Wilmot, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wilmot's normal year runs from 3°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 24.6 inches of precipitation and 51 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.2°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 28°C, 625 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWilmot
- Station IDUSC00399337
- Location45.41°N 96.86°W
- Elevation1,201 ft (366 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population426
On October 23, the normal high in Wilmot is 54°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wilmot.
- Jan 22° 3°
- Feb 26° 6°
- Mar 39° 19°
- Apr 54° 31°
- May 68° 45°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 82° 60°
- Aug 80° 57°
- Sep 73° 48°
- Oct 58° 35°
- Nov 41° 22°
- Dec 27° 10°
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 Wilmot each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 3°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.70 in), the least in December (0.76 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 3°F | 12.2°F | 0.77 | 10.6 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 6°F | 15.8°F | 0.80 | 10.6 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 19°F | 28.8°F | 1.16 | 7.7 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 31°F | 42.5°F | 2.52 | 6.1 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 45°F | 56.1°F | 2.89 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 66.9°F | 3.70 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 82°F | 60°F | 71.2°F | 3.66 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 80°F | 57°F | 68.5°F | 2.69 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 48°F | 60.4°F | 2.34 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 2.38 | 1.4 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 22°F | 31.1°F | 0.93 | 5.7 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 27°F | 10°F | 18.5°F | 0.76 | 8.9 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 33°F | 43.2°F | 24.60 | 51.0 | 84 | 12 | 172 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −16°C | −11.0°C | 20 mm | 27 cm |
| February | −4°C | −14°C | −9.0°C | 20 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 4°C | −7°C | −1.8°C | 29 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.8°C | 64 mm | 15 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.4°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 15.8°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 60 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.5°C | 24 mm | 14 cm |
| December | −3°C | −12°C | −7.5°C | 19 mm | 23 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399337; 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 Wilmot?
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 (8).
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 USC00399337.
When is the last frost in Wilmot?
In Wilmot, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 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 51 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 149 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 167 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wilmot in zone 4b in ZIP code 57279, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wilmot's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°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 USC00399337; 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 Wilmot?
In a normal year in Wilmot, 12 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 172 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 172a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 85high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00399337.
How sunny is Wilmot?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wilmot, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 1.9 |
| February | 82% | 3.0 |
| March | 73% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 76% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.6 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.2 |
| October | 70% | 2.7 |
| November | 70% | 1.8 |
| December | 65% | 1.3 |
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 Wilmot need?
A normal year in Wilmot brings 8,442 heating degree days, 57% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 536 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,421 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,638 | 0 |
| February | 1,377 | 0 |
| March | 1,123 | 0 |
| April | 675 | 0 |
| May | 301 | 25 |
| June | 55 | 112 |
| July | 12 | 204 |
| August | 30 | 140 |
| September | 188 | 50 |
| October | 585 | 4 |
| November | 1,016 | 0 |
| December | 1,441 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,442 | 536 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399337. 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 Wilmot been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 45.0°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.0°F | +2.8°F | 29.79 | 33.8 |
| 2022 | 42.3°F | −0.9°F | 19.59 | 53.5 |
| 2023 | 44.9°F | +1.7°F | 23.75 | 60.5 |
| 2024 | 46.7°F | +3.5°F | 23.50 | 24.0 |
| 2025 | 45.0°F | +1.8°F | 35.93 | 37.6 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00399337. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wilmot's climate compare?
Wilmot is warmer than 15 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 64. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.2°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wilmot is Dfb: continental, no dry season, 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 Wilmot share this climate record?
4 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.
- Graceville, MN511 people · 23 mi NE
- Beardsley, MN206 people · 13 mi NE
- Corona, SD70 people · 7 mi SE
- Barry, MN14 people · 18 mi NE
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 Wilmot's climate
What is the coldest month in Wilmot?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 3°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Wilmot?
Yes: 51 inches in a normal year, falling on 22 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Wilmot?
June, with 3.70 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wilmot in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wilmot in zone 4b in ZIP code 57279, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Wilmot's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Wilmot?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 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
- Summit, SD12 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Browns Valley, MN13 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Milbank, SD17 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Sisseton, SD19 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made