SKQ Dam, Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
SKQ Dam's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 15.7 inches of precipitation and 34 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 28°C, 400 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSKQ Dam
- Station IDUSC00246640
- Location47.68°N 114.24°W
- Elevation2,730 ft (832 m)
On October 23, the normal high in SKQ Dam is 51°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 39%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for SKQ Dam.
- Jan 32° 20°
- Feb 37° 21°
- Mar 47° 26°
- Apr 56° 32°
- May 65° 40°
- Jun 71° 46°
- Jul 83° 52°
- Aug 83° 51°
- Sep 71° 43°
- Oct 55° 34°
- Nov 40° 26°
- Dec 32° 21°
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 SKQ Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in June (2.42 in), the least in February (0.85 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 20°F | 26.3°F | 0.98 | 8.4 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 37°F | 21°F | 28.9°F | 0.85 | 4.2 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 47°F | 26°F | 36.5°F | 1.01 | 5.0 | 12 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 32°F | 44.2°F | 1.53 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 40°F | 52.5°F | 2.01 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 71°F | 46°F | 58.8°F | 2.42 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 83°F | 52°F | 67.4°F | 1.00 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 51°F | 67.0°F | 0.89 | 0.0 | 6 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 71°F | 43°F | 57.2°F | 1.14 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 34°F | 44.3°F | 1.49 | 0.7 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 26°F | 32.9°F | 1.24 | 4.7 | 13 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 32°F | 21°F | 26.5°F | 1.18 | 9.7 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 15.74 | 33.6 | 128 | 18 | 153 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −6°C | −3.2°C | 25 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 3°C | −6°C | −1.7°C | 22 mm | 11 cm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.5°C | 26 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 39 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 18°C | 4°C | 11.4°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 22°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 61 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 11°C | 19.7°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 11°C | 19.4°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 6°C | 14.0°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 1°C | 6.8°C | 38 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 4°C | −3°C | 0.5°C | 31 mm | 12 cm |
| December | 0°C | −6°C | −3.1°C | 30 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00246640; 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 SKQ Dam?
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 (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 USC00246640.
When is the last frost at SKQ Dam?
In SKQ Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 13 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 151 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 134 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts SKQ Dam in zone 6a in ZIP code 59860, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (28 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 Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00246640; 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 at SKQ Dam?
In a normal year in SKQ Dam, 18 days a year reach 90°F, 153 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 18a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 153a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1951) is 104°F, on July 19, 1960; the lowest is −28°F, on December 31, 1968.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 22.79 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 95.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00246640; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00246640. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at SKQ Dam?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at SKQ Dam, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.1 |
| February | 60% | 2.0 |
| March | 62% | 3.2 |
| April | 66% | 4.5 |
| May | 69% | 5.6 |
| June | 71% | 6.2 |
| July | 87% | 7.3 |
| August | 84% | 6.0 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 54% | 1.3 |
| December | 51% | 0.9 |
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 SKQ Dam record?
A normal year at SKQ Dam brings 7,453 heating degree days, 39% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 263 cooling degree days, 71% 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 1,751 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,200 | 0 |
| February | 1,011 | 0 |
| March | 884 | 0 |
| April | 626 | 0 |
| May | 389 | 2 |
| June | 202 | 18 |
| July | 46 | 121 |
| August | 51 | 111 |
| September | 244 | 11 |
| October | 642 | 0 |
| November | 965 | 0 |
| December | 1,195 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,453 | 263 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00246640. 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 SKQ Dam been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 48.3°F, 3.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.7°F | +2.5°F | 15.87 | 12.6 |
| 2023 | 46.9°F | +1.7°F | 13.50 | – |
| 2024 | 47.5°F | +2.3°F | 16.05 | 28.3 |
| 2025 | 48.3°F | +3.1°F | 18.67 | 52.6 |
Over 64 complete years from 1952 to 2025, 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: observed years: ACIS, station USC00246640; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does SKQ Dam's climate compare?
SKQ Dam is warmer than 96 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 90. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.2°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, SKQ Dam 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.
Which places near SKQ Dam share this climate record?
7 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Hot Springs, MT623 people · 21 mi W
- Lindisfarne, MT434 people · 9 mi N
- Elmo, MT183 people · 12 mi NW
- Big Arm, MT142 people · 8 mi N
- Lonepine, MT130 people · 19 mi W
- Niarada, MT42 people · 18 mi NW
- Camas, MT40 people · 20 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about SKQ Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at SKQ Dam?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow at SKQ Dam?
Yes: 34 inches in a normal year, falling on 24 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at SKQ Dam?
June, with 2.42 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.85 in.
What plant hardiness zone is SKQ Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts SKQ Dam in zone 6a in ZIP code 59860, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at SKQ Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; 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
- Polson, MT2 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Bigfork (13 mi S), MT17 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Swan Lake, MT25 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- St. Ignatius, MT26 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made