Polson, MT 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 Polson's primary NOAA station, POLSON.
The climate verdict for Polson
Dryness leads the climate profile for Polson, Montana, with 15.0 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 46°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.
- 46°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.0"
- precipitation, annual total
- 148 days
- frost-free growing season
Polson: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00246635 · Polson, MT 46°F mean · 15.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,647
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Clarence
- PRCP-DRY 15.0"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,130 HDD
- STN-1 USC00246635
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Clarence, PA (+ 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 MT station list.
- Polson (this station) 46°F
- Cold Jiggs, NV 46°F
- Hot Malta, ID 46°F
- Near Clarence, PA 46°F
- Near Buckhorn Mtn, CO 46°F
Polson 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 · Polson
Polson: 30/100 · grade F
Polson publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Polson, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 159 calendar days | 40/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 15.0 in · 20.0 from 35 in | 28/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.2°F · 21.3° from 67.5°F | 24/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 148 days/year | 24/100 · F |
Polson · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Polson is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 27.6°F and warmest-month mean 68.0°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
- 68.0°F
- Coldest month
- 27.6°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 Polson sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Polson's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 76%
- Among 6,861 stations, Polson sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 83%
- Polson's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 37th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Polson compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Polson'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 | 33°F (1°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.9" | 26.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 47°F (8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 22.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.4" | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.0" | 3.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 72°F (22°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 2.4" | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 6.1 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 1.2" | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| October | 56°F (13°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.6" | 9.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.2" | 21.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 33°F (1°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.9" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 159 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near December 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 3, then returns to freezing around October 28, covering 159 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 6, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 29 at 14%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 105 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Polson.
Where Polson Stands Nationally
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Polson earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
11.3 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
11.9 days with precipitation
4.9 days with precipitation
5.0 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
Polson spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 27% of the annual total and December through February 18%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Polson has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 2.4" and August 0.8". The three wettest months together take 40% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Polson is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 104 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 29% of the calendar, and they carry 15.0" between them. At roughly 0.14 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 June at about 12 wet days; the driest is July 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
October 5
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 10
50% probability date
Growing Season
148 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,130
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
295
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Polson 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 (46°F here).
- Cashton, WI 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Clarence, PA 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Eureka, NV 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Fremont, MI 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Santa Rosa, NM 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Bickleton, WA 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Pilot Rock, OR 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Ellicott, CO 15.0" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Polson's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Polson's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,130 annual heating degree days against 295 for cooling. Its 40.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 148 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 December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Polson's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 40.4°F. The annual average is 46°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Polson's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 15.0 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 Polson'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 Polson, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Polson's climate
How much rain does Polson get? ▼
How cold does Polson get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Polson? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Polson's primary station: POLSON (USC00246635). 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 3058750). Match rule for Polson: 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 Polson 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.