Pickstown, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pickstown's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 24.4 inches of precipitation and 31 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 619 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPickstown
- Station IDUSC00396574
- Location43.07°N 98.53°W
- Elevation1,490 ft (454 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population230
On October 22, the normal high in Pickstown is 60°F and the normal low 36°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 Pickstown.
- Jan 32° 12°
- Feb 37° 15°
- Mar 48° 24°
- Apr 59° 35°
- May 70° 47°
- Jun 81° 58°
- Jul 87° 64°
- Aug 86° 62°
- Sep 78° 53°
- Oct 63° 39°
- Nov 48° 26°
- Dec 35° 16°
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 Pickstown each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.03 in), the least in January (0.51 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 12°F | 21.9°F | 0.51 | 5.7 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 37°F | 15°F | 25.9°F | 0.70 | 6.4 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 48°F | 24°F | 36.1°F | 1.09 | 5.3 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 35°F | 47.2°F | 3.23 | 3.2 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 47°F | 58.9°F | 4.03 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 81°F | 58°F | 69.8°F | 3.49 | 0.0 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 87°F | 64°F | 75.7°F | 2.51 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 86°F | 62°F | 73.7°F | 2.75 | 0.0 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 78°F | 53°F | 65.1°F | 2.43 | 0.0 | 7 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 39°F | 51.0°F | 2.20 | 0.1 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 26°F | 37.1°F | 0.76 | 3.5 | 4 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 16°F | 25.8°F | 0.66 | 7.1 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 38°F | 49.0°F | 24.36 | 31.3 | 84 | 36 | 152 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −11°C | −5.6°C | 13 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 3°C | −10°C | −3.4°C | 18 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.3°C | 28 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 82 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.0°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.6°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 9°C | −3°C | 2.8°C | 19 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 2°C | −9°C | −3.4°C | 17 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00396574; 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 Pickstown?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00396574.
When is the last frost in Pickstown?
In Pickstown, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 13 in half of years and before September 29 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
- April 301 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 131 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 165 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 184 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pickstown in zone 5b in ZIP code 57367. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pickstown's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (23 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 USC00396574; 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 Pickstown?
In a normal year in Pickstown, 36 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 152 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 36a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 152a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 45high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 112°F, on August 30, 2012; the lowest is −28°F, on January 29, 1966.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1984, with 34.27 in; the snowiest season is 2000–01, with 59.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00396574; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00396574. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pickstown?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pickstown, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.0 |
| February | 77% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.6 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.1 |
| November | 74% | 2.1 |
| December | 70% | 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 Pickstown need?
A normal year in Pickstown brings 6,744 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 950 cooling degree days, 5% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,142 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,334 | 0 |
| February | 1,096 | 0 |
| March | 898 | 1 |
| April | 538 | 4 |
| May | 230 | 39 |
| June | 36 | 178 |
| July | 4 | 334 |
| August | 9 | 278 |
| September | 105 | 108 |
| October | 444 | 9 |
| November | 836 | 0 |
| December | 1,214 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,744 | 950 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00396574. 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 Pickstown been warmer than normal lately?
Over 55 complete years from 1952 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pickstown's climate compare?
Pickstown is warmer than 95 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 63. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.0°F is warmer than 36%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pickstown is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Pickstown share this climate record?
5 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.
- Lake Andes, SD692 people · 6 mi N
- Spencer, NE378 people · 16 mi SW
- Geddes, SD152 people · 15 mi NW
- Ravinia, SD71 people · 7 mi NE
- Gross, NE2 people · 9 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.
What do Pickstown's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Pickstown. This page uses Pickstown; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickstown (4 mi SSW) USC00396575 | 4 mi SW | 1,707 ft | 48.0°F | 10°F | 86°F | 26.1 | – | April 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Pickstown's climate
What is the coldest month in Pickstown?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Pickstown?
Yes: 31 inches in a normal year, falling on 14 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (7.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pickstown?
May, with 4.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.51 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pickstown in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pickstown in zone 5b in ZIP code 57367. By the same method at Pickstown's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Pickstown?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 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
- Wagner, SD12 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Lynch, NE17 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Armour, SD19 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Butte, NE19 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made