PlainClimate
NOAA 1991–2020 normals Incorporated place · exact Census match 1 NOAA station · Primary-station record

Westby, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month

Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score

30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Westby's primary NOAA station, WESTBY.

The climate verdict for Westby

Winter sets the terms in Westby, Montana. A pronounced 58.6°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 39°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.

39°F
yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
40/100
comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
14.9"
annual precipitation
126 days
frost-free days per growing season

Westby: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.

Normals record plate

Sheet USC00248777 · Westby, MT 39°F mean · 14.9" precip

TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL

Nearest mean-temperature peer: Esmond, 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.

Westby 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 · Westby

Westby: 12/100 · grade F

Westby publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.

F
12/100Climate Living Index

PlainClimate-derived for Westby, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.

Westby Living Index dimension scores
DimensionStation valueScore
Precipitation balance 14.9 in · 20.1 from 35 in 28/100 · F
Normal heat + freeze calendar 203 calendar days 12/100 · F
Frost-free season 126 days/year 10/100 · F
Annual temperature balance 39.1°F · 28.4° from 67.5°F 2/100 · F

Westby · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.

Westby is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb

Coldest-month mean 8.7°F and warmest-month mean 67.3°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.

Köppen code
Dfb
Group
Continental
Warmest month
67.3°F
Coldest month
8.7°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 Westby sits across the climate record

Three NOAA fields for Westby's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.

Annual temperature
Cooler than 96%
Among 6,861 stations, Westby sits in the cooler third of annual means.
Annual precipitation
Drier than 83%
Westby's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
Seasonal temperature swing
Wider than 96%
Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Westby is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.

How Westby compares across U.S. station-mapped locations

Westby'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. This location 0 100 every station-mapped location, bucketed by value
  1. 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  2. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  3. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
  4. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
  5. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
  6. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
  7. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
  8. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
  9. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
  10. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more station-mapped locations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Westby's measured station temperature trend

Methodology

Across 44 complete annual observations from 1937 to 2025, WESTBY warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.

Westby fitted annual mean temperature change, 1937-2025 Fitted station-temperature change from 1937 to 2025, relative to the fitted first year. The linear trend warmed at 0.20 °C per decade. -0.3°C +0.2°C +0.7°C +1.2°C +1.7°C 19401960198020002020
  • Westby primary station fitted change +0.20 °C/decade
Source: NOAA GHCN-M v4, quality-controlled monthly mean temperature. PlainClimate fits ordinary least squares over complete calendar years; minimum 30 years, record must reach 2015 or later.

Monthly Temperatures

Average daily high and low temperatures by month

Month Avg High Avg Low Mean
January 20°F (-7°C) -2°F (-19°C) 9°F (-13°C)
February 24°F (-5°C) 2°F (-17°C) 13°F (-11°C)
March 36°F (2°C) 14°F (-10°C) 25°F (-4°C)
April 53°F (11°C) 27°F (-3°C) 40°F (4°C)
May 65°F (19°C) 40°F (4°C) 52°F (11°C)
June 73°F (23°C) 50°F (10°C) 62°F (16°C)
July 80°F (27°C) 55°F (13°C) 67°F (20°C)
August 80°F (27°C) 52°F (11°C) 66°F (19°C)
September 70°F (21°C) 41°F (5°C) 55°F (13°C)
October 54°F (12°C) 29°F (-2°C) 41°F (5°C)
November 36°F (2°C) 15°F (-10°C) 25°F (-4°C)
December 24°F (-5°C) 4°F (-16°C) 14°F (-10°C)

The year, day by day

Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 82°F around July 30, short of 90°F on every date, while 203 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -3°F near January 17.

Normal daily high and low temperature for Westby, January through December Peaks 82°F around July 30. Bottoms -3°F around January 17. -10 10 30 50 70 90 freezing JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal daily high and low across the calendar year. NOAA 1991–2020 daily normals, WESTBY.

The freezing stretch

The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 28, then returns to freezing around October 9, covering 203 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.

The widest day

September 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 29°F between the normal high and the normal low.

Look up any date

Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Westby.

Where Westby Stands Nationally

Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 203 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.

A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.

Westby earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.

Monthly Precipitation

Average monthly rainfall

January 0.4"
February 0.3"
March 0.6"
April 1.0"
May 2.2"
June 3.1"
July 2.5"
August 1.6"
September 1.3"
October 1.0"
November 0.5"
December 0.5"

Westby runs a summer-peaked wet season

49% of Westby'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 3.1", on a wide 58.6°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.

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.

Frost Dates & Growing Season

First Fall Freeze

September 21

50% probability date

Last Spring Freeze

May 18

50% probability date

Growing Season

126 days

Heating & Cooling Degree Days

Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling

Heating Degree Days

9,695

Higher = more heating needed

Cooling Degree Days

286

Higher = more cooling needed

Warmest Month

July

Coldest Month

January

Nationwide similar cities

Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Westby 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 (39°F here).

Closest by annual precipitation

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.

Montana climate overview →

Scarce-water calendar

Where Westby's limited precipitation lands

heating led · dry · high swing

Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Westby logs 9,695 heating degree days, more than twice its 286 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 58.6°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.

Only about 126 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 this dry, high-range record. The gap is 58.6°F, so a single annual figure is especially lossy; the annual average is 39°f. Compare monthly temperature and precipitation together before drawing a seasonal conclusion about Westby.

Westby's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 14.9 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.

Westby wettest normal

June

June concentrates the scarce annual total (14.9 inches).

Westby driest normal

February

February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.

Questions about Westby's climate

How dry is Westby?
Westby receives 14.9 inches of precipitation a year. For reference, the contiguous United States averages near 30 inches. Based on NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991-2020).
How cold does Westby get in winter?
Westby records about 202 days a year with a low at or below freezing, with January the coldest month on the normals, and an annual average daily low of 27°F.
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Westby?
Westby has 9,695 heating degree days and 286 cooling degree days annually, a heating-dominated climate. Degree-day definitions: reading weather data.

Data Sources

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Westby's primary station: WESTBY (USC00248777). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 3078925). Match rule for Westby: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainClimate

On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Westby 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.