Wind Cave, South Dakota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Wind Cave's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 21.2 inches of precipitation and 46 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.4°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 29°C, 538 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWind Cave
- Station IDUSC00399347
- Location43.56°N 103.48°W
- Elevation4,155 ft (1,266 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Wind Cave is 58°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wind Cave.
- Jan 40° 15°
- Feb 41° 16°
- Mar 50° 24°
- Apr 58° 31°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 77° 50°
- Jul 85° 57°
- Aug 84° 55°
- Sep 76° 46°
- Oct 61° 34°
- Nov 48° 23°
- Dec 39° 15°
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 Wind Cave each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.74 in), the least in January (0.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 15°F | 27.2°F | 0.45 | 6.3 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 41°F | 16°F | 28.1°F | 0.70 | 7.1 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 50°F | 24°F | 36.8°F | 1.07 | 9.6 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 31°F | 44.3°F | 2.32 | 7.8 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.7°F | 3.74 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 77°F | 50°F | 63.8°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 85°F | 57°F | 70.7°F | 3.01 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 84°F | 55°F | 69.2°F | 2.30 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 76°F | 46°F | 61.2°F | 1.53 | 0.2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 34°F | 47.7°F | 1.55 | 2.1 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 23°F | 35.9°F | 0.71 | 4.4 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 39°F | 15°F | 27.4°F | 0.53 | 7.5 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 34°F | 47.2°F | 21.20 | 45.9 | 88 | 22 | 172 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −10°C | −2.7°C | 11 mm | 16 cm |
| February | 5°C | −9°C | −2.2°C | 18 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 10°C | −5°C | 2.7°C | 27 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 14°C | −1°C | 6.8°C | 59 mm | 20 cm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 95 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 25°C | 10°C | 17.7°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 14°C | 21.5°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 13°C | 20.7°C | 58 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 8°C | 16.2°C | 39 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 16°C | 1°C | 8.7°C | 39 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 9°C | −5°C | 2.2°C | 18 mm | 11 cm |
| December | 4°C | −9°C | −2.6°C | 13 mm | 19 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399347; 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 Wind Cave?
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 (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 USC00399347.
When is the last frost at Wind Cave?
In Wind Cave, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 in half of years and before September 13 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 151 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after May 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 133 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 153 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wind Cave in zone 5b in ZIP code 57773, 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 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (25 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Dakota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00399347; 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 Wind Cave?
In a normal year in Wind Cave, 22 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 172 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 88 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a 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
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 88a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1990) is 105°F, on July 16, 2006; the lowest is −32°F, on February 2, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 30.87 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 81.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00399347; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00399347. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Wind Cave?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Wind Cave, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and April the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.1 |
| February | 75% | 3.0 |
| March | 74% | 4.1 |
| April | 72% | 5.1 |
| May | 73% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 7.0 |
| July | 86% | 7.1 |
| August | 86% | 6.1 |
| September | 83% | 4.8 |
| October | 77% | 3.3 |
| November | 77% | 2.3 |
| December | 75% | 1.8 |
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 Wind Cave record?
A normal year at Wind Cave brings 6,950 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 482 cooling degree days, 47% 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 2,340 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,170 | 0 |
| February | 1,033 | 0 |
| March | 873 | 0 |
| April | 622 | 1 |
| May | 361 | 9 |
| June | 103 | 65 |
| July | 19 | 194 |
| August | 29 | 161 |
| September | 165 | 51 |
| October | 538 | 2 |
| November | 873 | 0 |
| December | 1,165 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,950 | 482 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00399347. 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 Wind Cave been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 49.5°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.2°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.9°F | +0.7°F | 20.07 | 62.1 |
| 2022 | 46.9°F | −0.4°F | 18.33 | – |
| 2023 | 47.8°F | +0.6°F | 30.87 | 77.7 |
| 2024 | 49.5°F | +2.3°F | 16.09 | 25.7 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00399347. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wind Cave's climate compare?
Wind Cave is warmer than 69 of the 100 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 37. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.2°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wind Cave 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 Wind Cave share this climate record?
2 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.
- Pringle, SD107 people · 7 mi NW
- Fairburn, SD68 people · 16 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 Wind Cave's climate
What is the coldest month at Wind Cave?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Wind Cave?
Yes: 46 inches in a normal year, falling on 23 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (9.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Wind Cave?
May, with 3.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wind Cave in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wind Cave in zone 5b in ZIP code 57773, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Wind Cave?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 30. Waiting until May 30 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
- Hot Springs, SD8 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Custer, SD14 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Oral, SD15 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD22 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made