Hungry Horse Dam, 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 Hungry Horse Dam's primary NOAA station, HUNGRY HORSE DAM.
The climate verdict for Hungry Horse Dam
Hungry Horse Dam, Montana has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 44°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 44°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 34.6"
- annual precipitation
- 145 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Hungry Horse Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00244328 · Hungry Horse Dam, MT 44°F mean · 34.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,166
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Salmon-ksra
- PRCP-MID 34.6"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,786 HDD
- STN-1 USC00244328
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Salmon-ksra, ID (+ 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.
- Hungry Horse Dam (this station) 44°F
- Cold Two Rivers, WI 44°F
- Hot Petoskey, MI 44°F
- Near Salmon-ksra, ID 44°F
- Near Warsaw, NY 44°F
Hungry Horse Dam 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 · Hungry Horse Dam
Hungry Horse Dam: 38/100 · grade F
Hungry Horse Dam publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Hungry Horse Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 34.6 in · 0.4 from 35 in | 95/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 173 calendar days | 30/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 145 days/year | 22/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.4°F · 23.1° from 67.5°F | 18/100 · F |
Hungry Horse Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Hungry Horse Dam is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 25.2°F and warmest-month mean 67.6°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 67.6°F
- Coldest month
- 25.2°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 Hungry Horse Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Hungry Horse 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 83%
- Among 6,861 stations, Hungry Horse Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 47th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 46th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Hungry Horse Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Hungry Horse Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Hungry Horse Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 59 complete annual observations from 1949 to 2025, HUNGRY HORSE DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.24°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Hungry Horse Dam primary station fitted change +0.24 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 3.6" | 29.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 34°F (1°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 2.5" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 3.2" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 53°F (11°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 2.6" | 16.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.9" | 4.1 | 0.1 |
| June | 71°F (22°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 3.8" | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.4" | 0.0 | 7.7 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 1.2" | 0.2 | 6.3 |
| September | 69°F (21°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 2.2" | 1.2 | 0.5 |
| October | 52°F (11°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 38°F (3°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 3.9" | 23.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 31°F (-1°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 3.7" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 173 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near February 9.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 15, then returns to freezing around October 26, covering 173 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 December 13, when 50% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 29 at 17%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 137 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 26 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 Hungry Horse Dam.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
14.3 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
13.3 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
13.3 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
13.9 days with precipitation
15.4 days with precipitation
Hungry Horse Dam spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 19% of the annual total and December through February 28%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Hungry Horse Dam has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 42.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: November averages 3.9" and August 1.2". The three wettest months together take 33% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Hungry Horse Dam's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 137 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 34.6" between them, or roughly 0.25 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
October 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 9
50% probability date
Growing Season
145 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,786
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
293
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Hungry Horse 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 (44°F here).
- Bellemont, AZ 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Bridgeport, CA 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Challis, ID 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Edgemont, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (34.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Milwaukee, WI 34.6" · 0.0" off
- Rochester, MN 34.7" · 0.1" off
- New Hope, MN 34.7" · 0.1" off
- Sheboygan, WI 34.7" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Hungry Horse Dam's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Hungry Horse Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,786 annual heating degree days against 293 for cooling. Its 42.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 145 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 Hungry Horse Dam's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 42.4°F. The annual average is 44°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Hungry Horse Dam's 34.6 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Hungry Horse Dam'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 Hungry Horse Dam, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Hungry Horse Dam's climate
How much rain does Hungry Horse Dam get? ▼
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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 Hungry Horse Dam's primary station: HUNGRY HORSE DAM (USC00244328). 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 Hungry Horse 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 Hungry Horse 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.