Hinsdale, MT 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 Hinsdale's primary NOAA station, HINSDALE 4 SW.
The climate verdict for Hinsdale
Dryness leads the climate profile for Hinsdale, Montana, with 16.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 43°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.3"
- precipitation, annual total
- 134 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Hinsdale: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00244180 · Hinsdale, MT 43°F mean · 16.3" 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 ≈ Theodore Roosev…
- PRCP-DRY 16.3"
- SWING-WIDE 54°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,506 HDD
- STN-1 USC00244180
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Theodore Roosevelt, ND (+ 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.
- Hinsdale (this station) 43°F
- Cold Danbury, WI 43°F
- Hot Fullerton, ND 43°F
- Near Theodore Roosev…, ND 43°F
- Near St Cloud Rgnl, MN 43°F
Hinsdale 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 · Hinsdale
Hinsdale: 19/100 · grade F
Hinsdale publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Hinsdale, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 16.3 in · 18.7 from 35 in | 33/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 191 calendar days | 19/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 134 days/year | 15/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 42.8°F · 24.7° from 67.5°F | 12/100 · F |
Hinsdale · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Hinsdale is a continental Köppen climate: Dwb
Coldest-month mean 15.9°F and warmest-month mean 69.6°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
- 69.6°F
- Coldest month
- 15.9°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 Hinsdale sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Hinsdale'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, Hinsdale sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Hinsdale's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 90%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Hinsdale is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Hinsdale compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Hinsdale's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F (-3°C) | 6°F (-15°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 0.5" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 29°F (-2°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.4" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 41°F (5°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.5" | 16.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.8" | 4.2 | 0.3 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 3.6" | 0.0 | 2.1 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 1.8" | 0.0 | 7.9 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.1" | 0.0 | 9.1 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 1.5" | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| October | 55°F (13°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.3" | 14.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 40°F (4°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.6" | 26.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 28°F (-2°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.5" | 30.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 88°F around July 30, short of 90°F on every date, while 191 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 5°F near January 7.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 17, covering 191 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 13, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 29 at 15%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 72 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Hinsdale.
Where Hinsdale Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 191 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Hinsdale 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
5.6 days with precipitation
4.2 days with precipitation
5.6 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
Hinsdale runs a summer-peaked wet season
40% of Hinsdale'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 3.6", on a wide 53.7°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 50% 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 Hinsdale's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 73 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 16.3" between them, or roughly 0.22 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 15
50% probability date
Growing Season
134 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,506
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
441
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Hinsdale 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).
- Cooperstown, NY 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Craig, CO 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Elfin Cove, AK 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Farmington, ME 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Roy, NM 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Cheyenne Wells, CO 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Byers, CO 16.3" · 0.0" off
- Philip, SD 16.3" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Hinsdale's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Hinsdale's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,506 annual heating degree days against 441 for cooling. Its 53.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 134 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.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Hinsdale's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 53.7°F. The annual average is 43°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Hinsdale's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.3 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Hinsdale's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Hinsdale, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Hinsdale's climate
How much rain does Hinsdale get? ▼
How cold does Hinsdale get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Hinsdale? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Hinsdale's primary station: HINSDALE 4 SW (USC00244180). 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 a census-designated place (GEOID 3036475), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Hinsdale: 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 Hinsdale 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.