Ridgeway (1 mi S), Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Ridgeway (1 mi S)'s normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 15.7 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.8°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 29°C, 398 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRidgeway (1 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00247034
- Location45.50°N 104.45°W
- Elevation3,316 ft (1,011 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Ridgeway (1 mi S) is 54°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ridgeway (1 mi S).
- Jan 31° 7°
- Feb 34° 11°
- Mar 45° 21°
- Apr 56° 31°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 76° 51°
- Jul 85° 57°
- Aug 84° 55°
- Sep 74° 45°
- Oct 58° 32°
- Nov 44° 19°
- Dec 33° 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 Ridgeway (1 mi S) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.60 in), the least in February (0.42 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 7°F | 19.0°F | 0.49 | 8.0 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 34°F | 11°F | 22.2°F | 0.42 | 7.3 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 45°F | 21°F | 33.1°F | 0.68 | 9.3 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 31°F | 43.4°F | 1.70 | 6.2 | 6 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.5°F | 2.60 | 1.9 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 76°F | 51°F | 63.2°F | 2.44 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 85°F | 57°F | 71.0°F | 1.96 | 0.0 | 6 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 84°F | 55°F | 69.5°F | 1.65 | 0.0 | 5 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 45°F | 59.2°F | 1.27 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 32°F | 44.9°F | 1.40 | 3.2 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 19°F | 31.5°F | 0.57 | 6.6 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 33°F | 10°F | 21.3°F | 0.49 | 7.5 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 32°F | 44.3°F | 15.67 | 50.0 | 60 | 22 | 184 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −14°C | −7.2°C | 12 mm | 20 cm |
| February | 1°C | −12°C | −5.4°C | 11 mm | 19 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.6°C | 17 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 6.3°C | 43 mm | 16 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 11.9°C | 66 mm | 5 cm |
| June | 24°C | 10°C | 17.3°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 14°C | 21.7°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 13°C | 20.8°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 7°C | 15.1°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 36 mm | 8 cm |
| November | 6°C | −7°C | −0.3°C | 14 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 0°C | −12°C | −5.9°C | 12 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00247034; 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 Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00247034.
When is the last frost at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
In Ridgeway (1 mi S), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 22 in half of years and before September 5 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 171 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 5; 9 in 10 before October 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 127 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 147 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 1 in half of autumns.
By the USDA's method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in plant hardiness zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00247034; 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 at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
In a normal year in Ridgeway (1 mi S), 22 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 184 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 60 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 184a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 54high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 60a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 20a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00247034.
How sunny is it at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Ridgeway (1 mi S), 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 1.9 |
| February | 77% | 2.9 |
| March | 73% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.9 |
| July | 89% | 7.3 |
| August | 87% | 6.1 |
| September | 82% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.0 |
| November | 74% | 2.0 |
| December | 71% | 1.4 |
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 Ridgeway (1 mi S) record?
A normal year at Ridgeway (1 mi S) brings 8,011 heating degree days, 49% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 503 cooling degree days, 45% 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 2,221 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,424 | 0 |
| February | 1,198 | 0 |
| March | 989 | 0 |
| April | 648 | 0 |
| May | 362 | 7 |
| June | 118 | 64 |
| July | 24 | 208 |
| August | 41 | 179 |
| September | 217 | 42 |
| October | 627 | 2 |
| November | 1,007 | 0 |
| December | 1,356 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,011 | 503 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00247034. 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 Ridgeway (1 mi S) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 45.4°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.3°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 43.6°F | −0.7°F | 21.15 | 83.0 |
| 2023 | 45.7°F | +1.4°F | 16.75 | 37.5 |
| 2024 | 46.8°F | +2.5°F | 11.64 | 39.0 |
| 2025 | 45.4°F | +1.1°F | 22.10 | 39.0 |
Over 35 complete years from 1958 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.8°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00247034; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ridgeway (1 mi S)'s climate compare?
Ridgeway (1 mi S) is warmer than 79 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 89. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.3°F is warmer than 17%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ridgeway (1 mi S) is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Ridgeway (1 mi S)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (9.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
May, with 2.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.42 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ridgeway (1 mi S) in?
By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come at Ridgeway (1 mi S)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Albion (1 mi N), MT22 miles from this station, 40.3°F a year
- Camp Crook, SD23 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Ekalaka, MT27 miles from this station, 45.3°F a year
- Ladner (9 mi SW), SD34 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made