 5°F | 14.6°F | 0.49 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 37°F | 17°F | 27.1°F | 0.69 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 29°F | 40.8°F | 1.27 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.6°F | 2.62 | 10 | <1 | 5 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 51°F | 62.6°F | 3.54 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 81°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 2.63 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 81°F | 54°F | 67.5°F | 1.77 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 71°F | 45°F | 58.0°F | 1.67 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 32°F | 43.3°F | 1.24 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 19°F | 28.3°F | 0.61 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 25°F | 7°F | 16.3°F | 0.66 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 30°F | 41.0°F | 17.79 | 102 | 11 | 186 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.7°C | 15 mm |
| February | −4°C | −15°C | −9.7°C | 12 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.7°C | 18 mm |
| April | 12°C | −2°C | 4.9°C | 32 mm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.0°C | 67 mm |
| June | 23°C | 11°C | 17.0°C | 90 mm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 67 mm |
| August | 27°C | 12°C | 19.7°C | 45 mm |
| September | 22°C | 7°C | 14.4°C | 42 mm |
| October | 12°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 31 mm |
| November | 3°C | −7°C | −2.1°C | 15 mm |
| December | −4°C | −14°C | −8.7°C | 17 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Garrison's own co-op station Garrison station does: 43 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094041; 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 Garrison?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USW00094041.
When is the last frost in Garrison?
In Garrison, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 13 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 141 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 133 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 152 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Garrison in zone 4a in ZIP code 58531, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Garrison's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −28°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00094041; 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 Garrison?
In a normal year in Garrison, 11 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 186 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 102 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 186a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 87high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 102a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 105°F, on August 17, 2003; the lowest is −44°F, on January 15, 2009.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 26.33 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094041; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094041. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Garrison?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Garrison, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and November the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 1.8 |
| February | 83% | 2.9 |
| March | 77% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 4.8 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.3 |
| July | 84% | 6.7 |
| August | 82% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.1 |
| October | 70% | 2.6 |
| November | 68% | 1.6 |
| December | 68% | 1.2 |
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 Garrison need?
A normal year in Garrison brings 9,063 heating degree days, 69% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 338 cooling degree days, 63% 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 2,000 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,672 | 0 |
| February | 1,411 | 0 |
| March | 1,177 | 0 |
| April | 725 | 0 |
| May | 362 | 8 |
| June | 113 | 42 |
| July | 32 | 128 |
| August | 48 | 127 |
| September | 239 | 30 |
| October | 674 | 1 |
| November | 1,101 | 0 |
| December | 1,510 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,063 | 338 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094041. 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.
Has Garrison been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 41.6°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.0°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.1°F | +3.1°F | 13.69 |
| 2022 | 40.2°F | −0.8°F | – |
| 2023 | 41.8°F | +0.8°F | 14.19 |
| 2025 | 41.6°F | +0.6°F | 19.20 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094041. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Garrison's climate compare?
Garrison is warmer than 40 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 22. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.0°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Garrison 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 Garrison share this climate record?
White Shield 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.
- White Shield, ND277 people · 19 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Garrison's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Garrison. This page uses Garrison; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrison station USC00323376 | 1 mi NE | 1,932 ft | 41.5°F | 2°F | 81°F | 18.2 | 43 | May 12 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Garrison's climate
What is the coldest month in Garrison?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Garrison?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Garrison's NOAA station; Garrison's own co-op station Garrison station records 43 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Garrison?
June, with 3.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.49 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Garrison in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Garrison in zone 4a in ZIP code 58531, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Garrison's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −28°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Garrison?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; 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
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Riverdale, ND11 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Max, ND14 miles from this station, 40.5°F a year
- Underwood, ND19 miles from this station, 40.8°F a year
- Turtle Lake, ND27 miles from this station, 41.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made