Livingston, 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 Livingston's primary NOAA station, LIVINGSTON 12 S.
The climate verdict for Livingston
Dryness leads the climate profile for Livingston, Montana, with 16.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 46°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 46°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.3"
- annual precipitation · 63" snow
- 129 days
- frost-free growing season
Livingston: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00245080 · Livingston, MT 46°F mean · 16.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,441
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Laurel Summit
- PRCP-DRY 16.3"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,278 HDD
- STN-1 USC00245080
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Laurel Summit, PA (+ 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.
- Livingston (this station) 46°F
- Cold Deer Park, WA 46°F
- Hot Stevensville, MT 46°F
- Near Laurel Summit, PA 46°F
- Near Diamond Valley…, NV 46°F
Livingston 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 · Livingston
Livingston: 24/100 · grade F
Livingston publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Livingston, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (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 | 174 calendar days | 29/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.6°F · 21.9° from 67.5°F | 22/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 62.7 inches/year | 14/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 129 days/year | 11/100 · F |
Livingston · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Livingston is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 27.0°F and warmest-month mean 67.2°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
- 67.2°F
- Coldest month
- 27.0°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 Livingston sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Livingston's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 79%
- Among 6,861 stations, Livingston sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Livingston's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 37th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Livingston compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Livingston's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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
Livingston's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 85 complete annual observations from 1896 to 2025, LIVINGSTON 12 S warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Livingston primary station fitted change +0.18 °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 | 35°F (2°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.7" | 9.6" | 26.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (3°C) | 20°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.6" | 9.6" | 24.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 48°F (9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 9.2" | 23.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 8.0" | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.3" | 2.4" | 5.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 72°F (22°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.9" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.1 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 1.3" | 0.1" | 0.2 | 3.6 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 1.5" | 0.3" | 2.3 | 0.7 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.5" | 3.5" | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.9" | 7.9" | 20.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 34°F (1°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.6" | 12.1" | 26.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 26, short of 90°F on every date, while 174 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near December 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 15, then returns to freezing around October 25, covering 174 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 6, when 40% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 5 at 20%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 95 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 4 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 Livingston.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 9.6"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.6"
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.2"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.0"
9.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.4"
10.5 days with precipitation
11.6 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.5"
7.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.9"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.1"
6.2 days with precipitation
Livingston runs a summer-peaked wet season
35% of Livingston'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 2.9", on a 40.2°F seasonal spread. 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, April, taking 42% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.6".
- Winter share: 12% 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.
Livingston is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 95 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 26% of the calendar, and they carry 16.3" between them. At roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is June at about 12 wet days; the driest is November at about 6.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Livingston
Livingston averages 62.7 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 31 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: 62.7 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 31 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 38% 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 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
129 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,278
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
239
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Livingston 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 (46°F here).
- Appleton, WI 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Cobleskill, NY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Downey, ID 46°F · 0.0°F off
- La Crosse, WI 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Byers, CO 16.3" · 0.0" off
- Philip, SD 16.3" · 0.0" off
- Sheridan Lake, CO 16.3" · 0.0" off
- Roy, NM 16.4" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Livingston
heating led · dry · mid swing
Livingston's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,278 annual heating degree days against 239 for cooling. Its 40.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 129 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. Livingston coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 27°F (-3°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Livingston typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Livingston snow peak
December
Livingston averages 62.7 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Livingston's climate
How much snow does Livingston get? ▼
How cold does Livingston get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Livingston? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Livingston's primary station: LIVINGSTON 12 S (USC00245080). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 3043975). Match rule for Livingston: 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 Livingston 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.