Pembina, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pembina's normal year runs from −5°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 22.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.6°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 26°C, 561 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPembina
- Station IDUSW00014924
- Location48.97°N 97.24°W
- Elevation790 ft (241 m)
- Population493
On October 22, the normal high in Pembina is 48°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pembina.
- Jan 13° -5°
- Feb 18° -2°
- Mar 31° 13°
- Apr 50° 29°
- May 65° 42°
- Jun 75° 53°
- Jul 79° 57°
- Aug 78° 54°
- Sep 69° 45°
- Oct 52° 32°
- Nov 34° 18°
- Dec 20° 4°
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 Pembina each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.06 in), the least in February (0.39 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°F | −5°F | 4.0°F | 0.53 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 18°F | −2°F | 8.2°F | 0.39 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 31°F | 13°F | 22.2°F | 0.77 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 29°F | 39.5°F | 1.07 | 6 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 42°F | 53.3°F | 3.23 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 75°F | 53°F | 63.9°F | 4.06 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 79°F | 57°F | 67.9°F | 3.32 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 78°F | 54°F | 66.0°F | 2.56 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| September | 69°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 2.78 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 52°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 1.83 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| November | 34°F | 18°F | 25.8°F | 0.91 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| December | 20°F | 4°F | 11.6°F | 0.64 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 49°F | 28°F | 38.4°F | 22.09 | 104 | 5 | 194 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −11°C | −20°C | −15.6°C | 13 mm |
| February | −8°C | −19°C | −13.2°C | 10 mm |
| March | 0°C | −11°C | −5.4°C | 20 mm |
| April | 10°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 27 mm |
| May | 18°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 82 mm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 103 mm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 84 mm |
| August | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 65 mm |
| September | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 71 mm |
| October | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 46 mm |
| November | 1°C | −8°C | −3.4°C | 23 mm |
| December | −7°C | −16°C | −11.3°C | 16 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Cavalier (22 miles away), gets 39 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014924; 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 Pembina?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USW00014924.
When is the last frost in Pembina?
In Pembina, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 16 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 in half of years and before September 17 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 161 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 137 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 155 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pembina in zone 3b in ZIP code 58271, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pembina's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −30°F (24 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 North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014924; 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 Pembina?
In a normal year in Pembina, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 194 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 194a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 110high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1898) is 109°F, on July 12, 1936; the lowest is −48°F, on January 21, 1954.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 28.83 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 70.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014924; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00014924. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pembina?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pembina, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (87%) and November the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 1.6 |
| February | 87% | 2.9 |
| March | 80% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 80% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 3.8 |
| October | 67% | 2.4 |
| November | 64% | 1.4 |
| December | 65% | 1.1 |
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 Pembina need?
A normal year in Pembina brings 9,968 heating degree days, 86% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 326 cooling degree days, 64% 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 1,950 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,892 | 0 |
| February | 1,592 | 0 |
| March | 1,328 | 0 |
| April | 767 | 0 |
| May | 377 | 14 |
| June | 104 | 71 |
| July | 36 | 128 |
| August | 62 | 93 |
| September | 268 | 20 |
| October | 709 | 1 |
| November | 1,176 | 0 |
| December | 1,657 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,968 | 326 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014924. 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 Pembina been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 39.8°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 38.4°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.3°F | +2.9°F | 17.35 |
| 2023 | 39.7°F | +1.3°F | 15.12 |
| 2024 | 42.3°F | +3.9°F | 25.36 |
| 2025 | 39.8°F | +1.4°F | 21.40 |
Over 89 complete years from 1872 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.0°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014924; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pembina's climate compare?
Pembina is warmer than 10 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 65. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 38.4°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pembina is Dwb: continental, dry-winter, 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 Pembina 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.
- St. Vincent, MN50 people · 1 mi E
- Humboldt, MN39 people · 8 mi SE
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 Pembina's climate
What is the coldest month in Pembina?
January, with a normal high of 13°F and a normal low of −5°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Pembina?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Pembina's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Cavalier (22 miles away), records 39 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Pembina?
June, with 4.06 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.39 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pembina in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pembina in zone 3b in ZIP code 58271, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Pembina's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −30°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Pembina?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 16; 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
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hallock, MN19 miles from this station, 39.1°F a year
- Cavalier, ND22 miles from this station, 38.1°F a year
- Grafton, ND39 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Argyle, MN48 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made