Heart Butte Dam, ND Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Heart Butte Dam's primary NOAA station, HEART BUTTE DAM.
The climate verdict for Heart Butte Dam
Winter sets the terms in Heart Butte Dam, North Dakota. A pronounced 56.6°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 43°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.
- 43°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 39/100
- comfort score, above 4% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.8"
- annual precipitation · 38" snow
- 138 days
- frost-free growing season
Heart Butte Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00324091 · Heart Butte Dam, ND 43°F mean · 16.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #755
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Summit
- PRCP-DRY 16.8"
- SWING-WIDE 57°F
- COMF-LOW 39/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,599 HDD
- STN-1 USC00324091
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Summit, 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 ND station list.
- Heart Butte Dam (this station) 43°F
- Cold Fairfield, ND 43°F
- Hot Center, ND 43°F
- Near Summit, SD 43°F
- Near Edgeley, ND 43°F
Heart Butte Dam sits in North Dakota, the #2 coldest U.S. state at 41.0°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Heart Butte Dam
Heart Butte Dam: 20/100 · grade F
Heart Butte Dam publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Heart Butte Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 39/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 16.8 in · 18.2 from 35 in | 35/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 37.7 inches/year | 30/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 193 calendar days | 18/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 138 days/year | 17/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 42.6°F · 24.9° from 67.5°F | 11/100 · F |
Heart Butte Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Heart Butte Dam is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 13.8°F and warmest-month mean 70.4°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
- 70.4°F
- Coldest month
- 13.8°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 Heart Butte Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Heart Butte 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 89%
- Among 6,861 stations, Heart Butte Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 78%
- Heart Butte Dam's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 94%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Heart Butte Dam is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Heart Butte Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Heart Butte Dam'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
Heart Butte Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 33 complete annual observations from 1985 to 2021, HEART BUTTE DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.10°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Heart Butte Dam primary station fitted change +0.10 °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 | 25°F (-4°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 0.5" | 7.3" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 29°F (-2°C) | 6°F (-14°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 0.4" | 5.3" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 41°F (5°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.7" | 5.3" | 29.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 1.4" | 4.7" | 19.6 | 0.1 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.1" | 0.6" | 4.8 | 0.3 |
| June | 76°F (25°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 2.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.6 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.9 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 1.6 | 2.3 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.3" | 2.5" | 16.4 | 0.2 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.6" | 6.2" | 28.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 30°F (-1°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.4" | 5.8" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 27, short of 90°F on every date, while 193 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 2°F near January 18.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 15, covering 193 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 38% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 19 at 17%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 91 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 29°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Heart Butte Dam.
Where Heart Butte Dam Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 193 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Heart Butte Dam 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: 7.3"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
7.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.7"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
10.8 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.5"
6.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.2"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.8"
6.4 days with precipitation
Heart Butte Dam runs a summer-peaked wet season
46% of Heart Butte Dam'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 56.6°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, July, May, taking 48% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: December 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.
Heart Butte Dam is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 91 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 25% of the calendar, and they carry 16.8" between them. At roughly 0.19 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 June at about 11 wet days; the driest is November at about 5.
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 Heart Butte Dam
Heart Butte Dam averages 37.7 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 28 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: 37.7 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 28 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 22% 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 14
50% probability date
Growing Season
138 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,599
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
477
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ND closest to Heart Butte 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 (43°F here).
- Alamosa, CO 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Baldwin, WI 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Boulder, MT 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Gorham, NH 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Chugwater, WY 16.8" · 0.0" off
- Lewistown, MT 16.8" · 0.0" off
- Cantwell, AK 16.8" · 0.0" off
- Lamesa, TX 16.8" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Heart Butte Dam
heating led · dry · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Heart Butte Dam logs 8,599 heating degree days, more than twice its 477 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 56.6°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 138 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. Heart Butte Dam coldest normal
January
Averaging 14°F (-10°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Heart Butte Dam typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Heart Butte Dam snow peak
January
Heart Butte Dam averages 37.7 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Heart Butte Dam's climate
How much snow does Heart Butte Dam get? ▼
How cold does Heart Butte Dam get in winter? ▼
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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 Heart Butte Dam's primary station: HEART BUTTE DAM (USC00324091). 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 Heart Butte 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 Heart Butte 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.