Leola, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Leola's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 21.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 28°C, 554 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLeola
- Station IDUSC00394891
- Location45.72°N 98.94°W
- Elevation1,580 ft (482 m)
- Population406
On October 23, the normal high in Leola is 53°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Leola.
- Jan 22° 1°
- Feb 26° 5°
- Mar 39° 17°
- Apr 55° 30°
- May 68° 43°
- Jun 77° 54°
- Jul 83° 59°
- Aug 81° 56°
- Sep 73° 46°
- Oct 57° 32°
- Nov 40° 19°
- Dec 26° 8°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Leola each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.65 in), the least in December (0.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 1°F | 11.2°F | 0.60 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 5°F | 15.7°F | 0.68 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 17°F | 27.6°F | 1.00 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 30°F | 42.2°F | 1.92 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 43°F | 55.3°F | 3.15 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 54°F | 65.7°F | 3.65 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 59°F | 70.7°F | 3.09 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 81°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 2.98 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 46°F | 59.3°F | 1.82 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 32°F | 44.4°F | 1.75 | 5 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 19°F | 29.3°F | 0.71 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 26°F | 8°F | 16.8°F | 0.45 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 31°F | 42.2°F | 21.80 | 76 | 16 | 175 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.6°C | 15 mm |
| February | −3°C | −15°C | −9.1°C | 17 mm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 25 mm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 49 mm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 80 mm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.7°C | 93 mm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.5°C | 78 mm |
| August | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 76 mm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 46 mm |
| October | 14°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 44 mm |
| November | 4°C | −7°C | −1.5°C | 18 mm |
| December | −3°C | −14°C | −8.4°C | 11 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Ipswich (19 miles away), gets 34 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00394891; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Leola?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00394891.
When is the last frost in Leola?
In Leola, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 17 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 91 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Leola in zone 4b in ZIP code 57456, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00394891; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Leola?
In a normal year in Leola, 16 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 175 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 175a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 78high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1899) is 109°F, on July 10, 1966; the lowest is −36°F, on January 24, 1904.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 28.55 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 90.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00394891; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00394891. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Leola?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Leola, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 1.9 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 75% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.5 |
| July | 85% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 2.8 |
| November | 73% | 1.9 |
| December | 70% | 1.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Leola need?
A normal year in Leola brings 8,741 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 475 cooling degree days, 48% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,278 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,667 | 0 |
| February | 1,380 | 0 |
| March | 1,159 | 0 |
| April | 685 | 1 |
| May | 314 | 13 |
| June | 73 | 94 |
| July | 18 | 196 |
| August | 37 | 135 |
| September | 206 | 36 |
| October | 638 | 1 |
| November | 1,069 | 0 |
| December | 1,494 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,741 | 475 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00394891. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Leola's climate compare?
Leola is warmer than 1 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.2°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Leola is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Leola share this climate record?
5 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Forbes, ND38 people · 17 mi NE
- Grassland Colony, SD36 people · 8 mi SE
- Wetonka, SD13 people · 11 mi SE
- Deerfield Colony, SD0 people · 9 mi S
- Long Lake Colony, SD0 people · 10 mi SE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Leola's climate
What is the coldest month in Leola?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Leola?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Leola's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Ipswich (19 miles away), records 34 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Leola?
June, with 3.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Leola in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Leola in zone 4b in ZIP code 57456, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Leola?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Aberdeen (35 mi WNW), SD9 miles from this station, 41.9°F a year
- Ipswich, SD19 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Roscoe, SD27 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Ellendale, ND29 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made