Shonkin, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Shonkin's primary NOAA station, SHONKIN 7 S.
The climate verdict for Shonkin
Shonkin, Montana has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 44°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.
- 44°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 22.8"
- precipitation, annual total
- 120 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Shonkin: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00247540 · Shonkin, MT 44°F mean · 22.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Valier
- PRCP-DRY 22.8"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,807 HDD
- STN-1 USC00247540
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Valier, MT (+ 0 °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 MT station list.
- Shonkin (this station) 44°F
- Hot Idaho Falls Fan…, ID 44°F
- Near Valier, MT 44°F
- Near Pleasant Mt, PA 44°F
- Near Oswayo, PA 44°F
Shonkin sits in Montana, the #6 coldest U.S. state at 43.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Shonkin
Shonkin: 26/100 · grade F
Shonkin publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Shonkin, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 22.8 in · 12.2 from 35 in | 57/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 179 calendar days | 26/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.1°F · 23.4° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 120 days/year | 7/100 · F |
Shonkin · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Shonkin is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 26.7°F and warmest-month mean 65.3°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 65.3°F
- Coldest month
- 26.7°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 Shonkin sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Shonkin's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 85%
- Among 6,861 stations, Shonkin sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 32nd percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 70%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Shonkin is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Shonkin compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Shonkin'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
Shonkin's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 30 complete annual observations from 1956 to 2019, SHONKIN 7 S warmed at a fitted rate of 0.05°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Shonkin primary station fitted change +0.05 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.9" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 36°F (2°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.8" | 22.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (7°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.2" | 21.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (11°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 3.0" | 14.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 60°F (16°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 3.8" | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 68°F (20°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 1.7" | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.7" | 0.4 | 3.7 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.3" | 2.0 | 0.5 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 43°F (6°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.2" | 19.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.8" | 23.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 82°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 179 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 18°F near January 11.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 20, then returns to freezing around October 25, covering 179 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.
The widest day
July 27 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 28°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Shonkin.
Where Shonkin Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 179 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Shonkin earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Shonkin spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 32% of the annual total and December through February 11%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Shonkin has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 3.8" and February 0.8". The three wettest months together take 46% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 21
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 24
50% probability date
Growing Season
120 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,807
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
228
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Shonkin 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 (44°F here).
- Aberdeen, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Belfast, ME 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Bushnell, NE 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Cambridge, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (22.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Perryton, TX 22.8" · 0.0" off
- Pampa, TX 22.8" · 0.0" off
- Argyle, MN 22.9" · 0.1" off
- Highmore, SD 22.8" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Shonkin's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Shonkin's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,807 annual heating degree days against 228 for cooling. Its 38.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 120 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 Shonkin's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.6°F. The annual average is 44°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Shonkin's 22.8 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Shonkin'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 Shonkin, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Shonkin's climate
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Shonkin's primary station: SHONKIN 7 S (USC00247540). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Shonkin; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Shonkin 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.