Hardin, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Hardin's primary NOAA station, HARDIN.
The climate verdict for Hardin
Dryness leads the climate profile for Hardin, Montana, with 13.8 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 48°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 48°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 13.8"
- annual precipitation · 28" snow
- 139 days
- frost-free growing season
Hardin: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00243915 · Hardin, MT 48°F mean · 13.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #2,058
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Durand Wwtp
- PRCP-DRY 13.8"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,895 HDD
- STN-1 USC00243915
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Durand Wwtp, MI (+ 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.
- Hardin (this station) 48°F
- Hot Central Michiga…, MI 48°F
- Near Durand Wwtp, MI 48°F
- Near Glendo Rsvr Usbr, WY 48°F
- Near Essexville, MI 48°F
Hardin 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 · Hardin
Hardin: 22/100 · grade F
Hardin publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Hardin, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 27.9 inches/year | 41/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.7°F · 19.8° from 67.5°F | 30/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 13.8 in · 21.3 from 35 in | 24/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 139 days/year | 18/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 219 calendar days | 6/100 · F |
Hardin · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Hardin is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 23.7°F and warmest-month mean 73.1°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 73.1°F
- Coldest month
- 23.7°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 Hardin sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Hardin's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 70%
- Among 6,861 stations, Hardin sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 86%
- Hardin's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 79%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Hardin is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Hardin compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Hardin's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% 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
Hardin's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 40 complete annual observations from 1950 to 2025, HARDIN warmed at a fitted rate of 0.17°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Hardin primary station fitted change +0.18 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.5" | 6.0" | 29.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.6" | 6.2" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 53°F (12°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 3.4" | 24.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (17°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.5" | 1.3" | 13.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 71°F (22°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 3.3 | 0.9 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.2 |
| July | 91°F (33°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 1.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 20.1 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.7 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 1.1 | 5.9 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.4" | 1.6" | 12.9 | 0.4 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.5" | 3.1" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 38°F (3°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.5" | 6.3" | 29.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Hardin works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 93°F by July 26 and hold at or above 90°F on 37 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 182 dates, bottoming at 10°F around January 2.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 11 through August 16, covering 37 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 12 to October 4.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 16, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 182 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 May 28, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 17 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 71 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 37°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Hardin.
Where Hardin Stands Nationally
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 37°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 182 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Hardin earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 6.0"
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.2"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.4"
5.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
7.0 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
5.4 days with precipitation
4.1 days with precipitation
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.6"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.3"
4.1 days with precipitation
Hardin 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 11%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Hardin has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 49.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 2.5" and December 0.5". The three wettest months together take 43% 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.
Hardin is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 70 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 19% of the calendar, and they carry 13.7" between them. At roughly 0.20 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is May at about 9 wet days; the driest is August at about 4.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Hardin
Hardin averages 27.9 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 13 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 27.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 13 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 20% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 29
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 13
50% probability date
Growing Season
139 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,895
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
633
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Hardin 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 (48°F here).
- Batavia, NY 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Belchertown, MA 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Briggsdale, CO 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Canby, CA 48°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (13.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Buffalo, WY 13.8" · 0.0" off
- Mitchell, OR 13.7" · 0.0" off
- Nephi, UT 13.7" · 0.0" off
- Redondo Beach, CA 13.8" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Hardin
heating led · dry · mid swing
Hardin's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,895 annual heating degree days against 633 for cooling. Its 49.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 139 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.
-
1. Hardin coldest normal
January
Averaging 24°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Hardin typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Hardin snow peak
December
Hardin averages 27.9 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Hardin's climate
How much snow does Hardin get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Hardin get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Hardin? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Hardin's primary station: HARDIN (USC00243915). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 3034225). Match rule for Hardin: 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 Hardin 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.