Towner, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Towner's normal year runs from −4°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 17.7 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.4°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 29°C, 449 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTowner (2 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00328792
- Location48.37°N 100.39°W
- Elevation1,480 ft (451 m)
- Population454
On October 23, the normal high in Towner is 53°F and the normal low 26°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 9%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Towner.
- Jan 19° -4°
- Feb 23° -1°
- Mar 36° 13°
- Apr 54° 27°
- May 69° 40°
- Jun 77° 50°
- Jul 83° 55°
- Aug 83° 52°
- Sep 73° 43°
- Oct 57° 29°
- Nov 38° 15°
- Dec 24° 2°
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 Towner each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.80 in), the least in January (0.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | −4°F | 7.2°F | 0.48 | 6.9 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 23°F | −1°F | 11.1°F | 0.48 | 6.9 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 36°F | 13°F | 24.2°F | 0.78 | 4.6 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 27°F | 40.7°F | 0.98 | 3.3 | 3 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 69°F | 40°F | 54.1°F | 2.34 | 0.8 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 77°F | 50°F | 63.8°F | 3.80 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 83°F | 55°F | 69.2°F | 2.50 | 0.0 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 52°F | 67.8°F | 2.05 | 0.0 | 5 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 43°F | 57.7°F | 1.56 | 0.1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 29°F | 43.0°F | 1.20 | 2.2 | 3 | <1 | 20 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 15°F | 26.4°F | 0.84 | 4.6 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 24°F | 2°F | 13.1°F | 0.66 | 10.0 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 27°F | 39.9°F | 17.67 | 39.4 | 52 | 13 | 201 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −20°C | −13.8°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| February | −5°C | −18°C | −11.6°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 2°C | −11°C | −4.3°C | 20 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 12°C | −3°C | 4.8°C | 25 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 20°C | 4°C | 12.3°C | 59 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 25°C | 10°C | 17.7°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 13°C | 20.7°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 11°C | 19.9°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 6°C | 14.3°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | −1°C | 6.1°C | 30 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 21 mm | 12 cm |
| December | −5°C | −16°C | −10.5°C | 17 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00328792; 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 Towner?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00328792.
When is the last frost in Towner?
In Towner, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 22 in half of years and before September 10 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 June 1; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 10; 9 in 10 before October 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 126 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 October 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Towner in zone 3b in ZIP code 58788, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Towner's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (22 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 USC00328792; 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 Towner?
In a normal year in Towner, 13 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 201 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 52 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 201a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 97high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 52a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 111°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −49°F, on January 13, 1916.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1998, with 22.71 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 64.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00328792; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00328792. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Towner?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Towner, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (86%) and November the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 1.7 |
| February | 86% | 2.9 |
| March | 79% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 82% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.0 |
| October | 70% | 2.5 |
| November | 69% | 1.5 |
| December | 70% | 1.2 |
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 Towner need?
A normal year in Towner brings 9,510 heating degree days, 77% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 390 cooling degree days, 57% 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 2,087 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,790 | 0 |
| February | 1,508 | 0 |
| March | 1,265 | 0 |
| April | 730 | 1 |
| May | 351 | 13 |
| June | 98 | 60 |
| July | 26 | 156 |
| August | 44 | 132 |
| September | 249 | 28 |
| October | 683 | 1 |
| November | 1,158 | 0 |
| December | 1,610 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,510 | 390 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00328792. 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 Towner been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 42.4°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 39.9°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.4°F | +2.5°F | 14.80 | – |
Over 72 complete years from 1898 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00328792; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Towner's climate compare?
Towner is warmer than 30 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.9°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Towner 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.
Questions about Towner's climate
What is the coldest month in Towner?
January, with a normal high of 19°F and a normal low of −4°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Towner?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Towner?
June, with 3.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Towner in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Towner in zone 3b in ZIP code 58788, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Towner's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Towner?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; 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
- North Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Willow City, ND17 miles from this station, 37.6°F a year
- Rugby, ND18 miles from this station, 38.8°F a year
- Granville, ND22 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Drake, ND22 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made