Rugby, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rugby's normal year runs from −4°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 21.0 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.8°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 27°C, 533 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRugby
- Station IDUSC00327704
- Location48.35°N 99.99°W
- Elevation1,550 ft (472 m)
- Population2,422
On October 23, the normal high in Rugby is 49°F and the normal low 27°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rugby.
- Jan 16° -4°
- Feb 21° 0°
- Mar 34° 14°
- Apr 52° 28°
- May 66° 40°
- Jun 75° 51°
- Jul 80° 55°
- Aug 80° 53°
- Sep 70° 44°
- Oct 54° 30°
- Nov 35° 16°
- Dec 21° 3°
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 Rugby each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.83 in), the least in January (0.49 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°F | −4°F | 6.0°F | 0.49 | 8.0 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 21°F | 0°F | 10.6°F | 0.54 | 6.4 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 34°F | 14°F | 23.7°F | 0.90 | 6.5 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 28°F | 40.0°F | 1.31 | 2.9 | 5 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 66°F | 40°F | 53.2°F | 3.01 | 0.9 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 75°F | 51°F | 62.9°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 80°F | 55°F | 67.5°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 80°F | 53°F | 66.3°F | 2.15 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 44°F | 56.7°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 30°F | 41.9°F | 1.41 | 3.3 | 6 | <1 | 18 | 11 h |
| November | 35°F | 16°F | 25.3°F | 0.92 | 7.4 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 21°F | 3°F | 11.9°F | 0.99 | 8.0 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 28°F | 38.8°F | 20.98 | 43.4 | 76 | 7 | 195 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9°C | −20°C | −14.4°C | 12 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −6°C | −18°C | −11.9°C | 14 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 1°C | −10°C | −4.6°C | 23 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.4°C | 33 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 76 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 24°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 12°C | 19.1°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 6°C | 13.7°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | −1°C | 5.5°C | 36 mm | 8 cm |
| November | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 23 mm | 19 cm |
| December | −6°C | −16°C | −11.2°C | 25 mm | 20 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00327704; 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 Rugby?
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 (8).
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 USC00327704.
When is the last frost in Rugby?
In Rugby, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 23 in half of years and before September 11 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 May 31; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 231 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 129 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.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rugby in zone 3b in ZIP code 58368, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Rugby's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −33°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00327704; 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 Rugby?
In a normal year in Rugby, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 195 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 195a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 101high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1904) is 107°F, on July 27, 1988; the lowest is −47°F, on February 1, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1999, with 24.79 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 70.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00327704; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00327704. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Rugby?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rugby, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (89%) and November the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 1.7 |
| February | 89% | 3.0 |
| March | 80% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.7 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 3.9 |
| October | 69% | 2.5 |
| November | 67% | 1.5 |
| December | 70% | 1.2 |
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 Rugby need?
A normal year in Rugby brings 9,801 heating degree days, 82% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 304 cooling degree days, 67% 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 1,910 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,829 | 0 |
| February | 1,525 | 0 |
| March | 1,280 | 0 |
| April | 752 | 0 |
| May | 377 | 11 |
| June | 113 | 50 |
| July | 39 | 116 |
| August | 62 | 103 |
| September | 272 | 22 |
| October | 717 | 1 |
| November | 1,191 | 0 |
| December | 1,644 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,801 | 304 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00327704. 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 Rugby been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 40.4°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 38.8°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.2°F | +3.4°F | – | – |
| 2023 | 40.5°F | +1.7°F | – | – |
| 2024 | 42.1°F | +3.3°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 40.4°F | +1.6°F | – | – |
Over 48 complete years from 1950 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.8°F per century (+0.27°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00327704; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rugby's climate compare?
Rugby is warmer than 16 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 57. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 38.8°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rugby 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 Rugby's climate
What is the coldest month in Rugby?
January, with a normal high of 16°F and a normal low of −4°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Rugby?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rugby?
June, with 3.83 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.49 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rugby in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rugby in zone 3b in ZIP code 58368, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Rugby's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −33°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Rugby?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 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
- Esmond, ND16 miles from this station, 39.1°F a year
- Towner, ND18 miles from this station, 39.9°F a year
- Rolette, ND21 miles from this station, 36.1°F a year
- Willow City, ND22 miles from this station, 37.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made