Kalispell Glacier, MT 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 Kalispell Glacier's primary NOAA station, KALISPELL GLACIER AP.
The climate verdict for Kalispell Glacier
Dryness leads the climate profile for Kalispell Glacier, Montana, with 16.8 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 34/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 2% of scores.
- 43°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 34/100
- comfort score, above 2% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.8"
- annual precipitation · 54" snow
- 102 days
- frost-free growing season
Kalispell Glacier: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00244558 · Kalispell Glacier, MT 43°F mean · 16.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #823
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Slide Mtn
- PRCP-DRY 16.8"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-LOW 34/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,106 HDD
- STN-1 USC00244558
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Slide Mtn, NY (+ 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.
- Kalispell Glaci… (this station) 43°F
- Cold Laketown, UT 43°F
- Hot W Glacier, MT 43°F
- Near Slide Mtn, NY 43°F
- Near Laurin, MT 43°F
Kalispell Glacier 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 · Kalispell Glacier
Kalispell Glacier: 24/100 · grade F
Kalispell Glacier publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Kalispell Glacier, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 34/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Summer moisture balance | 45.7°F mean dew point | 69/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 16.8 in · 18.2 from 35 in | 35/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 54.4 inches/year | 19/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.1°F · 24.4° from 67.5°F | 13/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 202 calendar days | 13/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 102 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Kalispell Glacier · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Kalispell Glacier is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 23.7°F and warmest-month mean 64.9°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
- 64.9°F
- Coldest month
- 23.7°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 Kalispell Glacier sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Kalispell Glacier's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 88%
- Among 6,861 stations, Kalispell Glacier sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 78%
- Kalispell Glacier's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 41st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Kalispell Glacier compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Kalispell Glacier's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
34 2nd percentile score exceeds 2% 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
Kalispell Glacier's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 120 complete annual observations from 1898 to 2025, KALISPELL GLACIER AP 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.
- Kalispell Glacier 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 | 31°F (-1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 1.4" | 13.9" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.0" | 8.4" | 26.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 45°F (7°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 1.1" | 5.4" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.3" | 1.2" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.8" | 0.2" | 6.3 | 0.1 |
| June | 71°F (22°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 2.8" | 0.3" | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 6.2 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 6.1 |
| September | 70°F (21°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.2" | 0.0" | 4.8 | 0.5 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 1.4" | 1.1" | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 39°F (4°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 1.4" | 8.0" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 31°F (-1°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 1.5" | 15.9" | 29.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 202 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 15°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 6, covering 202 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 January 2, when 49% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 30 at 20%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 132 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 1 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 37°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Kalispell Glacier.
Where Kalispell Glacier Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 202 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 37°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Kalispell Glacier 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: 13.9"
14.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.4"
11.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.4"
12.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
11.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
12.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
12.7 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
6.4 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
10.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.0"
12.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.9"
14.3 days with precipitation
Kalispell Glacier spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Kalispell Glacier has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.2°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 2.8" and August 0.8". The three wettest months together take 37% 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.
Rain reaches Kalispell Glacier in small, frequent amounts
Kalispell Glacier records about 132 days with measurable precipitation a year and 16.8" in total, which works out to roughly 0.13 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 36% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: December, about 14 of them.
- Fewest: August, about 6.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.13 inches.
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 Kalispell Glacier
Kalispell Glacier averages 54.4 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 41 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: 54.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 41 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 32% 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
May 31
50% probability date
Growing Season
102 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,106
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
143
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 4.2 | N/A | N/A |
| February | 73% | 5.5 | 30% | 48% |
| March | 65% | 6.5 | 33% | 39% |
| April | 58% | 6.9 | 40% | 30% |
| May | 62% | 6.1 | 42% | 27% |
| June | 60% | 5.4 | 59% | 15% |
| July | 52% | 5.5 | 73% | 5% |
| August | 56% | 5.0 | 61% | 13% |
| September | 66% | 4.7 | 58% | 19% |
| October | 76% | 4.3 | 35% | 45% |
| November | 80% | 4.2 | N/A | N/A |
| December | 82% | 4.0 | N/A | N/A |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Kalispell Glacier 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).
- Almont, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Bismarck, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Clark, SD 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Grantsburg, WI 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
- Minot, ND 16.7" · 0.1" off
- Cantwell, AK 16.8" · 0.1" off
- Bushnell, NE 16.7" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Kalispell Glacier
heating led · dry · mid swing
Kalispell Glacier's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,106 annual heating degree days against 143 for cooling. Its 41.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 102 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. Kalispell Glacier coldest normal
January
Averaging 24°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Kalispell Glacier typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Kalispell Glacier snow peak
December
Kalispell Glacier averages 54.4 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Kalispell Glacier's climate
How much snow does Kalispell Glacier get? ▼
How cold does Kalispell Glacier get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Kalispell Glacier? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Kalispell Glacier's primary station: KALISPELL GLACIER AP (USC00244558). 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 Kalispell Glacier; 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 Kalispell Glacier 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.