Ludlow, SD Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Ludlow's primary NOAA station, LUDLOW 3 SSE.
The climate verdict for Ludlow
Dryness leads the climate profile for Ludlow, South Dakota, with 17.1 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 44°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 44°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 17.1"
- yearly precipitation total
- 133 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Ludlow: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00395048 · Ludlow, SD 44°F mean · 17.1" 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 ≈ Stevens Point
- PRCP-DRY 17.1"
- SWING-WIDE 51°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,064 HDD
- STN-1 USC00395048
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Stevens Point, WI (+ 0.1 °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.
- Ludlow (this station) 44°F
- Cold Mather, WI 44°F
- Hot Stevens Point, WI 44°F
- Near Rochelle, WY 44°F
- Near Valentine, MT 44°F
Climate Living Index · Ludlow
Ludlow: 21/100 · grade F
Ludlow publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ludlow, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 17.1 in · 17.9 from 35 in | 36/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 188 calendar days | 21/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.0°F · 23.5° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 133 days/year | 14/100 · F |
Ludlow · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ludlow is a continental Köppen climate: Dwb
Coldest-month mean 19.3°F and warmest-month mean 70.2°F place this station in continental, dry-winter, warm summer climates (Dwb). Class Dwb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-winter, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dwb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 70.2°F
- Coldest month
- 19.3°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 Ludlow sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ludlow'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, Ludlow sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 78%
- Ludlow's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 83%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Ludlow is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ludlow compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ludlow's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F (-1°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.3" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 32°F (0°C) | 11°F (-11°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 0.3" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (6°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.5" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 2.1" | 17.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 3.0" | 4.8 | 0.2 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.4" | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 2.3" | 0.0 | 7.7 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.4" | 0.1 | 7.7 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.4" | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 13.8 | 0.2 |
| November | 43°F (6°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.5" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 32°F (0°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 0.3" | 30.3 | 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 188 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 9°F near January 18.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 23, then returns to freezing around October 19, covering 188 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 7, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 27 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 60 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 28 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 30°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Ludlow.
Where Ludlow Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 188 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Ludlow 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
3.2 days with precipitation
3.3 days with precipitation
3.6 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
3.9 days with precipitation
4.1 days with precipitation
2.6 days with precipitation
3.2 days with precipitation
Ludlow runs a summer-peaked wet season
41% of Ludlow'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 3.4", on a wide 50.9°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: June, May, July, taking 50% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.3".
- Winter share: 5% 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 Ludlow's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 59 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 17.1" between them, or roughly 0.29 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
133 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,064
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
449
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Ludlow 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).
- Blair, WI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Brockway, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Dassel, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Lakefield, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (17.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bowman, ND 17.1" · 0.0" off
- Morgan, UT 17.1" · 0.0" off
- Stratford, TX 17.1" · 0.0" off
- Springer, NM 17.1" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Ludlow's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Ludlow's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,064 annual heating degree days against 449 for cooling. Its 50.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 133 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.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Ludlow's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 50.9°F. The annual average is 44°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Ludlow's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 17.1 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Ludlow's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Ludlow, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Ludlow's climate
How much rain does Ludlow get? ▼
How cold does Ludlow get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ludlow? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ludlow's primary station: LUDLOW 3 SSE (USC00395048). 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 Ludlow; 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 Ludlow 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.