Phillipsburg Ranger Station, Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Phillipsburg Ranger Station's normal year runs from 14°F December nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 16.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.6°C, December lows of −10°C, July highs of 27°C, 419 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPhillipsburg Ranger Station
- Station IDUSC00246472
- Location46.32°N 113.30°W
- Elevation5,270 ft (1,606 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Phillipsburg Ranger Station is 54°F and the normal low 27°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Phillipsburg Ranger Station.
- Jan 36° 15°
- Feb 38° 15°
- Mar 47° 21°
- Apr 54° 26°
- May 63° 33°
- Jun 71° 40°
- Jul 81° 43°
- Aug 81° 42°
- Sep 71° 36°
- Oct 57° 28°
- Nov 43° 21°
- Dec 34° 14°
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 Phillipsburg Ranger Station each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.64 in), the least in January (0.67 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 15°F | 25.4°F | 0.67 | – | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| February | 38°F | 15°F | 26.2°F | 0.85 | – | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 47°F | 21°F | 33.8°F | 1.10 | – | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 26°F | 39.9°F | 1.62 | – | <1 | 25 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 63°F | 33°F | 48.1°F | 2.64 | – | <1 | 15 | 15 h |
| June | 71°F | 40°F | 55.2°F | 2.49 | – | <1 | 4 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 81°F | 43°F | 62.1°F | 1.22 | – | 3 | 1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 81°F | 42°F | 61.2°F | 1.13 | – | 3 | 2 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 36°F | 53.4°F | 1.44 | – | <1 | 10 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 28°F | 42.6°F | 1.42 | – | <1 | 22 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 21°F | 31.8°F | 1.15 | – | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 34°F | 14°F | 24.3°F | 0.76 | – | <1 | 29 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 28°F | 42.0°F | 16.49 | – | 6 | 215 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 17 mm |
| February | 3°C | −10°C | −3.2°C | 22 mm |
| March | 8°C | −6°C | 1.0°C | 28 mm |
| April | 12°C | −3°C | 4.4°C | 41 mm |
| May | 17°C | 0°C | 8.9°C | 67 mm |
| June | 22°C | 4°C | 12.9°C | 63 mm |
| July | 27°C | 6°C | 16.7°C | 31 mm |
| August | 27°C | 5°C | 16.2°C | 29 mm |
| September | 22°C | 2°C | 11.9°C | 37 mm |
| October | 14°C | −2°C | 5.9°C | 36 mm |
| November | 6°C | −6°C | −0.1°C | 29 mm |
| December | 1°C | −10°C | −4.3°C | 19 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Anaconda (22 miles away), gets 75 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00246472; 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 Phillipsburg Ranger Station?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September.
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 USC00246472.
How hot and how cold does it get at Phillipsburg Ranger Station?
In a normal year in Phillipsburg Ranger Station, 6 days a year reach 90°F and 215 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- 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
- 215a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1955) is 98°F, on August 4, 1961; the lowest is −41°F, on January 13, 2024.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 21.13 in; the snowiest season is 1966–67, with 88.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00246472; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00246472. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Phillipsburg Ranger Station?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Phillipsburg Ranger Station, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.5 |
| February | 70% | 2.5 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.8 |
| May | 69% | 5.7 |
| June | 74% | 6.5 |
| July | 86% | 7.3 |
| August | 84% | 6.0 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 70% | 2.8 |
| November | 64% | 1.6 |
| December | 61% | 1.2 |
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 Phillipsburg Ranger Station record?
A normal year at Phillipsburg Ranger Station brings 8,421 heating degree days, 57% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 60 cooling degree days, 93% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,159 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,226 | 0 |
| February | 1,088 | 0 |
| March | 966 | 0 |
| April | 753 | 0 |
| May | 524 | 0 |
| June | 298 | 4 |
| July | 121 | 31 |
| August | 140 | 22 |
| September | 352 | 2 |
| October | 696 | 0 |
| November | 996 | 0 |
| December | 1,262 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,421 | 60 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00246472. 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 Phillipsburg Ranger Station been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 43.9°F, 1.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.0°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 43.9°F | +1.9°F | – |
Over 80 complete years from 1904 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.4°F per century (+0.02°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00246472; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Phillipsburg Ranger Station's climate compare?
Phillipsburg Ranger Station is warmer than 30 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 100. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.0°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Phillipsburg Ranger Station 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 Phillipsburg Ranger Station 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.
- Philipsburg, MT913 people · 1 mi N
- Maxville, MT150 people · 11 mi N
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 Phillipsburg Ranger Station's climate
What is the coldest month at Phillipsburg Ranger Station?
December, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 43°F at night).
Does it snow at Phillipsburg Ranger Station?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Anaconda (22 miles away), records 75 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Phillipsburg Ranger Station?
May, with 2.64 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.67 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Phillipsburg Ranger Station in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Phillipsburg Ranger Station in zone 5a in ZIP code 59858, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Anaconda, MT22 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- Drummond, MT23 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Deer Lodge, MT24 miles from this station, 40.3°F a year
- Western Agricultural Research Center, MT37 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made