Harrold, SD Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Harrold's primary NOAA station, HARROLD 12 SSW.
The climate verdict for Harrold
Winter sets the terms in Harrold, South Dakota. A pronounced 57.4°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 44°F. At 39/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 4% of scores.
- 44°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 39/100
- comfort score, above 4% of station-mapped location scores
- 18.6"
- annual precipitation · 40" snow
- 130 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Harrold: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00393608 · Harrold, SD 44°F mean · 18.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,098
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Pollock
- PRCP-DRY 18.6"
- SWING-WIDE 57°F
- COMF-LOW 39/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,161 HDD
- STN-1 USC00393608
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Pollock, SD (+ 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 SD station list.
- Harrold (this station) 44°F
- Cold Waubay Natl Wil…, SD 44°F
- Hot Nashua, MT 44°F
- Near Pollock, SD 44°F
- Near Turton, SD 44°F
Climate Living Index · Harrold
Harrold: 22/100 · grade F
Harrold publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Harrold, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 39/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 18.6 in · 16.4 from 35 in | 42/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 40.0 inches/year | 28/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.3°F · 23.2° from 67.5°F | 17/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 195 calendar days | 17/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 130 days/year | 12/100 · F |
Harrold · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Harrold is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 15.2°F and warmest-month mean 72.6°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
- 72.6°F
- Coldest month
- 15.2°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 Harrold sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Harrold's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 84%
- Among 6,861 stations, Harrold sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 75%
- Harrold's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 95%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Harrold is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Harrold compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Harrold's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
39 4th percentile score exceeds 4% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F (-3°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 0.5" | 4.8" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 32°F (0°C) | 8°F (-14°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 0.4" | 7.4" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (7°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.8" | 5.4" | 27.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.9" | 7.0" | 18.7 | 0.1 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 2.7" | 0.0" | 5.8 | 0.8 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 3.4 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 2.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 11.8 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 10.2 |
| September | 78°F (25°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 1.8" | 0.0" | 2.8 | 5.0 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.4" | 0.6" | 15.7 | 0.7 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 0.5" | 6.8" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 31°F (-1°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.5" | 8.0" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 88°F around July 22, short of 90°F on every date, while 195 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 3°F near January 11.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 25, then returns to freezing around October 14, covering 195 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 30, when 27% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 18 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 56 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 19 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Harrold.
Where Harrold Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 195 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Harrold earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.8"
2.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.4"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.4"
3.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.0"
5.7 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
4.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
3.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.8"
3.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.0"
3.3 days with precipitation
Harrold runs a summer-peaked wet season
42% of Harrold's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 3.3", on a wide 57.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, May, July, taking 47% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.4".
- Winter share: 8% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Harrold's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 56 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 18.6" between them, or roughly 0.33 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.
Winter brings real snow to Harrold
Harrold averages 40.0 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 15 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: 40.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 15 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 21% 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 24
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
130 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,161
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
657
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Harrold 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 (44°F here).
- Jim Falls, WI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Kewaunee, WI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Lowman, ID 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Morrisville, NY 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (18.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bridgeport, NE 18.6" · 0.0" off
- Alberton, MT 18.7" · 0.0" off
- Cortez, CO 18.6" · 0.0" off
- Evergreen, CO 18.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Harrold
heating led · dry · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Harrold logs 8,161 heating degree days, more than twice its 657 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 57.4°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 130 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. Harrold coldest normal
January
Averaging 15°F (-9°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Harrold typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Harrold snow peak
December
Harrold averages 40.0 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Harrold's climate
How much snow does Harrold get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Harrold get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Harrold? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Harrold's primary station: HARROLD 12 SSW (USC00393608). 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 4627420). Match rule for Harrold: 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 Harrold 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.