Hill City, SD 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 Hill City's primary NOAA station, HILL CITY.
The climate verdict for Hill City
Hill City, South Dakota has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 44°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 44°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 22.4"
- annual precipitation · 67" snow
- 101 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Hill City: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00393868 · Hill City, SD 44°F mean · 22.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Rogers Pass
- PRCP-DRY 22.4"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,881 HDD
- STN-1 USC00393868
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Rogers Pass, MT (+ 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.
- Hill City (this station) 44°F
- Cold Idaho City, ID 44°F
- Hot Fortine, MT 44°F
- Near Rogers Pass, MT 44°F
- Near Yellowpine, ID 44°F
Climate Living Index · Hill City
Hill City: 18/100 · grade F
Hill City publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Hill City, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 22.4 in · 12.6 from 35 in | 56/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.9°F · 23.6° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 66.6 inches/year | 12/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 215 calendar days | 7/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 101 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Hill City · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Hill City is a continental Köppen climate: Dwb
Coldest-month mean 25.1°F and warmest-month mean 66.7°F place this station in continental, dry-winter, warm summer climates (Dwb). Class Dwb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-winter, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dwb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 66.7°F
- Coldest month
- 25.1°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 Hill City sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Hill City's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 85%
- Among 6,861 stations, Hill City sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 31st percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 43rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Hill City compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Hill City's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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
Hill City's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 30 complete annual observations from 1990 to 2025, HILL CITY 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.
- Hill City 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F (5°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.4" | 6.1" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.7" | 8.7" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (9°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.1" | 11.6" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 2.5" | 13.8" | 24.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 4.2" | 4.1" | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 3.4" | 0.3" | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 2.5 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.5" | 1.0" | 6.9 | 0.6 |
| October | 60°F (15°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 6.5" | 22.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 49°F (9°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 0.6" | 7.5" | 29.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 41°F (5°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.5" | 7.0" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 21, short of 90°F on every date, while 215 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 9°F near February 3.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 5, then returns to freezing around October 4, covering 215 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 25, when 47% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 2 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 105 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 7 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 Hill City.
Where Hill City Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 215 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.
Hill City 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: 6.1"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.7"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.6"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 13.8"
10.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.1"
14.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
12.4 days with precipitation
12.2 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
7.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.5"
7.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.5"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.0"
5.1 days with precipitation
Hill City runs a summer-peaked wet season
42% of Hill City'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 May at 4.2", on a 41.6°F seasonal spread. 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: May, July, June, taking 50% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.4".
- Winter share: 7% 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 Hill City's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 104 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 22.4" 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.
Winter brings real snow to Hill City
Hill City averages 66.6 inches of snowfall a year, with April the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 34 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: 66.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 34 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 30% 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 10
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
101 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,881
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
227
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Hill City 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).
- Bethel, ME 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Carter, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Colton, NY 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Dayton, WY 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (22.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Healy, KS 22.4" · 0.0" off
- Chama, NM 22.4" · 0.0" off
- Park City, UT 22.4" · 0.0" off
- Council, ID 22.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Hill City
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Hill City's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,881 annual heating degree days against 227 for cooling. Its 41.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 101 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. Hill City coldest normal
January
Averaging 25°F (-4°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Hill City typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Hill City snow peak
April
Hill City averages 66.6 inches of snow a year, with April the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Hill City's climate
How much snow does Hill City get? ▼
How cold does Hill City get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Hill City? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Hill City's primary station: HILL CITY (USC00393868). 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 4629100). Match rule for Hill City: 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 Hill City 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.