Minot, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Minot's normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 16.7 inches of precipitation and 45 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.3°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 29°C, 424 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMinot International Airport
- Station IDUSW00024013
- Location48.26°N 101.27°W
- Elevation1,665 ft (508 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population47,440
On October 23, the normal high in Minot is 53°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Minot.
- Jan 23° 4°
- Feb 27° 8°
- Mar 40° 19°
- Apr 56° 31°
- May 69° 43°
- Jun 78° 54°
- Jul 84° 59°
- Aug 84° 56°
- Sep 73° 47°
- Oct 57° 34°
- Nov 40° 21°
- 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 in Minot each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.73 in), the least in January (0.28 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 4°F | 13.8°F | 0.28 | 9.8 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 27°F | 8°F | 17.3°F | 0.29 | 5.4 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 40°F | 19°F | 29.2°F | 0.51 | 6.1 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 31°F | 43.5°F | 1.00 | 4.5 | 7 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 69°F | 43°F | 56.1°F | 2.73 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 78°F | 54°F | 65.6°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 84°F | 59°F | 71.2°F | 2.50 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 56°F | 70.1°F | 2.08 | 0.0 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 47°F | 60.1°F | 1.57 | 0.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 34°F | 45.6°F | 1.15 | 1.2 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 21°F | 30.2°F | 0.56 | 9.2 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 27°F | 9°F | 18.3°F | 0.31 | 8.1 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 32°F | 43.4°F | 16.71 | 45.1 | 87 | 13 | 177 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −15°C | −10.1°C | 7 mm | 25 cm |
| February | −3°C | −13°C | −8.2°C | 7 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 4°C | −7°C | −1.6°C | 13 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 25 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 69 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 14°C | 21.2°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.6°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 29 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −1.0°C | 14 mm | 23 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −7.6°C | 8 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024013; 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 Minot?
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 USW00024013.
When is the last frost in Minot?
In Minot, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 22 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 101 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 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 Minot in zone 4a in ZIP code 58703, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Minot's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (29 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00024013; 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 Minot?
In a normal year in Minot, 13 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 177 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 87 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 177a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 87high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 87a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 107°F, on August 7, 1949; the lowest is −36°F, on December 23, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 28.39 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 100.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024013; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00024013. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Minot, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 54°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 56°F; the driest air comes in December (7°F). January is the windiest month (12.0 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (69%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°F | 74% | 67% | 12.0 mph | 54% | 31% |
| February | 12°F | 74% | 65% | 11.5 mph | 52% | 34% |
| March | 24°F | 65% | 48% | 11.8 mph | 54% | 30% |
| April | 33°F | 55% | 37% | 11.8 mph | 50% | 29% |
| May | 46°F | 61% | 43% | 10.9 mph | 50% | 26% |
| June | 56°F | 67% | 49% | 9.7 mph | 60% | 18% |
| July | 56°F | 63% | 42% | 9.0 mph | 69% | 10% |
| August | 51°F | 61% | 39% | 9.7 mph | 68% | 15% |
| September | 38°F | 60% | 40% | 11.1 mph | 66% | 18% |
| October | 27°F | 68% | 53% | 11.9 mph | 55% | 32% |
| November | 15°F | 73% | 64% | 11.9 mph | 51% | 37% |
| December | 7°F | 75% | 69% | 11.8 mph | 53% | 35% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024013. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Minot?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Minot, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (86%) and November the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 1.7 |
| February | 86% | 2.9 |
| March | 79% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 82% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.0 |
| October | 70% | 2.5 |
| November | 69% | 1.5 |
| December | 70% | 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 Minot need?
A normal year in Minot brings 8,382 heating degree days, 56% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 552 cooling degree days, 39% 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 2,425 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,586 | 0 |
| February | 1,334 | 0 |
| March | 1,108 | 0 |
| April | 646 | 1 |
| May | 297 | 21 |
| June | 74 | 90 |
| July | 16 | 206 |
| August | 28 | 185 |
| September | 194 | 47 |
| October | 605 | 2 |
| November | 1,045 | 0 |
| December | 1,449 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,382 | 552 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024013. 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 Minot been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 42.1°F, 1.3°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 43.4°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.8°F | +2.4°F | – | – |
| 2022 | 41.1°F | −2.3°F | – | – |
| 2023 | 43.3°F | −0.1°F | – | – |
| 2024 | 43.9°F | +0.5°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 42.1°F | −1.3°F | – | – |
Over 74 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.3°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024013; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Minot's climate compare?
Minot is warmer than 88 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 11. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.4°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Minot is Dwb: continental, dry-winter, 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 Minot share this climate record?
5 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.
- Surrey, ND1,434 people · 7 mi E
- Burlington, ND1,334 people · 7 mi W
- Des Lacs, ND178 people · 13 mi W
- Logan, ND164 people · 8 mi SE
- Ruthville, ND103 people · 8 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Minot's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Minot. This page uses Minot International Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minot Experiment Station USC00325993 | 4 mi S | 1,769 ft | 40.1°F | 1°F | 80°F | 19.3 | 52 | May 13 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Minot's climate
What is the coldest month in Minot?
January, with a normal high of 23°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Minot?
Yes: 45 inches in a normal year, falling on 35 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Minot?
June, with 3.73 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Minot in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Minot in zone 4a in ZIP code 58703, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Minot's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Minot?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minot in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Foxholm, ND19 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Granville, ND20 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Velva, ND21 miles from this station, 39.3°F a year
- Max, ND30 miles from this station, 40.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made