Pine Ridge, SD Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Pine Ridge's primary NOAA station, PINE RIDGE AP.
The climate verdict for Pine Ridge
Dryness leads the climate profile for Pine Ridge, South Dakota, with 16.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 48°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 48°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.6"
- precipitation, annual total
- 134 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Pine Ridge: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00094039 · Pine Ridge, SD 48°F mean · 16.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #2,127
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Colo
- PRCP-DRY 16.6"
- SWING-WIDE 50°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,012 HDD
- STN-1 USW00094039
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Colo, IA (+ 0 °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 SD station list.
- Pine Ridge (this station) 48°F
- Cold Prairie Du Chien, WI 48°F
- Hot Hartington, NE 48°F
- Near Colo, IA 48°F
- Near Jefferson, IA 48°F
Climate Living Index · Pine Ridge
Pine Ridge: 25/100 · grade F
Pine Ridge publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Pine Ridge, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 16.6 in · 18.4 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.8°F · 19.7° from 67.5°F | 31/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 193 calendar days | 18/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 134 days/year | 15/100 · F |
Pine Ridge · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Pine Ridge's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 74.5°F
- Coldest month
- 24.2°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 Pine Ridge sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Pine Ridge's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 31st percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Pine Ridge's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 82%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Pine Ridge is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Pine Ridge compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Pine Ridge's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F (3°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.3" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (5°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.5" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 51°F (11°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.8" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.1" | 15.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.6" | 5.4 | 1.2 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 3.0" | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| July | 89°F (32°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 2.1" | 0.0 | 17.6 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.5" | 0.0 | 14.3 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 1.4" | 2.1 | 6.4 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.3" | 15.7 | 0.5 |
| November | 49°F (9°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 0.6" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 38°F (3°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.4" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Pine Ridge works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 90°F by July 22 and hold at or above 90°F on 13 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 180 dates, bottoming at 11°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 19 through July 31, covering 13 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 19 to October 2.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 14, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 180 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 May 27, when 42% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 2 at 15%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 91 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 6 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 33°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Pine Ridge.
Where Pine Ridge Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 180 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 33°F between the normal high and low.
Pine Ridge earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
5.4 days with precipitation
5.6 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
12.5 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
Pine Ridge runs a summer-peaked wet season
40% of Pine Ridge'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 3.0", on a wide 50.3°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, May, July, taking 47% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 7% 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.
Pine Ridge is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 91 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 25% of the calendar, and they carry 16.6" between them. At roughly 0.18 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is May at about 13 wet days; the driest is December at about 5.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
134 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,012
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
784
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Pine Ridge 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 (48°F here).
- Alliance, NE 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Broadwater, NE 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Chugwater, WY 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Colo, IA 48°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Campo, CO 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Seibert, CO 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Glenwood, NM 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Grenville, NM 16.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Pine Ridge's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Pine Ridge's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,012 annual heating degree days against 784 for cooling. Its 50.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 134 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.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Pine Ridge's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 50.3°F. The annual average is 48°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Pine Ridge's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.6 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Pine Ridge's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Pine Ridge, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Pine Ridge's climate
How much rain does Pine Ridge get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Pine Ridge get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Pine Ridge? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Pine Ridge's primary station: PINE RIDGE AP (USW00094039). 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 a census-designated place (GEOID 4649660), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Pine Ridge: 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 Pine Ridge 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.