Gettysburg, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gettysburg's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 20.2 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.8°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 29°C, 512 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGettysburg
- Station IDUSC00393294
- Location45.02°N 99.94°W
- Elevation2,084 ft (635 m)
- Population1,062
On October 22, the normal high in Gettysburg is 55°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gettysburg.
- Jan 25° 5°
- Feb 29° 9°
- Mar 42° 20°
- Apr 56° 32°
- May 68° 44°
- Jun 78° 55°
- Jul 84° 60°
- Aug 83° 58°
- Sep 74° 48°
- Oct 58° 35°
- Nov 42° 21°
- Dec 29° 10°
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 Gettysburg each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.45 in), the least in January (0.29 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 5°F | 15.1°F | 0.29 | 6.8 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 9°F | 19.2°F | 0.57 | 10.6 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 42°F | 20°F | 30.9°F | 0.66 | 5.5 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 32°F | 43.9°F | 1.86 | 4.5 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 55.7°F | 3.03 | 0.3 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 78°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 84°F | 60°F | 72.0°F | 3.01 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 83°F | 58°F | 70.4°F | 2.49 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 48°F | 61.0°F | 2.01 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 35°F | 46.3°F | 1.89 | 1.3 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 21°F | 31.6°F | 0.51 | 3.0 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 10°F | 19.5°F | 0.40 | 6.7 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 33°F | 44.3°F | 20.17 | 38.7 | 79 | 20 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −15°C | −9.4°C | 7 mm | 17 cm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.1°C | 14 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.6°C | 17 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.6°C | 47 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 77 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 22.2°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 14°C | 21.3°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 48 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.2°C | 13 mm | 8 cm |
| December | −2°C | −12°C | −6.9°C | 10 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00393294; 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 Gettysburg?
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 USC00393294.
When is the last frost in Gettysburg?
In Gettysburg, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 21 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 71 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 165 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gettysburg in zone 4b in ZIP code 57442, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Gettysburg's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00393294; 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 Gettysburg?
In a normal year in Gettysburg, 20 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 79 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 20a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 74high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 79a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1901) is 114°F, on July 20, 1934; the lowest is −34°F, on February 9, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2007, with 26.98 in; the snowiest season is 2018–19, with 88.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00393294; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00393294. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Gettysburg?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gettysburg, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 1.9 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 75% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.5 |
| July | 85% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 2.8 |
| November | 73% | 1.9 |
| December | 70% | 1.4 |
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 Gettysburg need?
A normal year in Gettysburg brings 8,117 heating degree days, 51% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 615 cooling degree days, 32% 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 2,518 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,548 | 0 |
| February | 1,282 | 0 |
| March | 1,057 | 0 |
| April | 635 | 2 |
| May | 310 | 21 |
| June | 69 | 104 |
| July | 14 | 232 |
| August | 26 | 194 |
| September | 179 | 59 |
| October | 582 | 4 |
| November | 1,004 | 0 |
| December | 1,410 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,117 | 615 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00393294. 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 Gettysburg been warmer than normal lately?
Over 61 complete years from 1932 to 2018, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gettysburg's climate compare?
Gettysburg is warmer than 31 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 26. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.3°F is warmer than 17%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gettysburg is Dwa: continental, dry-winter, hot 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 Gettysburg share this climate record?
4 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Hoven, SD360 people · 17 mi NE
- Swift Bird, SD183 people · 20 mi W
- Tolstoy, SD37 people · 21 mi NE
- Lebanon, SD31 people · 9 mi E
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 Gettysburg's climate
What is the coldest month in Gettysburg?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Gettysburg?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (10.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Gettysburg?
June, with 3.45 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.29 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gettysburg in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gettysburg in zone 4b in ZIP code 57442, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Gettysburg's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Gettysburg?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Onida, SD22 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Selby, SD34 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Faulkton, SD39 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Highmore, SD42 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made