Newell, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Newell's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 16.6 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 30°C, 423 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNewell
- Station IDUSC00396054
- Location44.71°N 103.43°W
- Elevation2,860 ft (872 m)
- Population585
On October 22, the normal high in Newell is 57°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Newell.
- Jan 32° 10°
- Feb 35° 13°
- Mar 46° 22°
- Apr 56° 32°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 77° 53°
- Jul 86° 59°
- Aug 85° 57°
- Sep 75° 47°
- Oct 60° 33°
- Nov 45° 21°
- Dec 34° 12°
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 Newell each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.32 in), the least in January (0.36 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 10°F | 20.8°F | 0.36 | 4.7 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 35°F | 13°F | 23.8°F | 0.50 | 5.1 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 46°F | 22°F | 33.6°F | 0.82 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 32°F | 43.8°F | 1.81 | 6.5 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.3°F | 3.16 | 1.1 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 53°F | 64.9°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 59°F | 72.5°F | 2.07 | 0.0 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 57°F | 70.9°F | 1.30 | 0.0 | 6 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 75°F | 47°F | 60.9°F | 0.99 | 0.0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 33°F | 46.6°F | 1.38 | 2.8 | 5 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 45°F | 21°F | 33.0°F | 0.53 | 4.2 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 34°F | 12°F | 23.0°F | 0.41 | 8.2 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 33°F | 45.7°F | 16.65 | 39.8 | 67 | 30 | 178 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −12°C | −6.2°C | 9 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 2°C | −11°C | −4.6°C | 13 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 8°C | −6°C | 0.9°C | 21 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.6°C | 46 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 80 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.3°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.5°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 21.6°C | 33 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 8°C | 16.1°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 1°C | 8.1°C | 35 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 7°C | −6°C | 0.6°C | 13 mm | 11 cm |
| December | 1°C | −11°C | −5.0°C | 10 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00396054; 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 Newell?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00396054.
When is the last frost in Newell?
In Newell, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 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 81 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 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 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 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Newell in zone 4b in ZIP code 57762, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Newell's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (22 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 USC00396054; 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 Newell?
In a normal year in Newell, 30 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 178 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 67 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 30a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 178a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 52high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 67a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1920) is 110°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −38°F, on January 22, 1927.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1923, with 27.37 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 68.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00396054; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00396054. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Newell?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Newell, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and April the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.9 |
| February | 76% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 4.0 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.9 |
| June | 80% | 6.8 |
| July | 86% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.0 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.1 |
| November | 75% | 2.1 |
| December | 72% | 1.6 |
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 Newell need?
A normal year in Newell brings 7,618 heating degree days, 42% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 613 cooling degree days, 32% 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 2,476 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,370 | 0 |
| February | 1,152 | 0 |
| March | 974 | 0 |
| April | 637 | 1 |
| May | 345 | 12 |
| June | 90 | 85 |
| July | 13 | 245 |
| August | 26 | 209 |
| September | 179 | 58 |
| October | 572 | 3 |
| November | 960 | 0 |
| December | 1,300 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,618 | 613 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00396054. 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 Newell been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 47.2°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.7°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 47.1°F | +1.4°F | 21.23 | 32.8 |
| 2024 | 48.8°F | +3.1°F | 12.56 | 19.6 |
| 2025 | 47.2°F | +1.5°F | 22.58 | 13.2 |
Over 88 complete years from 1921 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.0°F per century (+0.00°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00396054; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Newell's climate compare?
Newell is warmer than 48 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 6. 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, Newell 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 Newell 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.
- Nisland, SD211 people · 7 mi SW
- Vale, SD90 people · 7 mi S
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 Newell's climate
What is the coldest month in Newell?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Newell?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (8.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Newell?
June, with 3.32 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Newell in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Newell in zone 4b in ZIP code 57762, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Newell's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Newell?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; 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
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fort Meade, SD21 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Belle Fourche, SD21 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Spearfish, SD27 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Deadwood, SD28 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made