Plentywood, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Plentywood's primary NOAA station, PLENTYWOOD.
The climate verdict for Plentywood
Winter sets the terms in Plentywood, Montana. A pronounced 57.8°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 39°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 39°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 14.7"
- yearly precipitation total
- 112 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Plentywood: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00246586 · Plentywood, MT 39°F mean · 14.7" 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 #343
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Thorhult
- PRCP-DRY 14.7"
- SWING-WIDE 58°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,573 HDD
- STN-1 USC00246586
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Thorhult, MN (+ 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 MT station list.
- Hot Thorhult, MN 40°F
- Plentywood (this station) 39°F
- Cold Velva, ND 39°F
- Near Cooperstown, ND 39°F
- Near Devils Lake, ND 39°F
Plentywood sits in Montana, the #6 coldest U.S. state at 43.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Plentywood
Plentywood: 10/100 · grade F
Plentywood publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Plentywood, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 14.7 in · 20.3 from 35 in | 27/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 211 calendar days | 9/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.4°F · 28.1° from 67.5°F | 3/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 112 days/year | 3/100 · F |
Plentywood · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Plentywood is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 9.4°F and warmest-month mean 67.2°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
- 67.2°F
- Coldest month
- 9.4°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 Plentywood sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Plentywood's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 95%
- Among 6,861 stations, Plentywood sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 84%
- Plentywood's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 96%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Plentywood is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Plentywood compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Plentywood's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F (-6°C) | -2°F (-19°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 0.4" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 26°F (-3°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 0.3" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 39°F (4°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.6" | 29.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 54°F (12°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 1.0" | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.0" | 7.7 | 0.7 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.1" | 0.4 | 2.1 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 2.5" | 0.0 | 7.2 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 1.5" | 0.0 | 8.9 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.3" | 5.4 | 2.0 |
| October | 55°F (13°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 0.9" | 21.0 | 0.1 |
| November | 37°F (3°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.6" | 28.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 24°F (-5°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 0.5" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 31, short of 90°F on every date, while 211 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -2°F near January 9.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 2, then returns to freezing around October 5, covering 211 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 15, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 4 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 70 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 2 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Plentywood.
Where Plentywood Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 211 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Plentywood earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
4.4 days with precipitation
3.6 days with precipitation
4.0 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
4.9 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
4.2 days with precipitation
Plentywood runs a summer-peaked wet season
48% of Plentywood'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 3.1", on a wide 57.8°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 52% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.3".
- 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 Plentywood's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 70 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 14.7" between them, or roughly 0.21 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 14
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 25
50% probability date
Growing Season
112 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,573
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
296
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Plentywood 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).
- Mayville, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Randolph, UT 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Allenspark, CO 40°F · 0.1°F off
- Argyle, MN 40°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Ramona, CA 14.7" · 0.0" off
- Nogales, AZ 14.6" · 0.1" off
- Union, OR 14.8" · 0.1" off
- Walnut Creek, AZ 14.8" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Plentywood's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Plentywood logs 9,573 heating degree days, more than twice its 296 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 57.8°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 112 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 this dry, high-range record. The gap is 57.8°F, so a single annual figure is especially lossy; the annual average is 39°f. Compare monthly temperature and precipitation together before drawing a seasonal conclusion about Plentywood.
Plentywood's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 14.7 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.
Plentywood wettest normal
June
June concentrates the scarce annual total (14.7 inches).
Plentywood driest normal
February
February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Plentywood's climate
How dry is Plentywood? ▼
How cold does Plentywood get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Plentywood? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Plentywood's primary station: PLENTYWOOD (USC00246586). 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 3058375). Match rule for Plentywood: 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 Plentywood 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.