Western Agricultural Research Center, Montana climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Western Agricultural Research Center's normal year runs from 18°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 11.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, December lows of −8°C, July highs of 30°C, 291 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWestern Agricultural Research Center
- Station IDUSC00248783
- Location46.33°N 114.08°W
- Elevation3,608 ft (1,100 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Western Agricultural Research Center is 54°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Western Agricultural Research Center.
- Jan 36° 19°
- Feb 41° 21°
- Mar 49° 26°
- Apr 57° 32°
- May 67° 39°
- Jun 75° 45°
- Jul 86° 50°
- Aug 84° 48°
- Sep 73° 41°
- Oct 58° 32°
- Nov 43° 24°
- Dec 35° 18°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Western Agricultural Research Center each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in June (1.69 in), the least in February (0.64 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 19°F | 27.4°F | 0.66 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| February | 41°F | 21°F | 30.9°F | 0.64 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 49°F | 26°F | 37.8°F | 0.78 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 32°F | 44.6°F | 0.99 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 39°F | 52.9°F | 1.55 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 45°F | 59.8°F | 1.69 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 50°F | 67.8°F | 0.77 | 6 | 11 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 48°F | 66.0°F | 0.84 | 6 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 41°F | 57.1°F | 0.93 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 32°F | 44.8°F | 0.80 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 24°F | 33.3°F | 0.92 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 35°F | 18°F | 26.2°F | 0.87 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 33°F | 45.7°F | 11.44 | 111 | 23 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −7°C | −2.6°C | 17 mm |
| February | 5°C | −6°C | −0.6°C | 16 mm |
| March | 10°C | −3°C | 3.2°C | 20 mm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.0°C | 25 mm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 39 mm |
| June | 24°C | 7°C | 15.4°C | 43 mm |
| July | 30°C | 10°C | 19.9°C | 20 mm |
| August | 29°C | 9°C | 18.9°C | 21 mm |
| September | 23°C | 5°C | 13.9°C | 24 mm |
| October | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 20 mm |
| November | 6°C | −5°C | 0.7°C | 23 mm |
| December | 1°C | −8°C | −3.2°C | 22 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Stevensville (13 miles away), gets 17 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00248783; 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.
Which months are mildest at Western Agricultural Research Center?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00248783.
When is the last frost at Western Agricultural Research Center?
In Western Agricultural Research Center, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 21 in half of years and before September 5 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 231 year in 10 after June 10; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 211 year in 10 before September 5; 9 in 10 before October 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 118 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 148 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Western Agricultural Research Center in zone 5b in ZIP code 59828, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (21 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 USC00248783; 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 at Western Agricultural Research Center?
In a normal year in Western Agricultural Research Center, 23 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 23a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 30high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1965) is 104°F, on July 6, 2007; the lowest is −32°F, on December 23, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 15.80 in; the snowiest season is 1998–99, with 35.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00248783; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00248783. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Western Agricultural Research Center?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Western Agricultural Research Center, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.3 |
| February | 58% | 2.0 |
| March | 59% | 3.1 |
| April | 64% | 4.4 |
| May | 68% | 5.6 |
| June | 73% | 6.4 |
| July | 89% | 7.4 |
| August | 86% | 6.2 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 67% | 2.6 |
| November | 56% | 1.4 |
| December | 52% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Western Agricultural Research Center record?
A normal year at Western Agricultural Research Center brings 7,256 heating degree days, 35% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 252 cooling degree days, 72% 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 1,789 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,166 | 0 |
| February | 955 | 0 |
| March | 842 | 0 |
| April | 614 | 0 |
| May | 378 | 3 |
| June | 181 | 24 |
| July | 40 | 127 |
| August | 58 | 88 |
| September | 247 | 10 |
| October | 625 | 0 |
| November | 949 | 0 |
| December | 1,203 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,256 | 252 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00248783. 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.
Have recent years at Western Agricultural Research Center been warmer than normal?
Over 32 complete years from 1966 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.6°F per century (+0.37°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Western Agricultural Research Center's climate compare?
Western Agricultural Research Center is warmer than 110 of the 141 places with their own NOAA record in Montana, and wetter than 10. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.7°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Western Agricultural Research Center is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Western Agricultural Research Center share this climate record?
3 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.
- Corvallis, MT1,356 people · 2 mi SW
- Victor, MT948 people · 7 mi NW
- Pinesdale, MT876 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.
Questions about Western Agricultural Research Center's climate
What is the coldest month at Western Agricultural Research Center?
December, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Western Agricultural Research Center?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Stevensville (13 miles away), records 17 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Western Agricultural Research Center?
June, with 1.69 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.64 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Western Agricultural Research Center in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Western Agricultural Research Center in zone 5b in ZIP code 59828, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Western Agricultural Research Center?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 10. Waiting until June 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Montana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hamilton, MT7 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Stevensville, MT13 miles from this station, 45.6°F a year
- Darby, MT21 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Powell, ID32 miles from this station, 42.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made