Mission, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Mission's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 20.9 inches of precipitation and 42 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.6°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 531 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMission
- Station IDUSC00395620
- Location43.31°N 100.66°W
- Elevation2,587 ft (789 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,135
On October 22, the normal high in Mission is 59°F and the normal low 32°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 Mission.
- Jan 34° 12°
- Feb 38° 14°
- Mar 48° 23°
- Apr 57° 32°
- May 68° 44°
- Jun 79° 55°
- Jul 87° 61°
- Aug 86° 59°
- Sep 77° 48°
- Oct 62° 35°
- Nov 48° 23°
- Dec 37° 14°
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 Mission each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.68 in), the least in January (0.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 12°F | 22.9°F | 0.48 | 7.2 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 38°F | 14°F | 25.7°F | 0.67 | 7.5 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 23°F | 35.3°F | 1.12 | 7.1 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 32°F | 44.9°F | 2.50 | 5.7 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 56.2°F | 3.38 | 0.1 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 55°F | 67.1°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 87°F | 61°F | 74.1°F | 2.61 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 86°F | 59°F | 72.2°F | 1.80 | 0.0 | 7 | 10 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 77°F | 48°F | 62.8°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 35°F | 48.2°F | 1.69 | 1.2 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 23°F | 35.5°F | 0.68 | 6.1 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 37°F | 14°F | 25.6°F | 0.56 | 6.6 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 35°F | 47.5°F | 20.92 | 41.5 | 89 | 30 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −11°C | −5.1°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| February | 3°C | −10°C | −3.5°C | 17 mm | 19 cm |
| March | 9°C | −5°C | 1.8°C | 28 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 64 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.4°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.5°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 16°C | 23.4°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 15°C | 22.3°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 9°C | 17.1°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 2°C | 9.0°C | 43 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 9°C | −5°C | 1.9°C | 17 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 3°C | −10°C | −3.6°C | 14 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395620; 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 Mission?
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 USC00395620.
When is the last frost in Mission?
In Mission, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 21 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 91 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 164 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mission in zone 5a in ZIP code 57555, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Mission's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (20 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 USC00395620; 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 Mission?
In a normal year in Mission, 30 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 89 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 30a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 50high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 89a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1966) is 111°F, on July 17, 2006; the lowest is −32°F, on December 23, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 28.70 in; the snowiest season is 1976–77, with 78.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00395620; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00395620. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Mission?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Mission, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.0 |
| February | 76% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 74% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.8 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.2 |
| November | 76% | 2.2 |
| December | 73% | 1.7 |
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 Mission need?
A normal year in Mission brings 7,107 heating degree days, 32% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 779 cooling degree days, 14% 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 2,789 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,305 | 0 |
| February | 1,100 | 0 |
| March | 921 | 0 |
| April | 606 | 2 |
| May | 297 | 24 |
| June | 67 | 130 |
| July | 11 | 294 |
| August | 19 | 241 |
| September | 150 | 83 |
| October | 524 | 5 |
| November | 885 | 0 |
| December | 1,221 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,107 | 779 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395620. 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.
How does Mission's climate compare?
Mission is warmer than 77 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.5°F is warmer than 30%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mission 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 Mission 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.
- Rosebud, SD1,710 people · 9 mi SW
- Antelope, SD610 people · 1 mi E
- Soldier Creek, SD271 people · 12 mi W
- White Horse, SD230 people · 3 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.
What do Mission's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Mission. This page uses Mission; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission (14 mi S) USC00395638 | 14 mi S | 2,810 ft | 46.7°F | 11°F | 87°F | 22.5 | 41 | May 11 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Mission's climate
What is the coldest month in Mission?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Mission?
Yes: 42 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (7.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Mission?
June, with 3.68 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mission in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mission in zone 5a in ZIP code 57555, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Mission's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Mission?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 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
- Wood, SD16 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Cedar Butte, SD26 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Kilgore, NE29 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Valentine, NE30 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made