Seeley Lake, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Seeley Lake's normal year runs from 13°F December nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 21.6 inches of precipitation and 119 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.4°C, December lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 549 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSeeley Lake Ranger Station
- Station IDUSC00247448
- Location47.21°N 113.52°W
- Elevation4,100 ft (1,250 m)
- Population (census place)1,335
On October 14, the normal high in Seeley Lake is 57°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Seeley Lake.
- Jan 32° 12°
- Feb 37° 13°
- Mar 45° 20°
- Apr 54° 27°
- May 65° 34°
- Jun 72° 41°
- Jul 83° 44°
- Aug 83° 43°
- Sep 73° 37°
- Oct 56° 29°
- Nov 40° 21°
- Dec 31° 13°
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 Seeley Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in January (2.63 in), the least in August (0.96 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 12°F | 22.0°F | 2.63 | 30.4 | 16 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 37°F | 13°F | 24.7°F | 1.92 | 18.5 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 45°F | 20°F | 32.5°F | 1.44 | 15.2 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 27°F | 40.2°F | 1.37 | 4.5 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 34°F | 49.4°F | 1.88 | 0.7 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 41°F | 56.4°F | 2.31 | 0.4 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 83°F | 44°F | 63.7°F | 1.07 | 0.0 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 43°F | 62.8°F | 0.96 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 37°F | 54.6°F | 1.19 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 29°F | 42.4°F | 1.96 | 2.3 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 21°F | 30.5°F | 2.52 | 18.0 | 14 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 31°F | 13°F | 21.8°F | 2.35 | 28.9 | 16 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 28°F | 41.7°F | 21.60 | 118.9 | 140 | 15 | 215 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −11°C | −5.6°C | 67 mm | 77 cm |
| February | 3°C | −11°C | −4.1°C | 49 mm | 47 cm |
| March | 7°C | −7°C | 0.3°C | 37 mm | 39 cm |
| April | 12°C | −3°C | 4.6°C | 35 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 18°C | 1°C | 9.7°C | 48 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 22°C | 5°C | 13.6°C | 59 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 28°C | 7°C | 17.6°C | 27 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 6°C | 17.1°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 3°C | 12.6°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | −2°C | 5.8°C | 50 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −0.8°C | 64 mm | 46 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −5.7°C | 60 mm | 73 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00247448; 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 Seeley Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00247448.
How hot and how cold does it get in Seeley Lake?
In a normal year in Seeley Lake, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 215 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 140 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 215a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 45high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 140a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 36a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1936) is 102°F, on July 7, 2007; the lowest is −45°F, on February 4, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1959, with 31.03 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 223.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00247448; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00247448. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Seeley Lake?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Seeley Lake, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.4 |
| February | 69% | 2.4 |
| March | 66% | 3.5 |
| April | 66% | 4.6 |
| May | 67% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.4 |
| July | 87% | 7.3 |
| August | 83% | 5.9 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.6 |
| November | 61% | 1.5 |
| December | 60% | 1.1 |
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 Seeley Lake need?
A normal year in Seeley Lake brings 8,563 heating degree days, 59% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 108 cooling degree days, 88% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,308 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,332 | 0 |
| February | 1,130 | 0 |
| March | 1,008 | 0 |
| April | 744 | 0 |
| May | 486 | 1 |
| June | 268 | 8 |
| July | 94 | 55 |
| August | 110 | 40 |
| September | 316 | 5 |
| October | 702 | 0 |
| November | 1,037 | 0 |
| December | 1,339 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,563 | 108 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00247448. 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 Seeley Lake been warmer than normal lately?
Over 60 complete years from 1939 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.3°F per century (+0.18°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 Seeley Lake's climate compare?
Seeley Lake is warmer than 26 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 118. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.7°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Seeley Lake 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 Seeley Lake's climate
What is the coldest month in Seeley Lake?
December, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 44°F at night).
Does it snow in Seeley Lake?
Yes: 119 inches in a normal year, falling on 59 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (30.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Seeley Lake?
January, with 2.63 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.96 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Seeley Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Seeley Lake in zone 5a in ZIP code 59868, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Seeley Lake's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −28°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lindbergh Lake, MT16 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Potomac, MT24 miles from this station, 39.3°F a year
- St. Ignatius, MT28 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Ovando, MT32 miles from this station, 38.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made