Stanley, ND Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Stanley's primary NOAA station, STANLEY 3 NNW.
The climate verdict for Stanley
Winter sets the terms in Stanley, North Dakota. A pronounced 58.4°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 39°F. At 39/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 4% of scores.
- 39°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 39/100
- comfort score, above 4% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.3"
- annual precipitation · 47" snow
- 129 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Stanley: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00328276 · Stanley, ND 39°F mean · 19.3" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 39°F
- RANK-COOL #274
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Itasca Univ of…
- PRCP-DRY 19.3"
- SWING-WIDE 58°F
- COMF-LOW 39/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,810 HDD
- STN-1 USC00328276
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Itasca Univ of Minn, MN (+ 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 ND station list.
- Stanley (this station) 39°F
- Hot Fosston, MN 39°F
- Near Itasca Univ of…, MN 39°F
- Near Rugby, ND 39°F
- Near Wildrose, ND 39°F
Stanley sits in North Dakota, the #2 coldest U.S. state at 41.0°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Stanley
Stanley: 15/100 · grade F
Stanley publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Stanley, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 39/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 19.3 in · 15.7 from 35 in | 44/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 47.4 inches/year | 22/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 204 calendar days | 12/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 129 days/year | 11/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 38.7°F · 28.8° from 67.5°F | 1/100 · F |
Stanley · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Stanley is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 8.4°F and warmest-month mean 66.8°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
- 66.8°F
- Coldest month
- 8.4°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 Stanley sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Stanley's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 96%
- Among 6,861 stations, Stanley sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 73%
- Stanley's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 96%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Stanley is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Stanley compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Stanley's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
39 4th percentile score exceeds 4% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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
Stanley's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 58 complete annual observations from 1938 to 2016, STANLEY 3 NNW warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Stanley primary station fitted change +0.20 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°F (-8°C) | -1°F (-18°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 0.5" | 7.6" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 22°F (-6°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 0.6" | 7.1" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 34°F (1°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.8" | 7.5" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (11°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.3" | 4.6" | 22.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 2.5" | 1.3" | 8.6 | 0.2 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| July | 80°F (27°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 3.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 2.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| September | 70°F (21°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.8" | 0.2" | 3.2 | 1.4 |
| October | 53°F (12°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.3" | 3.8" | 19.0 | 0.1 |
| November | 35°F (2°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.7" | 5.1" | 28.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 22°F (-5°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 0.6" | 10.2" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 82°F around August 1, short of 90°F on every date, while 204 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -1°F near January 17.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 1, then returns to freezing around October 11, covering 204 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.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 14, when 47% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is March 22 at 25%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 114 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 17 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 29°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Stanley.
Where Stanley Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 204 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Stanley 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 and snowfall
Snow: 7.6"
9.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.1"
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.5"
8.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
11.0 days with precipitation
14.1 days with precipitation
10.8 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
8.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.8"
9.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.1"
7.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.2"
9.2 days with precipitation
Stanley runs a summer-peaked wet season
47% of Stanley's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 3.9", on a wide 58.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, May, taking 49% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.5".
- Winter share: 9% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Stanley is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 114 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 31% of the calendar, and they carry 19.3" between them. At roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is June at about 14 wet days; the driest is November at about 8.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Stanley
Stanley averages 47.4 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 41 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 47.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 41 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 25% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
129 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,810
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
272
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ND closest to Stanley 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 (39°F here).
- Dillon, MT 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Fosston, MN 39°F · 0.1°F off
- Bedford, WY 39°F · 0.1°F off
- Limestone, ME 39°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Elizabeth, CO 19.3" · 0.0" off
- Greer, AZ 19.3" · 0.0" off
- Leoti, KS 19.3" · 0.0" off
- Friona, TX 19.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Stanley
heating led · dry · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Stanley logs 9,810 heating degree days, more than twice its 272 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 58.4°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 129 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.
-
1. Stanley coldest normal
January
Averaging 8°F (-13°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Stanley typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Stanley snow peak
December
Stanley averages 47.4 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Stanley's climate
How much snow does Stanley get? ▼
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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 Stanley's primary station: STANLEY 3 NNW (USC00328276). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3875380). Match rule for Stanley: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Stanley 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.