Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Mount Rushmore National Memorial's normal year runs from 18°F February nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 24.1 inches of precipitation and 59 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, February lows of −8°C, July highs of 26°C, 613 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Rushmore National Memorial
- Station IDUSC00395870
- Location43.88°N 103.46°W
- Elevation5,311 ft (1,619 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Mount Rushmore National Memorial is 52°F and the normal low 34°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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
- Jan 37° 19°
- Feb 36° 18°
- Mar 44° 25°
- Apr 50° 32°
- May 60° 42°
- Jun 71° 52°
- Jul 79° 59°
- Aug 78° 58°
- Sep 69° 50°
- Oct 55° 37°
- Nov 44° 27°
- Dec 37° 20°
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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; February the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.80 in), the least in January (0.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 19°F | 27.8°F | 0.48 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 36°F | 18°F | 27.3°F | 0.76 | 8.9 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 25°F | 34.8°F | 1.35 | 9.6 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 32°F | 41.0°F | 2.62 | 13.1 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 60°F | 42°F | 50.6°F | 4.80 | 1.5 | 14 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 71°F | 52°F | 61.5°F | 3.58 | 0.2 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 79°F | 59°F | 68.9°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 78°F | 58°F | 67.8°F | 2.29 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 69°F | 50°F | 59.4°F | 1.76 | 0.9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 37°F | 45.9°F | 1.80 | 4.9 | 7 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 27°F | 35.7°F | 0.59 | 6.4 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 37°F | 20°F | 28.2°F | 0.50 | 6.6 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 37°F | 45.7°F | 24.12 | 59.3 | 102 | 6 | 152 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −7°C | −2.3°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| February | 2°C | −8°C | −2.6°C | 19 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 34 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 10°C | 0°C | 5.0°C | 67 mm | 33 cm |
| May | 15°C | 5°C | 10.3°C | 122 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 22°C | 11°C | 16.4°C | 91 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 26°C | 15°C | 20.5°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 58 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 10°C | 15.2°C | 45 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 13°C | 3°C | 7.7°C | 46 mm | 12 cm |
| November | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 15 mm | 16 cm |
| December | 3°C | −7°C | −2.1°C | 13 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395870; 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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00395870.
When is the last frost at Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
In Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 16 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 151 year in 10 after May 29; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 16; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 138 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 4 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Rushmore National Memorial in zone 5a in ZIP code 57751, 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 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (30 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 South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00395870; 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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
In a normal year in Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 152 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 102 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 152a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 47high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 102a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 20a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1962) is 100°F, on July 16, 1974; the lowest is −38°F, on January 19, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 38.99 in; the snowiest season is 2018–19, with 108.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00395870; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00395870. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and April the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.1 |
| February | 75% | 3.0 |
| March | 74% | 4.1 |
| April | 72% | 5.1 |
| May | 73% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 7.0 |
| July | 86% | 7.1 |
| August | 86% | 6.1 |
| September | 83% | 4.8 |
| October | 77% | 3.3 |
| November | 77% | 2.3 |
| December | 75% | 1.8 |
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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial record?
A normal year at Mount Rushmore National Memorial brings 7,407 heating degree days, 38% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 415 cooling degree days, 54% 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 2,098 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,153 | 0 |
| February | 1,054 | 0 |
| March | 936 | 0 |
| April | 721 | 1 |
| May | 455 | 7 |
| June | 158 | 53 |
| July | 39 | 160 |
| August | 53 | 138 |
| September | 223 | 54 |
| October | 595 | 3 |
| November | 879 | 0 |
| December | 1,141 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,407 | 415 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00395870. 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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 46.6°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.7°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 45.6°F | −0.1°F | 18.99 | 31.8 |
| 2023 | 45.6°F | −0.1°F | 28.51 | 77.3 |
| 2024 | 48.0°F | +2.3°F | 17.35 | 24.8 |
| 2025 | 46.6°F | +0.9°F | 23.23 | 27.9 |
Over 49 complete years from 1964 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.1°F per century (+0.34°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00395870; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mount Rushmore National Memorial's climate compare?
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is warmer than 48 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 60. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.7°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mount Rushmore National Memorial is Dfb: continental, no dry season, 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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial 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.
- Hermosa, SD381 people · 14 mi E
- Keystone, SD261 people · 2 mi NE
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 Mount Rushmore National Memorial's climate
What is the coldest month at Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
February, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
Yes: 59 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (13.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
May, with 4.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Rushmore National Memorial in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Rushmore National Memorial in zone 5a in ZIP code 57751, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Mount Rushmore National Memorial?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 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
- Hill City, SD6 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Custer, SD12 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Pactola Dam, SD13 miles from this station, 42.1°F a year
- Johnson Siding, SD14 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made