Madison, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Madison's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 26.4 inches of precipitation and 37 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.1°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 29°C, 670 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMadison (2 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00395090
- Location43.99°N 97.09°W
- Elevation1,643 ft (501 m)
- Population6,086
On October 23, the normal high in Madison is 55°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Madison.
- Jan 24° 5°
- Feb 29° 10°
- Mar 41° 22°
- Apr 56° 33°
- May 68° 46°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 81° 58°
- Sep 73° 50°
- Oct 59° 36°
- Nov 42° 23°
- Dec 29° 11°
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 Madison each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.24 in), the least in January (0.46 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 5°F | 14.4°F | 0.46 | 5.6 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 10°F | 19.0°F | 0.66 | 8.4 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 22°F | 31.4°F | 1.03 | 5.0 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 33°F | 44.5°F | 2.70 | 4.2 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 46°F | 57.0°F | 3.74 | 0.1 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.4°F | 4.24 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.1°F | 3.33 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 81°F | 58°F | 69.7°F | 3.38 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 50°F | 61.4°F | 3.21 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 36°F | 47.2°F | 2.16 | 0.8 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 42°F | 23°F | 32.4°F | 0.85 | 4.9 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 11°F | 19.9°F | 0.61 | 7.8 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 34°F | 44.7°F | 26.37 | 36.8 | 87 | 12 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −15°C | −9.8°C | 12 mm | 14 cm |
| February | −2°C | −12°C | −7.2°C | 17 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.3°C | 26 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 6.9°C | 69 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.9°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 55 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 6°C | −5°C | 0.2°C | 22 mm | 12 cm |
| December | −2°C | −12°C | −6.7°C | 15 mm | 20 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395090; 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 Madison?
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 (7).
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 USC00395090.
When is the last frost in Madison?
In Madison, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 18 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 51 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 148 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Madison in zone 4b in ZIP code 57042, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Madison's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00395090; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 Madison?
In a normal year in Madison, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 87 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 76high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 87a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1961) is 105°F, on June 22, 1988; the lowest is −33°F, on January 15, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 44.58 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 71.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00395090; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00395090. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Madison?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Madison, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.0 |
| February | 79% | 3.1 |
| March | 71% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.5 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 82% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.5 |
| October | 74% | 3.1 |
| November | 75% | 2.1 |
| December | 71% | 1.6 |
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 Madison need?
A normal year in Madison brings 7,998 heating degree days, 49% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 631 cooling degree days, 31% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,597 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,570 | 0 |
| February | 1,288 | 0 |
| March | 1,044 | 0 |
| April | 617 | 2 |
| May | 279 | 31 |
| June | 58 | 130 |
| July | 13 | 233 |
| August | 26 | 170 |
| September | 170 | 60 |
| October | 556 | 4 |
| November | 978 | 0 |
| December | 1,400 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,998 | 631 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395090. 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.
Has Madison been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.8°F, 2.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.7°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.3°F | +2.5°F | 18.59 | 32.2 |
| 2023 | 46.5°F | +1.8°F | 20.81 | 38.4 |
| 2024 | 47.9°F | +3.2°F | 25.28 | 22.1 |
| 2025 | 46.8°F | +2.1°F | 23.33 | 18.1 |
Over 47 complete years from 1962 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.9°F per century (+0.33°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00395090; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Madison's climate compare?
Madison is warmer than 36 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 81. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.7°F is warmer than 18%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Madison is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Madison share this climate record?
Ramona 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.
- Ramona, SD161 people · 11 mi NW
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 Madison's climate
What is the coldest month in Madison?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Madison?
Yes: 37 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Madison?
June, with 4.24 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.46 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Madison in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Madison in zone 4b in ZIP code 57042, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Madison's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Madison?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 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
- Wentworth, SD4 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Winfred, SD13 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Montrose, SD13 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Salem, SD20 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made