Vida, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Vida's primary NOAA station, VIDA 6 NE.
The climate verdict for Vida
Dryness leads the climate profile for Vida, Montana, with 14.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 44°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 44°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 14.2"
- annual precipitation
- 129 days
- frost-free growing season
Vida: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00248569 · Vida, MT 44°F mean · 14.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #892
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Pretty Rock
- PRCP-DRY 14.2"
- SWING-WIDE 55°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,264 HDD
- STN-1 USC00248569
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Pretty Rock, ND (+ 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.
- Vida (this station) 44°F
- Hot Trotters, ND 44°F
- Near Pretty Rock, ND 44°F
- Near Malta, MT 44°F
- Cold River Falls, WI 43°F
Vida 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 · Vida
Vida: 18/100 · grade F
Vida publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Vida, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 14.2 in · 20.8 from 35 in | 25/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 186 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.5°F · 24.0° from 67.5°F | 14/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 129 days/year | 11/100 · F |
Vida · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Vida'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
- 70.5°F
- Coldest month
- 15.8°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 Vida sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Vida's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 87%
- Among 6,861 stations, Vida sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 85%
- Vida's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 91%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Vida is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Vida compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Vida's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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
Vida's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 50 complete annual observations from 1937 to 2019, VIDA 6 NE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.11°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Vida primary station fitted change +0.11 °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 | 27°F (-3°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 0.3" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 30°F (-1°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.3" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (7°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.4" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.2" | 17.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 2.5" | 4.7 | 0.4 |
| June | 76°F (24°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 2.9" | 0.1 | 2.1 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 71°F (21°C) | 2.1" | 0.0 | 9.9 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 1.4" | 0.1 | 10.3 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.3" | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.1" | 15.4 | 0.1 |
| November | 42°F (5°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.5" | 27.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 30°F (-1°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 0.3" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 186 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 5°F near January 14.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 19, then returns to freezing around October 17, covering 186 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 June 12, when 29% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 27 at 10%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 54 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 19 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 30°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Vida.
Where Vida Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 186 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 14 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Vida earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
3.3 days with precipitation
3.0 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
3.9 days with precipitation
3.3 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
Vida runs a summer-peaked wet season
45% of Vida'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 2.9", on a wide 54.7°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, July, taking 53% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: December 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 Vida's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 54 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 14.2" between them, or roughly 0.26 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 22
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
129 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,264
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
477
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Vida 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 (44°F here).
- Alpena, MI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Amery, WI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Blanca, CO 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Cross Village, MI 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Lake City, CO 14.3" · 0.0" off
- Fort Morgan, CO 14.3" · 0.0" off
- Lance Creek, WY 14.3" · 0.0" off
- Sanderson, TX 14.3" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Vida's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Vida's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,264 annual heating degree days against 477 for cooling. Its 54.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 129 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 Vida's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 54.7°F. The annual average is 44°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Vida's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 14.2 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.
Vida wettest normal
June
June concentrates the scarce annual total (14.2 inches).
Vida driest normal
December
December is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Vida's climate
How dry is Vida? ▼
How cold does Vida get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Vida? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Vida's primary station: VIDA 6 NE (USC00248569). 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 a census-designated place (GEOID 3076975), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Vida: 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 Vida 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.