Gibson Dam, 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 Gibson Dam's primary NOAA station, GIBSON DAM.
The climate verdict for Gibson Dam
Dryness leads the climate profile for Gibson Dam, Montana, with 16.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 41°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 41°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.6"
- precipitation, annual total
- 88 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Gibson Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00243489 · Gibson Dam, MT 41°F mean · 16.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 41°F
- RANK-COOL #412
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Seneca
- PRCP-DRY 16.6"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,977 HDD
- STN-1 USC00243489
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Seneca, OR (+ 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.
- Gibson Dam (this station) 41°F
- Hot Seneca, OR 41°F
- Cold Lake City, CO 40°F
- Near Melville, MT 40°F
- Near Moon Lake, UT 40°F
Gibson Dam 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 · Gibson Dam
Gibson Dam: 10/100 · grade F
Gibson Dam publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Gibson Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 16.6 in · 18.4 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 40.5°F · 27.0° from 67.5°F | 6/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 221 calendar days | 5/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 88 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Gibson Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Gibson Dam is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 23.9°F and warmest-month mean 61.6°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
- 61.6°F
- Coldest month
- 23.9°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 Gibson Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Gibson Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 94%
- Among 6,861 stations, Gibson Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Gibson Dam's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 74%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Gibson Dam is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Gibson Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Gibson Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Gibson Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 66 complete annual observations from 1914 to 2021, GIBSON DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.16°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Gibson Dam primary station fitted change +0.16 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.7" | 28.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.9" | 26.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 28.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 50°F (10°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 1.6" | 24.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 59°F (15°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.9" | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| June | 67°F (20°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 3.1" | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 1.1" | 0.2 | 2.6 |
| August | 78°F (26°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 1.3" | 0.6 | 2.1 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.3" | 6.1 | 0.2 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.1" | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (6°C) | 20°F (-6°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 0.8" | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 35°F (1°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.8" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 82°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 221 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 12°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 13, then returns to freezing around October 6, covering 221 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 9, when 36% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 9 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 81 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Gibson Dam.
Where Gibson Dam Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 221 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 36°F between the normal high and low.
Gibson Dam earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
4.8 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
5.4 days with precipitation
5.0 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
Gibson Dam spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 34% of the annual total and December through February 14%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Gibson Dam has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 37.7°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 3.1" and January 0.7". The three wettest months together take 46% 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.
How Gibson Dam's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 80 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 16.6" between them, or roughly 0.21 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 8
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 12
50% probability date
Growing Season
88 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,977
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
56
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Gibson Dam 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 (41°F here).
- Alta, WY 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Dubois, WY 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Max, ND 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Ouzinkie, AK 41°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Capitan, NM 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Tierra Amarilla, NM 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Harrisburg, NE 16.5" · 0.0" off
- Beach, ND 16.5" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Gibson Dam's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Gibson Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,977 annual heating degree days against 56 for cooling. Its 37.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 88 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 Gibson Dam's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 37.7°F. The annual average is 41°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Gibson Dam's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.6 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.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Gibson Dam's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Gibson Dam, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Gibson Dam's climate
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Gibson Dam's primary station: GIBSON DAM (USC00243489). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Gibson Dam; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Gibson Dam 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.