Terry, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Terry's primary NOAA station, TERRY - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Terry
Winter sets the terms in Terry, Montana. A pronounced 56.1°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 45°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 45°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 13.4"
- annual precipitation · 12" snow
- 139 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Terry: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00248165 · Terry, MT 45°F mean · 13.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,372
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Timber Lake
- PRCP-DRY 13.4"
- SWING-WIDE 56°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,828 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00248165
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Timber Lake, SD (+ 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.
- Terry (this station) 45°F
- Cold Albert Lea, MN 45°F
- Hot Wolf PT, MT 45°F
- Near Timber Lake, SD 45°F
- Near Miller, SD 45°F
Terry 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 · Terry
Terry: 25/100 · grade F
Terry publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Terry, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 11.8 inches/year | 61/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 13.4 in · 21.6 from 35 in | 23/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.3°F · 22.2° from 67.5°F | 21/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 191 calendar days | 19/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 139 days/year | 18/100 · F |
Terry · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Terry's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 73.3°F
- Coldest month
- 17.2°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 Terry sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Terry's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 80%
- Among 6,861 stations, Terry sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 87%
- Terry's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 93%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Terry is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Terry compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Terry's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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
Terry's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 42 complete annual observations from 1953 to 2025, TERRY warmed at a fitted rate of 0.17°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Terry primary station fitted change +0.16 °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 | 28°F (-2°C) | 6°F (-14°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 0.3" | 3.3" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 34°F (1°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 0.3" | 1.4" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 46°F (8°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.4" | 1.2" | 27.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.4" | 1.0" | 16.3 | 0.1 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 4.5 | 0.7 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.1 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.3" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 14.1 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.2" | 0.0" | 2.5 | 4.4 |
| October | 59°F (15°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 0.9" | 0.2" | 16.0 | 0.2 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.4" | 1.6" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 32°F (0°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.3" | 3.1" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Terry works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 90°F by July 26 and hold at or above 90°F on 11 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 180 dates, bottoming at 5°F around January 8.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 24 through August 3, covering 11 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 22 to September 27.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 14, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 180 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 May 31, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 28 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 66 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 1 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Terry.
Where Terry Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 180 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 13 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Terry earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.3"
4.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
3.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
4.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
6.4 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
4.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.6"
2.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
3.1 days with precipitation
Terry runs a summer-peaked wet season
42% of Terry'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 May at 2.5", on a wide 56.1°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: May, June, July, taking 51% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 7% 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.
How Terry's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 65 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 13.4" between them, or roughly 0.20 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Snow reaches Terry, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 11.8 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 6 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 28
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 12
50% probability date
Growing Season
139 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,828
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
673
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Terry 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 (45°F here).
- Cherry Valley, NY 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Delhi, NY 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Kennebunkport, ME 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Liberty, NY 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (13.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Carrizozo, NM 13.3" · 0.0" off
- La Junta, CO 13.4" · 0.0" off
- Monahans, TX 13.4" · 0.0" off
- Vista, CA 13.4" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Terry's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Terry logs 7,828 heating degree days, more than twice its 673 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 56.1°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 139 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 this dry, high-range record. The gap is 56.1°F, so a single annual figure is especially lossy; the annual average is 45°f. Compare monthly temperature and precipitation together before drawing a seasonal conclusion about Terry.
Terry's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 13.4 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 11.8 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Terry wettest normal
May
May concentrates the scarce annual total (13.4 inches).
Terry driest normal
January
January is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Terry's climate
How dry is Terry? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Terry get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Terry? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Terry's primary station: TERRY (USC00248165). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Terry area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 3073675). Match rule for Terry: 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 Terry 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.