White Lake, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
White Lake's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 23.9 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.8°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 30°C, 607 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWhite Lake
- Station IDUSC00399232
- Location43.69°N 98.67°W
- Elevation1,629 ft (497 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population396
On October 22, the normal high in White Lake is 56°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for White Lake.
- Jan 27° 8°
- Feb 32° 12°
- Mar 44° 22°
- Apr 57° 33°
- May 69° 46°
- Jun 79° 57°
- Jul 86° 62°
- Aug 83° 60°
- Sep 75° 50°
- Oct 60° 36°
- Nov 44° 23°
- Dec 31° 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 White Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.72 in), the least in January (0.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 8°F | 17.7°F | 0.47 | 7.1 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 12°F | 21.8°F | 0.68 | 8.4 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 22°F | 32.9°F | 1.01 | 5.2 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 33°F | 44.9°F | 3.03 | 5.4 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 46°F | 57.2°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 57°F | 67.9°F | 3.63 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 62°F | 73.9°F | 2.99 | 0.0 | 6 | 11 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 83°F | 60°F | 71.3°F | 2.58 | 0.0 | 6 | 8 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 50°F | 62.8°F | 2.58 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 36°F | 47.9°F | 1.87 | 0.8 | 5 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 23°F | 33.4°F | 0.70 | 3.7 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 31°F | 13°F | 21.7°F | 0.62 | 7.1 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 35°F | 46.1°F | 23.88 | 37.7 | 60 | 26 | 163 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −13°C | −7.9°C | 12 mm | 18 cm |
| February | 0°C | −11°C | −5.7°C | 17 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.5°C | 26 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 77 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 14.0°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.3°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 47 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 7°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 18 mm | 9 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −5.7°C | 16 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399232; 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 White Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00399232.
When is the last frost in White Lake?
In White Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 21 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 31 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 153 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 170 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 25 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts White Lake in zone 5a in ZIP code 57383, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, White Lake's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (29 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 USC00399232; 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 White Lake?
In a normal year in White Lake, 26 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 163 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 60 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 163a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 60a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1920) is 116°F, on August 4, 1934; the lowest is −32°F, on January 19, 1970.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 39.09 in; the snowiest season is 2017–18, with 69.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00399232; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00399232. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is White Lake?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around White Lake, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.0 |
| February | 77% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.6 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.1 |
| November | 74% | 2.1 |
| December | 70% | 1.6 |
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 White Lake need?
A normal year in White Lake brings 7,584 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 743 cooling degree days, 18% 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 2,777 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,468 | 0 |
| February | 1,208 | 0 |
| March | 997 | 0 |
| April | 603 | 1 |
| May | 268 | 28 |
| June | 47 | 136 |
| July | 6 | 281 |
| August | 19 | 214 |
| September | 143 | 77 |
| October | 534 | 6 |
| November | 948 | 0 |
| December | 1,344 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,584 | 743 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399232. 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 White Lake been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.6°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.3°F | +2.2°F | 19.04 | 31.2 |
| 2022 | 45.3°F | −0.8°F | 14.09 | 22.5 |
| 2023 | 46.7°F | +0.6°F | 26.35 | 52.4 |
| 2024 | 48.8°F | +2.7°F | 23.59 | 24.3 |
| 2025 | 48.6°F | +2.5°F | 21.30 | 27.4 |
Over 75 complete years from 1922 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00399232; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does White Lake's climate compare?
White Lake is warmer than 58 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 57. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.1°F is warmer than 24%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, White Lake 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 White Lake 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.
- Plankinton, SD763 people · 10 mi E
- Kimball, SD573 people · 15 mi W
- Stickney, SD313 people · 14 mi SE
- Aurora Center, SD13 people · 12 mi S
- Cedar Grove Colony, SD0 people · 13 mi SW
- Grass Ranch Colony, SD0 people · 11 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 White Lake's climate
What is the coldest month in White Lake?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in White Lake?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in White Lake?
May, with 3.72 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is White Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts White Lake in zone 5a in ZIP code 57383, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at White Lake's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in White Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 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
- Academy (2 mi NE), SD24 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Wessington Springs, SD27 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Armour, SD30 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Gann Valley, SD31 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made