Trident, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Trident's primary NOAA station, TRIDENT.
The climate verdict for Trident
Dryness leads the climate profile for Trident, Montana, with 13.0 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 45°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 45°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 13.0"
- annual precipitation
- 141 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Trident: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00248363 · Trident, MT 45°F mean · 13.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,372
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sanford
- PRCP-DRY 13.0"
- SWING-WIDE 45°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,434 HDD
- STN-1 USC00248363
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sanford, ME (+ 0.1 °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.
- Hot Salisbury, NH 46°F
- Near Sanford, ME 46°F
- Trident (this station) 45°F
- Cold Mecklenburg, NY 45°F
- Near Worthington, MA 45°F
Trident 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 · Trident
Trident: 23/100 · grade F
Trident publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Trident, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 177 calendar days | 27/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 13.0 in · 22.0 from 35 in | 22/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.4°F · 22.1° from 67.5°F | 21/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 141 days/year | 19/100 · F |
Trident · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Trident'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
- 69.2°F
- Coldest month
- 24.0°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 Trident sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Trident'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, Trident sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 87%
- Trident's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 60th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Trident compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Trident's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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
Trident's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 71 complete annual observations from 1924 to 2022, TRIDENT warmed at a fitted rate of 0.12°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Trident primary station fitted change +0.12 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F (1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.4" | 29.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.3" | 25.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 48°F (9°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.7" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.5" | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.2" | 3.8 | 0.2 |
| June | 74°F (23°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 2.4" | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.4" | 0.0 | 11.3 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 1.0" | 0.1 | 10.0 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 1.1" | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| October | 58°F (15°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 0.9" | 15.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (6°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 0.6" | 25.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 33°F (0°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.7" | 28.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 27, short of 90°F on every date, while 177 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near December 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 13, then returns to freezing around October 20, covering 177 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 30, when 38% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 24 at 15%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 80 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 7 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 33°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Trident.
Where Trident Stands Nationally
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 13 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 33°F between the normal high and low.
Trident earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
4.7 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
4.9 days with precipitation
Trident runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Trident'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 2.4", on a wide 45.2°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, May, April, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.3".
- Winter share: 10% 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.
Trident is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 80 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 22% of the calendar, and they carry 13.0" between them. At roughly 0.16 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 May at about 11 wet days; the driest is February at about 5.
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 9
50% probability date
Growing Season
141 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,434
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
334
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Trident 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).
- Beloit, WI 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Deadwood, SD 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Hall, ID 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Harbor Beach, MI 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (13.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Susanville, CA 13.0" · 0.0" off
- Sierra Vista, AZ 13.0" · 0.0" off
- Manti, UT 13.1" · 0.0" off
- Cedar City, UT 13.0" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Trident's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Trident's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,434 annual heating degree days against 334 for cooling. Its 45.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 141 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 December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Trident's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 45.2°F. The annual average is 45°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Trident's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 13.0 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Trident wettest normal
June
June concentrates the scarce annual total (13.0 inches).
Trident driest normal
February
February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Trident's climate
How dry is Trident? ▼
How cold does Trident get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Trident? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Trident's primary station: TRIDENT (USC00248363). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Trident; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Trident 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.