Richardton, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Richardton's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 16.3 inches of precipitation and 33 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.3°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 415 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRichardton Abbey
- Station IDUSC00327530
- Location46.89°N 102.32°W
- Elevation2,470 ft (753 m)
- Population687
On October 14, the normal high in Richardton is 56°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Richardton.
- Jan 24° 7°
- Feb 27° 10°
- Mar 40° 20°
- Apr 54° 31°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 75° 53°
- Jul 83° 58°
- Aug 82° 57°
- Sep 72° 48°
- Oct 55° 34°
- Nov 39° 22°
- Dec 28° 11°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Richardton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.10 in), the least in January (0.37 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 7°F | 15.6°F | 0.37 | 4.5 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 27°F | 10°F | 18.8°F | 0.38 | 4.3 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 40°F | 20°F | 30.2°F | 0.67 | 7.3 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 31°F | 42.5°F | 1.30 | 3.2 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.6°F | 2.44 | 0.8 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 53°F | 64.1°F | 3.10 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 83°F | 58°F | 70.6°F | 2.18 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 82°F | 57°F | 69.6°F | 1.74 | 0.0 | 6 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 72°F | 48°F | 59.7°F | 1.73 | 0.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 34°F | 44.7°F | 1.46 | 2.6 | 5 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 22°F | 30.3°F | 0.50 | 4.9 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 28°F | 11°F | 19.4°F | 0.46 | 5.4 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 33°F | 43.3°F | 16.33 | 33.2 | 68 | 17 | 173 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −14°C | −9.1°C | 9 mm | 11 cm |
| February | −3°C | −12°C | −7.3°C | 10 mm | 11 cm |
| March | 4°C | −6°C | −1.0°C | 17 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 12°C | 0°C | 5.8°C | 33 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 62 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.8°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 14°C | 20.9°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 44 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 13°C | 1°C | 7.1°C | 37 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −0.9°C | 13 mm | 12 cm |
| December | −2°C | −12°C | −7.0°C | 12 mm | 14 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00327530; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Richardton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00327530.
When is the last frost in Richardton?
In Richardton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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 91 year in 10 after May 23; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richardton in zone 4a in ZIP code 58652, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Richardton's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (24 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00327530; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 in Richardton?
In a normal year in Richardton, 17 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 173 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 68 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 173a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 75high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 68a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1916) is 113°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −48°F, on February 2, 1917.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1982, with 29.09 in; the snowiest season is 1981–82, with 86.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00327530; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00327530. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Richardton?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Richardton, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 1.8 |
| February | 78% | 2.8 |
| March | 73% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.9 |
| June | 79% | 6.7 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 84% | 5.8 |
| September | 80% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 2.8 |
| November | 73% | 1.8 |
| December | 70% | 1.3 |
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 much heating and cooling does Richardton need?
A normal year in Richardton brings 8,359 heating degree days, 56% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 507 cooling degree days, 44% 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 2,301 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,533 | 0 |
| February | 1,292 | 0 |
| March | 1,080 | 0 |
| April | 676 | 1 |
| May | 336 | 14 |
| June | 97 | 71 |
| July | 24 | 197 |
| August | 35 | 178 |
| September | 203 | 44 |
| October | 632 | 2 |
| November | 1,040 | 0 |
| December | 1,412 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,359 | 507 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00327530. 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.
Has Richardton been warmer than normal lately?
Over 87 complete years from 1917 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.7°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Richardton's climate compare?
Richardton is warmer than 85 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 8. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.3°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Richardton is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Richardton's climate
What is the coldest month in Richardton?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Richardton?
Yes: 33 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (7.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Richardton?
June, with 3.10 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.37 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Richardton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Richardton in zone 4a in ZIP code 58652, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Richardton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Richardton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 23. Waiting until May 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Taylor, ND11 miles from this station, 42.5°F a year
- Hebron, ND13 miles from this station, 41.5°F a year
- Dickinson, ND22 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Theodore Roosevelt Airport, ND24 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made