Moorhead (9 mi NE), Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Moorhead (9 mi NE)'s normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 13.1 inches of precipitation and 29 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.9°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 332 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMoorhead (9 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00245870
- Location45.18°N 105.75°W
- Elevation3,220 ft (982 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Moorhead (9 mi NE) is 57°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Moorhead (9 mi NE).
- Jan 35° 12°
- Feb 38° 14°
- Mar 50° 23°
- Apr 59° 31°
- May 68° 41°
- Jun 79° 50°
- Jul 89° 55°
- Aug 87° 53°
- Sep 77° 43°
- Oct 61° 32°
- Nov 46° 22°
- Dec 35° 13°
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 Moorhead (9 mi NE) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.59 in), the least in December (0.29 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 12°F | 23.1°F | 0.30 | 5.4 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 38°F | 14°F | 26.3°F | 0.39 | 4.7 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 50°F | 23°F | 36.4°F | 0.70 | 4.6 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 31°F | 44.9°F | 1.43 | 3.7 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 41°F | 54.2°F | 2.59 | 0.5 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 50°F | 64.0°F | 2.17 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 55°F | 71.9°F | 1.41 | 0.0 | 7 | 17 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 53°F | 70.1°F | 1.25 | 0.0 | 6 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 77°F | 43°F | 60.0°F | 1.05 | 0.0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 32°F | 46.4°F | 1.11 | 2.0 | 6 | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 22°F | 33.6°F | 0.37 | 3.3 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 35°F | 13°F | 24.1°F | 0.29 | 4.8 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 32°F | 46.2°F | 13.06 | 29.0 | 76 | 44 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −11°C | −4.9°C | 8 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 4°C | −10°C | −3.2°C | 10 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 10°C | −5°C | 2.4°C | 18 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 36 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 20°C | 5°C | 12.3°C | 66 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 10°C | 17.8°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 13°C | 22.2°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 12°C | 21.2°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 6°C | 15.6°C | 27 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 0°C | 8.0°C | 28 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 8°C | −6°C | 0.9°C | 9 mm | 8 cm |
| December | 2°C | −11°C | −4.4°C | 7 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00245870; 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 Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00245870.
When is the last frost at Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
In Moorhead (9 mi NE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 22 in half of years and before September 7 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 171 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 7; 9 in 10 before October 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 126 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 147 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Moorhead (9 mi NE) in zone 4b in ZIP code 59317, 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 (23 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 USC00245870; 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 Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
In a normal year in Moorhead (9 mi NE), 44 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00245870.
How sunny is it at Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Moorhead (9 mi NE), 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 1.9 |
| February | 77% | 2.9 |
| March | 73% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.9 |
| July | 89% | 7.3 |
| August | 87% | 6.1 |
| September | 82% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.0 |
| November | 74% | 2.0 |
| December | 71% | 1.4 |
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 Moorhead (9 mi NE) record?
A normal year at Moorhead (9 mi NE) brings 7,334 heating degree days, 36% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 534 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,344 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,299 | 0 |
| February | 1,083 | 0 |
| March | 887 | 0 |
| April | 603 | 0 |
| May | 341 | 8 |
| June | 99 | 71 |
| July | 14 | 228 |
| August | 29 | 186 |
| September | 191 | 41 |
| October | 577 | 2 |
| November | 942 | 0 |
| December | 1,269 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,334 | 534 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00245870. 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 Moorhead (9 mi NE) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 46.8°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.5°F | +1.3°F | 9.30 | 32.8 |
| 2023 | 46.9°F | +0.7°F | 15.10 | 40.0 |
| 2024 | 48.1°F | +1.9°F | 11.31 | 17.7 |
| 2025 | 46.8°F | +0.5°F | 16.97 | 40.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00245870. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Moorhead (9 mi NE)'s climate compare?
Moorhead (9 mi NE) is warmer than 117 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.2°F is warmer than 24%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Moorhead (9 mi NE) 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.
Questions about Moorhead (9 mi NE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow at Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
Yes: 29 inches in a normal year, falling on 19 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (5.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
May, with 2.59 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.29 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Moorhead (9 mi NE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Moorhead (9 mi NE) in zone 4b in ZIP code 59317, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come at Moorhead (9 mi NE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sonnette (7 mi SW), MT13 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Biddle, MT16 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Broadus, MT25 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Leiter (9 mi N), WY35 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made