Petersburg, ND Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Petersburg's primary NOAA station, PETERSBURG 2 N.
The climate verdict for Petersburg
Winter sets the terms in Petersburg, North Dakota. A pronounced 63.4°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 39°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 39°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 20.2"
- annual precipitation · 43" snow
- 140 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Petersburg: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00327027 · Petersburg, ND 39°F mean · 20.2" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 39°F
- RANK-COOL #274
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Colgate
- PRCP-DRY 20.2"
- SWING-WIDE 63°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,920 HDD
- STN-1 USC00327027
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Colgate, ND (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every ND station list.
- Petersburg (this station) 39°F
- Hot Colgate, ND 39°F
- Cold Fortuna, ND 38°F
- Near Pembina, ND 38°F
- Near Waskish, MN 38°F
Petersburg sits in North Dakota, the #2 coldest U.S. state at 41.0°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Petersburg
Petersburg: 19/100 · grade F
Petersburg publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Petersburg, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 20.2 in · 14.8 from 35 in | 48/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 42.5 inches/year | 25/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 191 calendar days | 19/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 140 days/year | 18/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 38.6°F · 28.9° from 67.5°F | 1/100 · F |
Petersburg · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Petersburg is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 4.8°F and warmest-month mean 68.2°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 68.2°F
- Coldest month
- 4.8°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Petersburg sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Petersburg's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 96%
- Among 6,861 stations, Petersburg sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 72%
- Petersburg's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 99%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Petersburg is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Petersburg compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Petersburg's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°F (-10°C) | -4°F (-20°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 0.4" | 6.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 19°F (-7°C) | -1°F (-18°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 0.5" | 7.7" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 31°F (0°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 0.5" | 7.7" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 50°F (10°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.9" | 2.2" | 19.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.8" | 0.6" | 5.4 | 0.4 |
| June | 74°F (24°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| August | 78°F (26°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| September | 69°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.1" | 0.0" | 1.9 | 0.4 |
| October | 52°F (11°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 1.7" | 2.2" | 16.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 34°F (1°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.7" | 4.9" | 28.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 20°F (-7°C) | 4°F (-16°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 0.6" | 10.9" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 80°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 191 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -5°F near January 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 23, then returns to freezing around October 16, covering 191 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 25, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is March 14 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 71 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 5 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Petersburg.
Where Petersburg Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 191 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Petersburg earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 6.3"
3.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.7"
3.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.7"
3.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.2"
4.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
8.8 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.2"
6.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.9"
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.9"
3.9 days with precipitation
Petersburg runs a summer-peaked wet season
49% of Petersburg's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 3.8", on a wide 63.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, May, taking 51% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.4".
- Winter share: 8% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Petersburg's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 71 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 20.2" between them, or roughly 0.29 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Petersburg
Petersburg averages 42.5 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 19 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 42.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 19 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 21% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 28
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
140 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,920
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
344
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ND closest to Petersburg on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (39°F here).
- Bedford, WY 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Limestone, ME 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Afton, WY 39°F · 0.1°F off
- Dillon, MT 39°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (20.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Brewster, KS 20.3" · 0.0" off
- Eureka, SD 20.3" · 0.0" off
- Richmond, UT 20.3" · 0.0" off
- Floydada, TX 20.2" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Petersburg
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Petersburg logs 9,920 heating degree days, more than twice its 344 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 63.4°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 140 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Petersburg coldest normal
January
Averaging 5°F (-15°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Petersburg typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Petersburg snow peak
December
Petersburg averages 42.5 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Petersburg's climate
How much snow does Petersburg get? ▼
How cold does Petersburg get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Petersburg? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Petersburg's primary station: PETERSBURG 2 N (USC00327027). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3861860). Match rule for Petersburg: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Petersburg comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.