Timber Lake, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Timber Lake's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 19.4 inches of precipitation and 41 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.4°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 30°C, 493 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTimber Lake
- Station IDUSC00398307
- Location45.43°N 101.08°W
- Elevation2,173 ft (662 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population537
On October 22, the normal high in Timber Lake is 55°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Timber Lake.
- Jan 27° 7°
- Feb 31° 11°
- Mar 44° 21°
- Apr 58° 32°
- May 69° 43°
- Jun 79° 54°
- Jul 86° 59°
- Aug 85° 58°
- Sep 76° 48°
- Oct 59° 35°
- Nov 43° 22°
- Dec 30° 11°
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 Timber Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.56 in), the least in January (0.49 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 7°F | 16.9°F | 0.49 | 6.4 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 31°F | 11°F | 20.7°F | 0.67 | 7.5 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 44°F | 21°F | 32.6°F | 1.00 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 32°F | 44.8°F | 1.83 | 5.2 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 43°F | 56.2°F | 2.90 | 0.6 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 54°F | 66.3°F | 3.56 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 86°F | 59°F | 72.7°F | 2.85 | 0.0 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 58°F | 71.3°F | 1.78 | 0.0 | 7 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 76°F | 48°F | 62.1°F | 1.53 | 0.0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 35°F | 46.7°F | 1.66 | 2.3 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 22°F | 32.1°F | 0.57 | 4.4 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 30°F | 11°F | 20.8°F | 0.57 | 8.3 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 33°F | 45.3°F | 19.41 | 41.2 | 86 | 24 | 173 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.4°C | 12 mm | 16 cm |
| February | −1°C | −12°C | −6.3°C | 17 mm | 19 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.3°C | 25 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 46 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 74 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 26°C | 12°C | 19.1°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.6°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 21.8°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 9°C | 16.7°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 42 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 6°C | −6°C | 0.1°C | 14 mm | 11 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −6.2°C | 14 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00398307; 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 Timber Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September 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 USC00398307.
When is the last frost in Timber Lake?
In Timber Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 17 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 101 year in 10 after May 23; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Timber Lake in zone 4b in ZIP code 57656, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Timber Lake's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00398307; 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 Timber Lake?
In a normal year in Timber Lake, 24 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 173 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 24a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 173a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 68high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1911) is 115°F, on July 16, 1936; the lowest is −46°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 30.24 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 92.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00398307; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00398307. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Timber Lake?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Timber Lake, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.8 |
| February | 79% | 2.9 |
| March | 73% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 80% | 6.7 |
| July | 86% | 6.9 |
| August | 84% | 5.8 |
| September | 81% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 2.9 |
| November | 73% | 1.9 |
| December | 69% | 1.4 |
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 Timber Lake need?
A normal year in Timber Lake brings 7,821 heating degree days, 46% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 666 cooling degree days, 27% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,619 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,491 | 0 |
| February | 1,239 | 0 |
| March | 1,006 | 0 |
| April | 607 | 1 |
| May | 292 | 20 |
| June | 65 | 104 |
| July | 14 | 251 |
| August | 21 | 216 |
| September | 157 | 70 |
| October | 573 | 4 |
| November | 986 | 0 |
| December | 1,372 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,821 | 666 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00398307. 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 Timber Lake been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 47.7°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.3°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.1°F | +2.8°F | 16.13 | 12.1 |
| 2022 | 44.5°F | −0.8°F | 20.89 | 40.4 |
| 2024 | 47.7°F | +2.4°F | 16.61 | 20.5 |
Over 85 complete years from 1926 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.0°F per century (+0.00°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00398307; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Timber Lake's climate compare?
Timber Lake is warmer than 42 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.3°F is warmer than 21%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Timber Lake is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Timber Lake share this climate record?
2 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.
- Isabel, SD155 people · 17 mi W
- Whitehorse, SD127 people · 14 mi SE
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 Timber Lake's climate
What is the coldest month in Timber Lake?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Timber Lake?
Yes: 41 inches in a normal year, falling on 26 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (8.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Timber Lake?
June, with 3.56 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.49 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Timber Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Timber Lake in zone 4b in ZIP code 57656, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Timber Lake's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Timber Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 23. Waiting until May 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- McLaughlin, SD30 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- McIntosh (6 mi SE), SD30 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Mobridge, SD34 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Glad Valley (2 mi W), SD35 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made