W Glacier, 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 W Glacier's primary NOAA station, W GLACIER.
The climate verdict for W Glacier
W Glacier, Montana has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 43°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 43°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 30.9"
- annual precipitation · 115" snow
- 125 days
- growing season, frost-free days
W Glacier: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00248809 · W Glacier, MT 43°F mean · 30.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #823
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Slide Mtn
- PRCP-MID 30.9"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,080 HDD
- STN-1 USC00248809
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Slide Mtn, NY (+ 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.
- W Glacier (this station) 43°F
- Cold Laketown, UT 43°F
- Hot Kalispell Glaci…, MT 43°F
- Near Slide Mtn, NY 43°F
- Near Laurin, MT 43°F
W Glacier 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 · W Glacier
W Glacier: 26/100 · grade F
W Glacier publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for W Glacier, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 30.9 in · 4.1 from 35 in | 85/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 185 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.1°F · 24.4° from 67.5°F | 13/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 125 days/year | 9/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 115.2 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
W Glacier · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
W Glacier is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 24.5°F and warmest-month mean 64.9°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 64.9°F
- Coldest month
- 24.5°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 W Glacier sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for W Glacier's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 88%
- Among 6,861 stations, W Glacier sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 41st percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 37th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How W Glacier compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
W Glacier's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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
W Glacier's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 58 complete annual observations from 1950 to 2025, W GLACIER warmed at a fitted rate of 0.28°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- W Glacier primary station fitted change +0.28 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F (-1°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 3.5" | 32.0" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 34°F (1°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 2.2" | 16.0" | 26.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 2.6" | 14.0" | 26.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 53°F (11°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 2.1" | 3.1" | 18.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.6" | 0.5" | 5.9 | 0.0 |
| June | 70°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| July | 80°F (27°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.2" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 2.8 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 3.2 | 0.1 |
| October | 52°F (11°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.0" | 2.0" | 14.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 37°F (3°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 3.2" | 16.2" | 23.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 3.2" | 31.4" | 29.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 185 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near December 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 20, then returns to freezing around October 19, covering 185 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 January 2, when 60% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 5 at 21%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 163 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for W Glacier.
Where W Glacier Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 185 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
W Glacier earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 32.0"
17.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.0"
14.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.0"
15.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
13.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
13.6 days with precipitation
14.9 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
13.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.2"
16.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 31.4"
17.8 days with precipitation
W Glacier spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 21% of the annual total and December through February 29%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. W Glacier has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 3.8" and August 1.2". The three wettest months together take 34% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Rain reaches W Glacier in small, frequent amounts
W Glacier records about 162 days with measurable precipitation a year and 30.9" in total, which works out to roughly 0.19 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 44% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: January, about 18 of them.
- Fewest: August, about 7.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.19 inches.
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.
Winter brings real snow to W Glacier
W Glacier averages 115.2 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 55 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 115.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 55 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 37% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 18
50% probability date
Growing Season
125 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,080
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
138
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to W Glacier 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 (43°F here).
- Almont, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Bismarck, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Clark, SD 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Grantsburg, WI 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (30.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Plattsburgh, NY 30.9" · 0.0" off
- Redwood Falls, MN 30.9" · 0.0" off
- Ellsworth, KS 30.8" · 0.0" off
- Milaca, MN 30.8" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define W Glacier
heating led · moderate · mid swing
W Glacier's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,080 annual heating degree days against 138 for cooling. Its 40.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 125 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.
-
1. W Glacier coldest normal
December
Averaging 25°F (-4°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. W Glacier typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. W Glacier snow peak
January
W Glacier averages 115.2 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about W Glacier's climate
How much snow does W Glacier get? ▼
How cold does W Glacier get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in W Glacier? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from W Glacier's primary station: W GLACIER (USC00248809). 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 W Glacier; 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 W Glacier 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.