Watford City, North Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Watford City's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 15.7 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.6°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 398 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWatford City
- Station IDUSC00329233
- Location47.80°N 103.29°W
- Elevation2,170 ft (661 m)
- Population6,207
On October 23, the normal high in Watford City is 50°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Watford City.
- Jan 22° 5°
- Feb 26° 8°
- Mar 39° 19°
- Apr 53° 31°
- May 65° 42°
- Jun 74° 53°
- Jul 82° 58°
- Aug 82° 55°
- Sep 71° 45°
- Oct 55° 33°
- Nov 38° 20°
- Dec 26° 10°
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 Watford City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.44 in), the least in February (0.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 5°F | 13.4°F | 0.50 | 9.5 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 26°F | 8°F | 17.2°F | 0.41 | 8.2 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 39°F | 19°F | 28.8°F | 0.63 | 7.3 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 31°F | 41.8°F | 0.96 | 4.2 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 42°F | 53.5°F | 2.38 | 1.4 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 82°F | 58°F | 70.0°F | 2.63 | 0.0 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 55°F | 68.5°F | 1.35 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 71°F | 45°F | 58.0°F | 1.16 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 33°F | 43.7°F | 1.04 | 2.9 | 7 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 20°F | 29.0°F | 0.60 | 6.8 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 26°F | 10°F | 18.0°F | 0.55 | 10.1 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 32°F | 42.1°F | 15.65 | 50.4 | 95 | 22 | 194 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −15°C | −10.3°C | 13 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −3°C | −13°C | −8.2°C | 10 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 4°C | −7°C | −1.8°C | 16 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.4°C | 24 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 18°C | 6°C | 11.9°C | 60 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 14°C | 21.1°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 13°C | 20.3°C | 34 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 7°C | 14.4°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 26 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 3°C | −7°C | −1.7°C | 15 mm | 17 cm |
| December | −3°C | −12°C | −7.8°C | 14 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00329233; 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 Watford City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00329233.
When is the last frost in Watford City?
In Watford City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 27 in half of years and before September 15 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 91 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 271 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Watford City in zone 4a in ZIP code 58854, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Watford City's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (20 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 USC00329233; 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 Watford City?
In a normal year in Watford City, 22 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 194 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 95 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 194a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 76high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 95a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 18a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1912) is 112°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −45°F, on January 11, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1953, with 25.55 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 69.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00329233; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00329233. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Watford City?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Watford City, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 1.7 |
| February | 78% | 2.7 |
| March | 74% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.8 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 77% | 6.5 |
| July | 86% | 6.9 |
| August | 83% | 5.7 |
| September | 78% | 4.2 |
| October | 71% | 2.6 |
| November | 70% | 1.6 |
| December | 66% | 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 Watford City need?
A normal year in Watford City brings 8,765 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 461 cooling degree days, 49% 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 2,147 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,601 | 0 |
| February | 1,340 | 0 |
| March | 1,122 | 0 |
| April | 697 | 1 |
| May | 369 | 11 |
| June | 114 | 69 |
| July | 30 | 187 |
| August | 50 | 159 |
| September | 244 | 33 |
| October | 664 | 2 |
| November | 1,080 | 0 |
| December | 1,455 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,765 | 461 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00329233. 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 Watford City's climate compare?
Watford City is warmer than 61 of the other 91 places with their own NOAA record in North Dakota, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.1°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Watford City 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 Watford City share this climate record?
Arnegard has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Arnegard, ND289 people · 7 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Watford City's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Watford City. This page uses Watford City; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watford City (14 mi S) USC00329246 | 14 mi S | 2,027 ft | 42.4°F | 2°F | 85°F | 16.8 | – | May 22 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Watford City's climate
What is the coldest month in Watford City?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Watford City?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 36 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Watford City?
June, with 3.44 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Watford City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Watford City in zone 4a in ZIP code 58854, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Watford City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Watford City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 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
- Keene (3 mi S), ND18 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Grassy Butte (2 mi ENE), ND28 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Williston, ND30 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Killdeer, ND39 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made