Wentworth, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wentworth's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 26.8 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 29°C, 679 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWentworth (2.5 mi WNW)
- Station IDUSC00399042
- Location44.01°N 97.00°W
- Elevation1,722 ft (525 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population169
On October 23, the normal high in Wentworth is 56°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wentworth.
- Jan 25° 7°
- Feb 30° 11°
- Mar 43° 23°
- Apr 58° 34°
- May 70° 47°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 74° 51°
- Oct 60° 38°
- Nov 43° 24°
- Dec 29° 13°
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 Wentworth each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.43 in), the least in January (0.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 7°F | 16.0°F | 0.48 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 30°F | 11°F | 20.9°F | 0.75 | 6.4 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 23°F | 32.9°F | 1.23 | 4.6 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 34°F | 46.0°F | 2.50 | 4.4 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 47°F | 58.3°F | 3.52 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.3°F | 4.43 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.3°F | 3.22 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 70.0°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 51°F | 62.5°F | 3.27 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 38°F | 48.7°F | 1.91 | 1.5 | 6 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 24°F | 33.7°F | 1.17 | 7.8 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 13°F | 21.0°F | 1.01 | 6.2 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 36°F | 45.9°F | 26.75 | 38.1 | 85 | 11 | 162 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −14°C | −8.9°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| February | −1°C | −11°C | −6.2°C | 19 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.5°C | 31 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 64 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.9°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.3°C | 49 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 30 mm | 20 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −6.1°C | 26 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399042; 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 Wentworth?
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 (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 USC00399042.
When is the last frost in Wentworth?
In Wentworth, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 24 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 21 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 176 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wentworth in zone 4b in ZIP code 57075, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wentworth's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (15 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00399042; 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 Wentworth?
In a normal year in Wentworth, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 162 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 85 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 162a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 68high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 85a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 113°F, on July 17, 1936; the lowest is −40°F, on February 11, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1986, with 34.75 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 69.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00399042; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00399042. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wentworth?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wentworth, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.0 |
| February | 79% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.7 |
| June | 77% | 6.4 |
| July | 85% | 6.7 |
| August | 82% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 2.9 |
| November | 73% | 2.0 |
| December | 67% | 1.4 |
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 Wentworth need?
A normal year in Wentworth brings 7,586 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 661 cooling degree days, 27% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,721 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,519 | 0 |
| February | 1,236 | 0 |
| March | 994 | 0 |
| April | 572 | 3 |
| May | 244 | 35 |
| June | 44 | 143 |
| July | 9 | 237 |
| August | 20 | 175 |
| September | 139 | 64 |
| October | 509 | 5 |
| November | 937 | 0 |
| December | 1,364 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,586 | 661 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399042. 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 Wentworth's climate compare?
Wentworth is warmer than 55 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 83. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.9°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wentworth is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Wentworth share this climate record?
6 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.
- Lake Madison, SD885 people · 4 mi S
- Colman, SD674 people · 10 mi E
- Chester, SD215 people · 8 mi SE
- Brant Lake South, SD210 people · 7 mi SE
- Brant Lake, SD56 people · 6 mi SE
- Nunda, SD49 people · 11 mi N
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 Wentworth's climate
What is the coldest month in Wentworth?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Wentworth?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 19 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in November (7.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Wentworth?
June, with 4.43 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wentworth in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wentworth in zone 4b in ZIP code 57075, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Wentworth's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Wentworth?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Dakota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Madison, SD4 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Montrose, SD16 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Winfred, SD17 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Flandreau, SD21 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made