Stanley, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Stanley's normal year runs from −1°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 19.3 inches of precipitation and 47 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.7°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 27°C, 490 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationStanley (3 mi NNW)
- Station IDUSC00328276
- Location48.36°N 102.41°W
- Elevation2,280 ft (695 m)
- Population2,214
On October 23, the normal high in Stanley is 48°F and the normal low 26°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Stanley.
- Jan 17° -1°
- Feb 22° 3°
- Mar 34° 14°
- Apr 51° 26°
- May 64° 38°
- Jun 73° 49°
- Jul 80° 54°
- Aug 80° 52°
- Sep 70° 42°
- Oct 53° 29°
- Nov 35° 16°
- Dec 22° 5°
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 Stanley each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.86 in), the least in January (0.54 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°F | −1°F | 8.4°F | 0.54 | 7.6 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 22°F | 3°F | 12.0°F | 0.55 | 7.1 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 34°F | 14°F | 24.1°F | 0.79 | 7.5 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 26°F | 38.9°F | 1.33 | 4.6 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 64°F | 38°F | 51.2°F | 2.49 | 1.3 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 73°F | 49°F | 61.0°F | 3.86 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 80°F | 54°F | 66.8°F | 3.09 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 80°F | 52°F | 66.0°F | 2.14 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 42°F | 55.9°F | 1.82 | 0.2 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 29°F | 41.1°F | 1.31 | 3.8 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 11 h |
| November | 35°F | 16°F | 25.6°F | 0.73 | 5.1 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 22°F | 5°F | 13.7°F | 0.63 | 10.2 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 27°F | 38.7°F | 19.28 | 47.4 | 114 | 10 | 202 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −18°C | −13.1°C | 14 mm | 19 cm |
| February | −6°C | −16°C | −11.1°C | 14 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 1°C | −10°C | −4.4°C | 20 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 11°C | −3°C | 3.8°C | 34 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 18°C | 3°C | 10.7°C | 63 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 12°C | 19.3°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 11°C | 18.9°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 6°C | 13.3°C | 46 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 12°C | −1°C | 5.1°C | 33 mm | 10 cm |
| November | 2°C | −9°C | −3.6°C | 19 mm | 13 cm |
| December | −5°C | −15°C | −10.2°C | 16 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00328276; 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 Stanley?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00328276.
When is the last frost in Stanley?
In Stanley, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 23 in half of years and before September 12 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 29; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 231 year in 10 before September 12; 9 in 10 before October 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 127 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 145 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 8 in half of springs and before September 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Stanley in zone 4a in ZIP code 58784, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Stanley's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −28°F (25 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 USC00328276; 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 Stanley?
In a normal year in Stanley, 10 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 202 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 202a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 99high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1938) is 110°F, on August 7, 1949; the lowest is −47°F, on December 24, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 29.62 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 81.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00328276; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00328276. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Stanley?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Stanley, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and November the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 1.7 |
| February | 84% | 2.8 |
| March | 78% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 76% | 6.4 |
| July | 85% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.0 |
| October | 70% | 2.5 |
| November | 69% | 1.5 |
| December | 70% | 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 Stanley need?
A normal year in Stanley brings 9,810 heating degree days, 83% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 272 cooling degree days, 70% 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 1,768 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,756 | 0 |
| February | 1,484 | 0 |
| March | 1,268 | 0 |
| April | 783 | 0 |
| May | 432 | 5 |
| June | 154 | 35 |
| July | 52 | 108 |
| August | 72 | 103 |
| September | 295 | 21 |
| October | 741 | 1 |
| November | 1,184 | 0 |
| December | 1,590 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,810 | 272 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00328276. 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 Stanley been warmer than normal lately?
Over 58 complete years from 1938 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.6°F per century (+0.20°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 Stanley's climate compare?
Stanley is warmer than 14 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 38.7°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Stanley 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 Stanley share this climate record?
4 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.
- Parshall, ND908 people · 30 mi SE
- Plaza, ND206 people · 31 mi SE
- Palermo, ND122 people · 9 mi E
- Ross, ND88 people · 7 mi SW
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 Stanley's climate
What is the coldest month in Stanley?
January, with a normal high of 17°F and a normal low of −1°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Stanley?
Yes: 47 inches in a normal year, falling on 41 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Stanley?
June, with 3.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.54 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Stanley in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Stanley in zone 4a in ZIP code 58784, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Stanley's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −28°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Stanley?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 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
- Powers Lake, ND19 miles from this station, 38.2°F a year
- Tioga, ND24 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Kenmare, ND26 miles from this station, 39.6°F a year
- Foxholm, ND39 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made