Midland, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Midland's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.6°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 32°C.
- NOAA stationMidland
- Station IDUSC00395506
- Location44.07°N 101.15°W
- Elevation1,870 ft (570 m)
- Population109
On October 22, the normal high in Midland is 60°F and the normal low 31°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Midland.
- Jan 34° 8°
- Feb 38° 12°
- Mar 49° 22°
- Apr 61° 32°
- May 71° 44°
- Jun 81° 54°
- Jul 89° 60°
- Aug 88° 58°
- Sep 79° 48°
- Oct 63° 34°
- Nov 48° 20°
- Dec 36° 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 Midland each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 8°F | 21.2°F | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 38°F | 12°F | 25.1°F | – | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 49°F | 22°F | 35.7°F | – | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 32°F | 46.3°F | – | <1 | 15 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 44°F | 57.6°F | – | 1 | 4 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 81°F | 54°F | 67.5°F | – | 4 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 89°F | 60°F | 74.6°F | – | 14 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 88°F | 58°F | 73.0°F | – | 15 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 79°F | 48°F | 63.5°F | – | 6 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 63°F | 34°F | 48.4°F | – | 1 | 14 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 20°F | 34.0°F | – | <1 | 28 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 36°F | 11°F | 23.6°F | – | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 34°F | 47.5°F | – | 41 | 178 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −13°C | −6.0°C |
| February | 3°C | −11°C | −3.8°C |
| March | 10°C | −5°C | 2.1°C |
| April | 16°C | 0°C | 7.9°C |
| May | 22°C | 7°C | 14.2°C |
| June | 27°C | 12°C | 19.7°C |
| July | 32°C | 16°C | 23.7°C |
| August | 31°C | 14°C | 22.8°C |
| September | 26°C | 9°C | 17.5°C |
| October | 17°C | 1°C | 9.1°C |
| November | 9°C | −7°C | 1.1°C |
| December | 2°C | −12°C | −4.7°C |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395506; 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 Midland?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September.
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 USC00395506.
When is the last frost in Midland?
In Midland, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 13 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 121 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 138 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 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 Midland in zone 4b in ZIP code 57552, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Midland's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (17 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 USC00395506; 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 Midland?
In a normal year in Midland, 41 days a year reach 90°F (10 of them 100°F or more) and 178 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 41a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 178a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1895) is 117°F, on July 15, 2006; the lowest is −45°F, on February 9, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1982, with 27.74 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 51.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00395506; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00395506. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Midland?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Midland, 4.3 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 | 78% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 75% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 6.8 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.6 |
| October | 75% | 3.1 |
| November | 76% | 2.1 |
| December | 74% | 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 Midland need?
A normal year in Midland brings 7,149 heating degree days, 33% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 825 cooling degree days, 9% 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 2,861 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,358 | 0 |
| February | 1,117 | 0 |
| March | 907 | 0 |
| April | 563 | 2 |
| May | 258 | 28 |
| June | 56 | 131 |
| July | 10 | 306 |
| August | 18 | 266 |
| September | 133 | 88 |
| October | 517 | 4 |
| November | 928 | 0 |
| December | 1,285 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,149 | 825 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395506. 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 Midland been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.0°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.5°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2024 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 50.5°F | +3.0°F |
| 2025 | 50.0°F | +2.5°F |
Over 44 complete years from 1896 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.6°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00395506; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Midland's climate compare?
Midland is warmer than 77 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.5°F is warmer than 30%.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers.
Which places near Midland share this climate record?
Belvidere 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.
- Belvidere, SD43 people · 17 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 Midland's climate
What is the coldest month in Midland?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 60°F at night).
What plant hardiness zone is Midland in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Midland in zone 4b in ZIP code 57552, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Midland's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Midland?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 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
- Philip, SD22 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Murdo, SD25 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Fort Pierre (17 mi WSW), SD27 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Cedar Butte, SD34 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made