Ladner, SD 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 Ladner's primary NOAA station, LADNER 9SW.
The climate verdict for Ladner
Dryness leads the climate profile for Ladner, South Dakota, with 18.5 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 44°F. At 39/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 4% of scores.
- 44°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 39/100
- comfort score, above 4% of station-mapped location scores
- 18.5"
- annual precipitation · 46" snow
- 137 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Ladner: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00394671 · Ladner, SD 44°F mean · 18.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Shawano
- PRCP-DRY 18.5"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-LOW 39/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,118 HDD
- STN-1 USC00394671
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Shawano, WI (+ 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.
- Ladner (this station) 44°F
- Cold Wisconsin Rapids, WI 44°F
- Hot Blair, WI 44°F
- Near Shawano, WI 44°F
- Near Brockway, MT 44°F
Climate Living Index · Ladner
Ladner: 23/100 · grade F
Ladner publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ladner, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 39/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 18.5 in · 16.5 from 35 in | 42/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 45.7 inches/year | 23/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 185 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 137 days/year | 17/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.9°F · 23.6° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
Ladner · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ladner is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 19.0°F and warmest-month mean 70.6°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
- 70.6°F
- Coldest month
- 19.0°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 Ladner sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ladner'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, Ladner sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 75%
- Ladner's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 85%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Ladner is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ladner compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ladner's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
39 4th percentile score exceeds 4% 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F (-2°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.4" | 4.2" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (0°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 0.7" | 7.4" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 0.9" | 8.5" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 54°F (12°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 2.0" | 5.4" | 20.2 | 0.1 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.0" | 2.9" | 6.5 | 0.2 |
| June | 76°F (24°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 2.9" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 2.0 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 71°F (21°C) | 2.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.2 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.8" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 7.6 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 3.5 | 2.1 |
| October | 55°F (13°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 3.3" | 18.5 | 0.1 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 0.7" | 5.3" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 31°F (0°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 0.5" | 8.7" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 27, short of 90°F on every date, while 185 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 10°F near January 7.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 20, then returns to freezing around October 19, covering 185 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 30, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 19 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 70 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 29°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Ladner.
Where Ladner Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 185 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Ladner 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 and snowfall
Snow: 4.2"
3.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.4"
4.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.5"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.4"
7.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.9"
9.3 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.3"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
3.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.7"
4.5 days with precipitation
Ladner runs a summer-peaked wet season
39% of Ladner'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 3.0", on a wide 51.6°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: May, June, July, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January 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 Ladner's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 70 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 18.5" between them, or roughly 0.26 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 Ladner
Ladner averages 45.7 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 21 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: 45.7 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 21 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 25% 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 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 13
50% probability date
Growing Season
137 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,118
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
464
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Ladner 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 (18.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Julesburg, CO 18.6" · 0.0" off
- Big Horn, WY 18.6" · 0.1" off
- Grand Lake, CO 18.6" · 0.1" off
- Friday Harbor, WA 18.5" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Ladner
heating led · dry · mid swing
Ladner's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,118 annual heating degree days against 464 for cooling. Its 51.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 137 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. Ladner coldest normal
January
Averaging 19°F (-7°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Ladner typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Ladner snow peak
December
Ladner averages 45.7 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Ladner's climate
How much snow does Ladner get? ▼
How cold does Ladner get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ladner? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ladner's primary station: LADNER 9SW (USC00394671). 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 Ladner; 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 Ladner 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.