Max, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Max's normal year runs from 0°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 18.7 inches of precipitation and 49 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.7°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 27°C, 475 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMax
- Station IDUSC00325638
- Location47.82°N 101.29°W
- Elevation2,110 ft (643 m)
- Population325
On October 23, the normal high in Max is 49°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 Max.
- Jan 18° 0°
- Feb 23° 4°
- Mar 35° 16°
- Apr 51° 30°
- May 65° 42°
- Jun 74° 53°
- Jul 81° 58°
- Aug 81° 56°
- Sep 70° 46°
- Oct 53° 32°
- Nov 36° 18°
- Dec 24° 6°
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 Max each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 0°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.65 in), the least in February (0.50 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°F | 0°F | 9.3°F | 0.57 | 8.9 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 23°F | 4°F | 13.4°F | 0.50 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 35°F | 16°F | 25.6°F | 0.79 | 7.9 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 30°F | 40.5°F | 1.17 | 4.4 | 6 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 42°F | 53.6°F | 2.82 | 1.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 3.65 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 81°F | 58°F | 69.1°F | 2.79 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 81°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 2.14 | 0.0 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 46°F | 58.0°F | 1.68 | 0.1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 32°F | 42.8°F | 1.36 | 3.4 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| November | 36°F | 18°F | 27.0°F | 0.68 | 6.9 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 24°F | 6°F | 14.9°F | 0.57 | 9.6 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 30°F | 40.5°F | 18.72 | 49.4 | 74 | 12 | 188 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −18°C | −12.6°C | 14 mm | 23 cm |
| February | −5°C | −16°C | −10.3°C | 13 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 2°C | −9°C | −3.6°C | 20 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 4.7°C | 30 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 72 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 0°C | 6.0°C | 35 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 2°C | −8°C | −2.8°C | 17 mm | 18 cm |
| December | −5°C | −14°C | −9.5°C | 14 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00325638; 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 Max?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00325638.
When is the last frost in Max?
In Max, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 15 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 101 year in 10 after May 25; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 11
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 2 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Max in zone 4a in ZIP code 58759, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Max's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00325638; 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 Max?
In a normal year in Max, 12 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 188 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 74 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 188a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 96high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 74a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1929) is 110°F, on July 7, 1936; the lowest is −47°F, on February 16, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 27.82 in; the snowiest season is 2010–11, with 93.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00325638; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00325638. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Max?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Max, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and November the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 1.8 |
| February | 83% | 2.9 |
| March | 77% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 4.8 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.3 |
| July | 84% | 6.7 |
| August | 82% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.1 |
| October | 70% | 2.6 |
| November | 68% | 1.6 |
| December | 68% | 1.2 |
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 Max need?
A normal year in Max brings 9,302 heating degree days, 73% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 408 cooling degree days, 55% 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 2,094 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,725 | 0 |
| February | 1,445 | 0 |
| March | 1,220 | 0 |
| April | 737 | 0 |
| May | 365 | 11 |
| June | 108 | 61 |
| July | 30 | 157 |
| August | 48 | 142 |
| September | 245 | 35 |
| October | 690 | 1 |
| November | 1,140 | 0 |
| December | 1,551 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,302 | 408 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00325638. 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 Max been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 41.1°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 40.5°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.2°F | +2.7°F | 11.38 | 37.0 |
| 2022 | 39.0°F | −1.5°F | 20.10 | 83.0 |
| 2023 | 41.4°F | +0.9°F | 15.86 | 57.0 |
| 2024 | 42.6°F | +2.1°F | 16.90 | 38.0 |
| 2025 | 41.1°F | +0.6°F | 18.73 | 29.5 |
Over 62 complete years from 1930 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.2°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00325638; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Max's climate compare?
Max is warmer than 34 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 32. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.5°F is warmer than 6%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Max 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 Max share this climate record?
4 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.
- Makoti, ND146 people · 26 mi W
- Ryder, ND104 people · 19 mi W
- Douglas, ND91 people · 10 mi W
- Benedict, ND66 people · 10 mi E
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 Max's climate
What is the coldest month in Max?
January, with a normal high of 18°F and a normal low of 0°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Max?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 24 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Max?
June, with 3.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Max in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Max in zone 4a in ZIP code 58759, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Max's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Max?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 25. Waiting until May 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Garrison, ND14 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Velva, ND23 miles from this station, 39.3°F a year
- Riverdale, ND23 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Underwood, ND26 miles from this station, 40.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made