Highmore, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Highmore's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 22.8 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 30°C, 578 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHighmore (1 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00393832
- Location44.52°N 99.45°W
- Elevation1,888 ft (576 m)
- Population647
On October 23, the normal high in Highmore is 56°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Highmore.
- Jan 27° 7°
- Feb 32° 11°
- Mar 44° 22°
- Apr 59° 32°
- May 70° 44°
- Jun 79° 55°
- Jul 86° 60°
- Aug 85° 59°
- Sep 77° 50°
- Oct 61° 36°
- Nov 44° 22°
- Dec 31° 12°
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 Highmore each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.03 in), the least in January (0.36 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 7°F | 16.6°F | 0.36 | 6.7 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 32°F | 11°F | 21.2°F | 0.62 | 9.5 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 22°F | 33.1°F | 1.07 | 5.8 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 32°F | 45.5°F | 2.52 | 4.8 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 70°F | 44°F | 56.8°F | 3.69 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 55°F | 66.9°F | 4.03 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 60°F | 73.2°F | 2.97 | 0.0 | 6 | 10 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 85°F | 59°F | 71.5°F | 2.60 | 0.0 | 5 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 77°F | 50°F | 63.1°F | 2.02 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 36°F | 48.3°F | 1.86 | 1.3 | 4 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 22°F | 33.1°F | 0.55 | 5.5 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 31°F | 12°F | 21.0°F | 0.47 | 6.4 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 34°F | 45.8°F | 22.76 | 40.0 | 58 | 24 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.6°C | 9 mm | 17 cm |
| February | 0°C | −12°C | −6.0°C | 16 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.6°C | 27 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.5°C | 64 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 13.8°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 16°C | 22.9°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 15°C | 21.9°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.3°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 2°C | 9.1°C | 47 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 7°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 14 mm | 14 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −6.1°C | 12 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00393832; 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 Highmore?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00393832.
When is the last frost in Highmore?
In Highmore, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 17 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 121 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 142 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Highmore in zone 4b in ZIP code 57345, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Highmore's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (24 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 USC00393832; 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 Highmore?
In a normal year in Highmore, 24 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 58 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 24a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 66high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 58a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 113°F, on July 15, 1931; the lowest is −45°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 35.56 in; the snowiest season is 1994–95, with 84.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00393832; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00393832. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Highmore?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Highmore, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.0 |
| February | 79% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 80% | 6.7 |
| July | 86% | 6.9 |
| August | 83% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.5 |
| October | 74% | 3.0 |
| November | 74% | 2.0 |
| December | 71% | 1.5 |
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 Highmore need?
A normal year in Highmore brings 7,661 heating degree days, 43% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 718 cooling degree days, 21% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,740 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,500 | 0 |
| February | 1,228 | 0 |
| March | 991 | 0 |
| April | 589 | 2 |
| May | 280 | 24 |
| June | 60 | 116 |
| July | 11 | 263 |
| August | 21 | 224 |
| September | 140 | 83 |
| October | 522 | 6 |
| November | 957 | 0 |
| December | 1,362 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,661 | 718 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00393832. 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 Highmore been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 48.5°F, 2.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.8°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 47.1°F | +1.3°F | 31.13 | 67.6 |
| 2024 | 48.5°F | +2.7°F | 24.38 | 17.5 |
Over 94 complete years from 1904 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00393832; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Highmore's climate compare?
Highmore is warmer than 53 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 51. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.8°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Highmore 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.
What do Highmore's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Highmore. This page uses Highmore (1 mi W); the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highmore (23 mi N) USC00393838 | 22 mi N | 1,870 ft | 44.0°F | 5°F | 85°F | 21.0 | – | May 14 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Highmore's climate
What is the coldest month in Highmore?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Highmore?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (9.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Highmore?
June, with 4.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Highmore in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Highmore in zone 4b in ZIP code 57345, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Highmore's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Highmore?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 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
- Stephan, SD17 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Harrold (12 mi SSW), SD21 miles from this station, 44.3°F a year
- Miller, SD24 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Lake Sharpe Project, SD32 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made