McClusky, North Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
McClusky's normal year runs from 3°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 18.2 inches of precipitation and 45 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.6°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 30°C, 462 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMcClusky
- Station IDUSC00325710
- Location47.48°N 100.44°W
- Elevation1,927 ft (587 m)
On October 23, the normal high in McClusky is 54°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for McClusky.
- Jan 23° 3°
- Feb 27° 6°
- Mar 40° 18°
- Apr 57° 32°
- May 71° 44°
- Jun 79° 54°
- Jul 85° 59°
- Aug 85° 57°
- Sep 75° 48°
- Oct 58° 34°
- Nov 40° 20°
- Dec 27° 9°
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 McClusky each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 3°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.36 in), the least in February (0.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 3°F | 13.0°F | 0.49 | 7.8 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 27°F | 6°F | 16.8°F | 0.45 | 5.6 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 40°F | 18°F | 29.2°F | 0.67 | 5.9 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 32°F | 44.3°F | 1.23 | 4.4 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 71°F | 44°F | 57.3°F | 2.48 | 0.4 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| June | 79°F | 54°F | 66.9°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 85°F | 59°F | 72.3°F | 2.53 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 57°F | 71.2°F | 2.30 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 75°F | 48°F | 61.6°F | 1.91 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 34°F | 46.3°F | 1.39 | 2.8 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 20°F | 30.4°F | 0.69 | 8.8 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 27°F | 9°F | 17.8°F | 0.67 | 9.3 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 32°F | 43.9°F | 18.17 | 45.0 | 79 | 17 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −16°C | −10.6°C | 12 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −3°C | −14°C | −8.4°C | 11 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 5°C | −8°C | −1.6°C | 17 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 31 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 14.1°C | 63 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 12°C | 19.4°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.4°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 21.8°C | 58 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 9°C | 16.4°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 35 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.9°C | 18 mm | 22 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −7.9°C | 17 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00325710; 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 McClusky?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June 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 USC00325710.
When is the last frost at McClusky?
In McClusky, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 19 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 81 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts McClusky in zone 4b in ZIP code 58463, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (29 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 USC00325710; 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 at McClusky?
In a normal year in McClusky, 17 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 79 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 83high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 79a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1922) is 115°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −53°F, on February 15, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 31.45 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 80.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00325710; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00325710. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at McClusky?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at McClusky, 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 many heating and cooling degree days does McClusky record?
A normal year at McClusky brings 8,290 heating degree days, 54% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 655 cooling degree days, 28% 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 2,616 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,612 | 0 |
| February | 1,350 | 0 |
| March | 1,110 | 0 |
| April | 621 | 1 |
| May | 265 | 26 |
| June | 58 | 115 |
| July | 11 | 238 |
| August | 21 | 211 |
| September | 164 | 61 |
| October | 581 | 3 |
| November | 1,038 | 0 |
| December | 1,462 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,290 | 655 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00325710. 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.
Have recent years at McClusky been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 41.9°F, 2.0°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 43.9°F. 1 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.3°F | +2.4°F | 15.88 | – |
| 2022 | 39.6°F | −4.3°F | 16.60 | – |
| 2024 | 43.4°F | −0.5°F | 21.20 | – |
| 2025 | 41.9°F | −2.0°F | 22.53 | – |
Over 75 complete years from 1923 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 USC00325710; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does McClusky's climate compare?
McClusky is warmer than 90 of the 92 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 26. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.9°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, McClusky 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 McClusky share this climate record?
3 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.
- McClusky, ND315 people · 0 mi NE
- Goodrich, ND108 people · 15 mi E
- Denhoff, ND13 people · 9 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 McClusky's climate
What is the coldest month at McClusky?
January, with a normal high of 23°F and a normal low of 3°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at McClusky?
Yes: 45 inches in a normal year, falling on 22 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month at McClusky?
June, with 3.36 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is McClusky in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts McClusky in zone 4b in ZIP code 58463, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come at McClusky?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 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
- Turtle Lake, ND21 miles from this station, 41.1°F a year
- Butte, ND22 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Wilton, ND27 miles from this station, 40.6°F a year
- Tuttle (12 mi NNE), ND27 miles from this station, 39.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made