Plainview (6 mi SSW), South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Plainview (6 mi SSW)'s normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 17.1 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 30°C, 435 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPlainview (6 mi SSW)
- Station IDUSC00396636
- Location44.52°N 102.22°W
- Elevation2,377 ft (725 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Plainview (6 mi SSW) is 57°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Plainview (6 mi SSW).
- Jan 31° 7°
- Feb 35° 10°
- Mar 47° 19°
- Apr 58° 30°
- May 68° 41°
- Jun 79° 52°
- Jul 87° 58°
- Aug 86° 55°
- Sep 77° 45°
- Oct 60° 32°
- Nov 46° 19°
- Dec 34° 10°
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 Plainview (6 mi SSW) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.19 in), the least in January (0.33 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 7°F | 19.3°F | 0.33 | 5.0 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 35°F | 10°F | 22.7°F | 0.45 | 5.1 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 47°F | 19°F | 33.0°F | 0.91 | 8.8 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 30°F | 43.8°F | 1.89 | 8.1 | 7 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 41°F | 54.6°F | 3.19 | 0.9 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 52°F | 65.1°F | 2.93 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 87°F | 58°F | 72.1°F | 2.44 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 86°F | 55°F | 70.5°F | 1.41 | 0.0 | 5 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 77°F | 45°F | 61.0°F | 1.15 | 0.0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 32°F | 45.9°F | 1.59 | 3.4 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| November | 46°F | 19°F | 32.3°F | 0.44 | 4.1 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 34°F | 10°F | 22.0°F | 0.38 | 7.1 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 32°F | 45.2°F | 17.11 | 42.5 | 67 | 37 | 181 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −14°C | −7.1°C | 8 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 2°C | −12°C | −5.2°C | 11 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 8°C | −7°C | 0.6°C | 23 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 14°C | −1°C | 6.6°C | 48 mm | 21 cm |
| May | 20°C | 5°C | 12.6°C | 81 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 14°C | 22.3°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 13°C | 21.4°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 7°C | 16.1°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 40 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 8°C | −7°C | 0.2°C | 11 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 1°C | −12°C | −5.6°C | 10 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00396636; 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 Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00396636.
When is the last frost at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
In Plainview (6 mi SSW), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 27 in half of years and before September 14 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 151 year in 10 after May 29; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 271 year in 10 before September 14; 9 in 10 before October 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 134 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 152 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Plainview (6 mi SSW) in zone 4b in ZIP code 57792, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00396636; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
In a normal year in Plainview (6 mi SSW), 37 days a year reach 90°F (8 of them 100°F or more), 181 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 67 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 181a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 50high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 67a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00396636.
How sunny is it at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Plainview (6 mi SSW), 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.0 |
| February | 77% | 3.0 |
| March | 74% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.1 |
| May | 74% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.9 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.1 |
| November | 76% | 2.1 |
| December | 74% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Plainview (6 mi SSW) record?
A normal year at Plainview (6 mi SSW) brings 7,793 heating degree days, 45% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 601 cooling degree days, 34% 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 2,467 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,417 | 0 |
| February | 1,186 | 0 |
| March | 992 | 0 |
| April | 639 | 1 |
| May | 340 | 17 |
| June | 85 | 86 |
| July | 15 | 233 |
| August | 29 | 199 |
| September | 182 | 61 |
| October | 595 | 3 |
| November | 983 | 0 |
| December | 1,331 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,793 | 601 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00396636. 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 Plainview (6 mi SSW) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 46.7°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.2°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.2°F | +2.0°F | 13.24 | 17.3 |
| 2024 | 47.8°F | +2.6°F | 14.34 | 25.0 |
| 2025 | 46.7°F | +1.5°F | 23.20 | 17.5 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00396636. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Plainview (6 mi SSW)'s climate compare?
Plainview (6 mi SSW) is warmer than 40 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.2°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Plainview (6 mi SSW) 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.
Questions about Plainview (6 mi SSW)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (8.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
May, with 3.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Plainview (6 mi SSW) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Plainview (6 mi SSW) in zone 4b in ZIP code 57792, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Plainview (6 mi SSW)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 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
- Elm Springs (3 mi ESE), SD19 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Red Owl, SD21 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Milesville (5 mi NE), SD29 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Maurine (12 mi SW), SD30 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made