Moccasin, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Moccasin's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 15.1 inches of precipitation and 45 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 385 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMoccasin Experiment Station
- Station IDUSC00245761
- Location47.06°N 109.95°W
- Elevation4,300 ft (1,311 m)
- Population (census place)23
On October 14, the normal high in Moccasin is 58°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Moccasin.
- Jan 37° 13°
- Feb 38° 14°
- Mar 45° 20°
- Apr 53° 28°
- May 62° 37°
- Jun 71° 45°
- Jul 82° 50°
- Aug 82° 50°
- Sep 71° 41°
- Oct 57° 31°
- Nov 45° 21°
- 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 Moccasin each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in June (2.74 in), the least in February (0.38 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 13°F | 24.9°F | 0.46 | 8.1 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 38°F | 14°F | 25.5°F | 0.38 | 5.9 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 45°F | 20°F | 32.7°F | 0.64 | 6.7 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 28°F | 40.6°F | 1.43 | 7.5 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 62°F | 37°F | 49.8°F | 2.64 | 1.7 | 13 | <1 | 8 | 15 h |
| June | 71°F | 45°F | 57.7°F | 2.74 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 82°F | 50°F | 66.0°F | 1.63 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 82°F | 50°F | 65.8°F | 1.68 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 71°F | 41°F | 56.2°F | 1.48 | 0.2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 31°F | 44.0°F | 1.12 | 3.1 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 45°F | 21°F | 32.9°F | 0.52 | 5.5 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 37°F | 14°F | 25.3°F | 0.42 | 5.8 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 30°F | 43.5°F | 15.14 | 44.5 | 99 | 15 | 182 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −11°C | −3.9°C | 12 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 3°C | −10°C | −3.6°C | 10 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 7°C | −7°C | 0.4°C | 16 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 12°C | −2°C | 4.8°C | 36 mm | 19 cm |
| May | 17°C | 3°C | 9.9°C | 67 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 22°C | 7°C | 14.3°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 10°C | 18.9°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 10°C | 18.8°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 5°C | 13.4°C | 38 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 14°C | −1°C | 6.7°C | 28 mm | 8 cm |
| November | 7°C | −6°C | 0.5°C | 13 mm | 14 cm |
| December | 3°C | −10°C | −3.7°C | 11 mm | 15 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00245761; 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 Moccasin?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in 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 USC00245761.
When is the last frost in Moccasin?
In Moccasin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 28 in half of years and after June 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before September 4 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 281 year in 10 after June 19; 9 in 10 after May 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before September 4; 9 in 10 before October 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 112 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 141 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 12 in half of springs and before September 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Moccasin in zone 4b in ZIP code 59462, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Moccasin's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00245761; 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 Moccasin?
In a normal year in Moccasin, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 182 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 99 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 182a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 99a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1909) is 103°F, on August 6, 1961; the lowest is −48°F, on February 16, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1978, with 23.70 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 121.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00245761; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00245761. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Moccasin?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Moccasin, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 1.6 |
| February | 75% | 2.6 |
| March | 72% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.8 |
| June | 77% | 6.6 |
| July | 87% | 7.1 |
| August | 85% | 5.9 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 73% | 2.7 |
| November | 71% | 1.7 |
| December | 67% | 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 Moccasin need?
A normal year in Moccasin brings 8,074 heating degree days, 50% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 249 cooling degree days, 73% 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 1,665 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,243 | 0 |
| February | 1,104 | 0 |
| March | 1,000 | 0 |
| April | 732 | 0 |
| May | 473 | 2 |
| June | 232 | 14 |
| July | 71 | 102 |
| August | 80 | 103 |
| September | 291 | 25 |
| October | 654 | 2 |
| November | 963 | 0 |
| December | 1,231 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,074 | 249 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00245761. 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 Moccasin been warmer than normal lately?
Over 96 complete years from 1911 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.2°F per century (+0.18°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Moccasin's climate compare?
Moccasin is warmer than 56 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 77. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.5°F is warmer than 14%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Moccasin is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Moccasin share this climate record?
2 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.
- Hobson, MT185 people · 5 mi SE
- Utica, MT18 people · 9 mi SW
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 Moccasin's climate
What is the coldest month in Moccasin?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow in Moccasin?
Yes: 45 inches in a normal year, falling on 32 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Moccasin?
June, with 2.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.38 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Moccasin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Moccasin in zone 4b in ZIP code 59462, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Moccasin's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Moccasin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 28; in one year in ten it comes after June 19. Waiting until June 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Stanford, MT14 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Denton, MT18 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Lewistown (42 mi WSW), MT20 miles from this station, 40.6°F a year
- Lewistown, MT23 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made