West Glacier, Montana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
West Glacier's normal year runs from 20°F December nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 30.9 inches of precipitation and 115 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.2°C, December lows of −7°C, July highs of 27°C, 784 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWest Glacier
- Station IDUSC00248809
- Location48.50°N 113.98°W
- Elevation3,148 ft (960 m)
- Population (census place)209
On October 14, the normal high in West Glacier is 53°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 42%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for West Glacier.
- Jan 30° 19°
- Feb 34° 19°
- Mar 43° 25°
- Apr 53° 31°
- May 64° 39°
- Jun 70° 45°
- Jul 80° 50°
- Aug 79° 48°
- Sep 68° 41°
- Oct 52° 33°
- Nov 37° 26°
- Dec 29° 20°
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 West Glacier each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.80 in), the least in August (1.17 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 19°F | 24.6°F | 3.54 | 32.0 | 18 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 34°F | 19°F | 26.5°F | 2.17 | 16.0 | 15 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 43°F | 25°F | 33.8°F | 2.58 | 14.0 | 15 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 31°F | 42.0°F | 2.15 | 3.1 | 14 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 64°F | 39°F | 51.6°F | 2.62 | 0.5 | 14 | <1 | 6 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 70°F | 45°F | 57.8°F | 3.80 | 0.0 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 80°F | 50°F | 64.9°F | 1.39 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 79°F | 48°F | 63.6°F | 1.17 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 41°F | 54.4°F | 1.96 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 52°F | 33°F | 42.3°F | 3.05 | 2.0 | 14 | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| November | 37°F | 26°F | 31.7°F | 3.23 | 16.2 | 16 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 29°F | 20°F | 24.5°F | 3.21 | 31.4 | 18 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 33°F | 43.1°F | 30.87 | 115.2 | 162 | 7 | 180 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −7°C | −4.1°C | 90 mm | 81 cm |
| February | 1°C | −7°C | −3.1°C | 55 mm | 41 cm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 1.0°C | 66 mm | 36 cm |
| April | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 55 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 18°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 67 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 21°C | 7°C | 14.3°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 10°C | 18.3°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 9°C | 17.6°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 5°C | 12.4°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 77 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 3°C | −3°C | −0.2°C | 82 mm | 41 cm |
| December | −2°C | −7°C | −4.2°C | 82 mm | 80 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00248809; 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 West Glacier?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00248809.
When is the last frost in West Glacier?
In West Glacier, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before September 3 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 181 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before September 3; 9 in 10 before October 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 124 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 155 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts West Glacier in zone 5a in ZIP code 59913, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, West Glacier's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Montana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00248809; 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 West Glacier?
In a normal year in West Glacier, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 180 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 162 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 180a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 49high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 162a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 37a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 100°F, on August 11, 2018; the lowest is −39°F, on January 13, 2024.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2016, with 42.40 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 279.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00248809; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00248809. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is West Glacier?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around West Glacier, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.3 |
| February | 73% | 2.4 |
| March | 68% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.3 |
| July | 86% | 7.1 |
| August | 82% | 5.8 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 69% | 2.5 |
| November | 62% | 1.4 |
| December | 62% | 1.0 |
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 West Glacier need?
A normal year in West Glacier brings 8,080 heating degree days, 50% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 138 cooling degree days, 85% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,429 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,252 | 0 |
| February | 1,078 | 0 |
| March | 967 | 0 |
| April | 690 | 0 |
| May | 418 | 1 |
| June | 229 | 12 |
| July | 73 | 70 |
| August | 94 | 53 |
| September | 322 | 4 |
| October | 704 | 0 |
| November | 999 | 0 |
| December | 1,254 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,080 | 138 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00248809. 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.
Has West Glacier been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 45.6°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.5°F | +5.4°F | 28.21 | 96.4 |
| 2022 | 43.1°F | at normal | 33.37 | 132.4 |
| 2023 | 45.0°F | +1.9°F | 21.77 | 58.1 |
| 2024 | 44.6°F | +1.5°F | 29.88 | 116.9 |
| 2025 | 45.6°F | +2.5°F | 35.44 | 76.4 |
Over 58 complete years from 1950 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.0°F per century (+0.28°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00248809; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does West Glacier's climate compare?
West Glacier is warmer than 49 of the other 140 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 129. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.1°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, West Glacier is Dsb: continental, dry-summer, 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 West Glacier share this climate record?
Coram 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.
- Coram, MT415 people · 6 mi SW
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 West Glacier's climate
What is the coldest month in West Glacier?
December, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow in West Glacier?
Yes: 115 inches in a normal year, falling on 55 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (32.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in West Glacier?
June, with 3.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 1.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is West Glacier in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts West Glacier in zone 5a in ZIP code 59913, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at West Glacier's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in West Glacier?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hungry Horse, MT11 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Whitefish, MT18 miles from this station, 42.5°F a year
- Kalispell, MT19 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Creston, MT22 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made