Porcupine, SD Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Porcupine's primary NOAA station, PORCUPINE 11 N.
The climate verdict for Porcupine
Dryness leads the climate profile for Porcupine, South Dakota, with 19.9 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 47°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.
- 47°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.9"
- precipitation, annual total
- 131 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Porcupine: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00396736 · Porcupine, SD 47°F mean · 19.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 47°F
- RANK-COOL #1,852
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Leiter
- PRCP-DRY 19.9"
- SWING-WIDE 50°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,230 HDD
- STN-1 USC00396736
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Leiter, WY ( -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 SD station list.
- Porcupine (this station) 47°F
- Cold Leiter, WY 47°F
- Hot Grundy Ctr, IA 47°F
- Near Dodge, WI 47°F
- Near Independence, IA 47°F
Climate Living Index · Porcupine
Porcupine: 26/100 · grade F
Porcupine publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Porcupine, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 19.9 in · 15.1 from 35 in | 47/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.9°F · 20.6° from 67.5°F | 27/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 195 calendar days | 17/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 131 days/year | 13/100 · F |
Porcupine · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Porcupine is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 23.5°F and warmest-month mean 73.1°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 73.1°F
- Coldest month
- 23.5°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 Porcupine sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Porcupine's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 73%
- Among 6,861 stations, Porcupine sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 72%
- Porcupine's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 80%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Porcupine is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Porcupine compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Porcupine'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) | 10°F (-12°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.5" | 30.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 0.7" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 51°F (10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.3" | 26.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 2.4" | 18.0 | 0.1 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.2" | 5.5 | 1.2 |
| June | 80°F (26°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 3.1" | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 2.1" | 0.0 | 13.4 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 2.0" | 0.0 | 13.5 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.5" | 3.5 | 5.1 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.7" | 18.2 | 0.5 |
| November | 49°F (9°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 0.8" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.5" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 90°F around July 26, short of 90°F on every date, while 195 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 9°F near December 27.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 23, then returns to freezing around October 12, covering 195 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 2, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 4 at 15%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 80 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 34°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Porcupine.
Where Porcupine Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 195 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 34°F between the normal high and low.
Porcupine earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
4.7 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
5.6 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
4.7 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
Porcupine runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Porcupine'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 May at 3.2", on a wide 49.6°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: May, June, April, taking 43% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: December at 0.5".
- Winter share: 9% 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 Porcupine's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 79 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 19.9" between them, or roughly 0.25 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 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
131 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,230
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
690
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Porcupine 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 (47°F here).
- Bath, NY 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Battle Creek, IA 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Bayard, WV 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Bellevue, ID 47°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Colville, WA 19.9" · 0.0" off
- Lakeview, MT 19.9" · 0.0" off
- Sharon Springs, KS 19.9" · 0.0" off
- Whitefish, MT 19.9" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Porcupine's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Porcupine's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,230 annual heating degree days against 690 for cooling. Its 49.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 131 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 Porcupine's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 49.6°F. The annual average is 47°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Porcupine's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 19.9 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 Porcupine'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 Porcupine, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Porcupine's climate
How much rain does Porcupine get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Porcupine get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Porcupine? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Porcupine's primary station: PORCUPINE 11 N (USC00396736). 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 4651340), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Porcupine: 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 Porcupine 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.