Velva, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Velva's normal year runs from −3°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 19.2 inches of precipitation and 41 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.1°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 27°C, 487 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVelva
- Station IDUSC00328990
- Location48.06°N 100.94°W
- Elevation1,510 ft (460 m)
- Population1,054
On October 23, the normal high in Velva is 52°F and the normal low 25°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Velva.
- Jan 20° -3°
- Feb 24° 1°
- Mar 37° 13°
- Apr 54° 26°
- May 67° 38°
- Jun 75° 49°
- Jul 80° 54°
- Aug 80° 51°
- Sep 71° 42°
- Oct 56° 28°
- Nov 38° 15°
- Dec 25° 3°
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 Velva each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −3°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.63 in), the least in February (0.50 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | −3°F | 8.4°F | 0.67 | 10.3 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 24°F | 1°F | 12.6°F | 0.50 | 5.3 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 37°F | 13°F | 25.2°F | 0.75 | 5.2 | 2 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 26°F | 39.5°F | 1.07 | 3.1 | 3 | <1 | 22 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 67°F | 38°F | 52.6°F | 2.70 | 0.8 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 75°F | 49°F | 61.8°F | 3.63 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 80°F | 54°F | 67.0°F | 2.73 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 80°F | 51°F | 65.4°F | 2.20 | 0.0 | 6 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 71°F | 42°F | 56.3°F | 1.56 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 28°F | 42.1°F | 1.53 | 2.2 | 4 | <1 | 18 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 15°F | 26.6°F | 1.27 | 4.8 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 25°F | 3°F | 14.2°F | 0.57 | 9.3 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 26°F | 39.3°F | 19.18 | 41.0 | 57 | 10 | 197 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −20°C | −13.1°C | 17 mm | 26 cm |
| February | −4°C | −17°C | −10.8°C | 13 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 3°C | −10°C | −3.8°C | 19 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 12°C | −4°C | 4.2°C | 27 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19°C | 3°C | 11.4°C | 69 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 24°C | 10°C | 16.6°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 12°C | 19.4°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 11°C | 18.6°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 5°C | 13.5°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | −2°C | 5.6°C | 39 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 3°C | −9°C | −3.0°C | 32 mm | 12 cm |
| December | −4°C | −16°C | −9.9°C | 14 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00328990; 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 Velva?
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 (5).
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 USC00328990.
When is the last frost in Velva?
In Velva, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 22 in half of years and after June 3 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 221 year in 10 after June 3; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 10; 9 in 10 before October 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 123 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 141 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 11 in half of springs and before September 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Velva in zone 4a in ZIP code 58790, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Velva's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −30°F (16 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00328990; 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 Velva?
In a normal year in Velva, 10 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 197 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 57 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 197a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 87high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 57a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1928) is 110°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −50°F, on January 16, 2009.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1999, with 26.61 in; the snowiest season is 1998–99, with 93.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00328990; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00328990. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Velva?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Velva, 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 Velva need?
A normal year in Velva brings 9,597 heating degree days, 79% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 271 cooling degree days, 70% 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 1,810 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,754 | 0 |
| February | 1,467 | 0 |
| March | 1,234 | 0 |
| April | 765 | 0 |
| May | 393 | 8 |
| June | 139 | 43 |
| July | 47 | 109 |
| August | 78 | 90 |
| September | 283 | 20 |
| October | 712 | 1 |
| November | 1,152 | 0 |
| December | 1,573 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,597 | 271 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00328990. 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.
How does Velva's climate compare?
Velva is warmer than 19 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 40. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.3°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Velva 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.
Which places near Velva share this climate record?
4 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.
- Sawyer, ND308 people · 6 mi W
- Voltaire, ND43 people · 5 mi SE
- Bergen, ND11 people · 11 mi E
- Ruso, ND5 people · 15 mi S
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 Velva's climate
What is the coldest month in Velva?
January, with a normal high of 20°F and a normal low of −3°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Velva?
Yes: 41 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Velva?
June, with 3.63 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Velva in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Velva in zone 4a in ZIP code 58790, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Velva's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −30°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Velva?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 22; in one year in ten it comes after June 3. Waiting until June 3 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
- Granville, ND15 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Minot, ND21 miles from this station, 43.4°F a year
- Max, ND23 miles from this station, 40.5°F a year
- Butte, ND25 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made