Lodgepole (5 mi SW), South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Lodgepole (5 mi SW)'s normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 16.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.1°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 428 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLodgepole (5 mi SW)
- Station IDUSC00394956
- Location45.75°N 102.80°W
- Elevation2,570 ft (783 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Lodgepole (5 mi SW) is 53°F and the normal low 24°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lodgepole (5 mi SW).
- Jan 28° 5°
- Feb 31° 7°
- Mar 43° 16°
- Apr 54° 25°
- May 65° 36°
- Jun 74° 47°
- Jul 82° 52°
- Aug 82° 49°
- Sep 73° 40°
- Oct 57° 27°
- Nov 42° 14°
- Dec 31° 7°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Lodgepole (5 mi SW) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.50 in), the least in January (0.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 5°F | 16.4°F | 0.19 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 31°F | 7°F | 18.7°F | 0.34 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 43°F | 16°F | 29.3°F | 0.65 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 25°F | 39.7°F | 1.41 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 36°F | 50.6°F | 2.48 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 74°F | 47°F | 60.7°F | 3.50 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 82°F | 52°F | 66.9°F | 2.34 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 82°F | 49°F | 65.6°F | 2.09 | 6 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 40°F | 56.4°F | 1.49 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 27°F | 41.7°F | 1.56 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 14°F | 28.0°F | 0.53 | 2 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 31°F | 7°F | 18.8°F | 0.28 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 27°F | 41.1°F | 16.86 | 58 | 14 | 214 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −15°C | −8.7°C | 5 mm |
| February | −1°C | −14°C | −7.4°C | 9 mm |
| March | 6°C | −9°C | −1.5°C | 17 mm |
| April | 12°C | −4°C | 4.3°C | 36 mm |
| May | 18°C | 2°C | 10.3°C | 63 mm |
| June | 24°C | 8°C | 15.9°C | 89 mm |
| July | 28°C | 11°C | 19.4°C | 59 mm |
| August | 28°C | 10°C | 18.7°C | 53 mm |
| September | 23°C | 4°C | 13.6°C | 38 mm |
| October | 14°C | −3°C | 5.4°C | 40 mm |
| November | 6°C | −10°C | −2.2°C | 13 mm |
| December | −1°C | −14°C | −7.3°C | 7 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Bison (22 miles away), gets 40 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00394956; 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.
Which months are mildest at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00394956.
When is the last frost at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
In Lodgepole (5 mi SW), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 30 in half of years and after June 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 11 in half of years and before August 28 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 301 year in 10 after June 13; 9 in 10 after May 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 111 year in 10 before August 28; 9 in 10 before September 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 103 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 123 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 18 in half of springs and before September 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lodgepole (5 mi SW) in zone 4b in ZIP code 57640, 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 USC00394956; 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 at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
In a normal year in Lodgepole (5 mi SW), 14 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 214 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 58 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 214a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 69high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 58a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00394956.
How sunny is it at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Lodgepole (5 mi SW), 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 1.9 |
| February | 79% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 74% | 6.0 |
| June | 80% | 6.8 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.0 |
| September | 82% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.0 |
| November | 75% | 2.0 |
| December | 73% | 1.5 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Lodgepole (5 mi SW) record?
A normal year at Lodgepole (5 mi SW) brings 8,942 heating degree days, 66% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 249 cooling degree days, 73% 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 1,745 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,508 | 0 |
| February | 1,296 | 0 |
| March | 1,108 | 0 |
| April | 761 | 0 |
| May | 451 | 4 |
| June | 161 | 30 |
| July | 44 | 103 |
| August | 72 | 90 |
| September | 277 | 20 |
| October | 723 | 0 |
| November | 1,110 | 0 |
| December | 1,432 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,942 | 249 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00394956. 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 Lodgepole (5 mi SW)'s climate compare?
Lodgepole (5 mi SW) is warmer than 0 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.1°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lodgepole (5 mi SW) is Dwb: continental, dry-winter, 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 Lodgepole (5 mi SW) share this climate record?
Prairie City has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Prairie City, SD18 people · 15 mi S
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 Lodgepole (5 mi SW)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
January, with a normal high of 28°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Bison (22 miles away), records 40 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
June, with 3.50 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lodgepole (5 mi SW) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lodgepole (5 mi SW) in zone 4b in ZIP code 57640, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Lodgepole (5 mi SW)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 30; in one year in ten it comes after June 13. Waiting until June 13 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
- Ralph (1 mi N), SD13 miles from this station, 44.2°F a year
- Hettinger, ND20 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Bison, SD22 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Shadehill Reservoir, SD25 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made