Wind Cave, SD 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 Wind Cave's primary NOAA station, WIND CAVE.
The climate verdict for Wind Cave
Wind Cave, South Dakota has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 47°F. Its climate comfort score of 59/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 47°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 59/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 21.2"
- annual precipitation · 46" snow
- 137 days
- frost-free growing season
Wind Cave: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00399347 · Wind Cave, SD 47°F mean · 21.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 47°F
- RANK-COOL #1,921
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Whitmore Lake
- PRCP-DRY 21.2"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-MID 59/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,950 HDD
- STN-1 USC00399347
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Whitmore Lake, MI ( -0.1 °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 SD station list.
- Wind Cave (this station) 47°F
- Cold Whitmore Lake, MI 47°F
- Near Pavilion, NY 47°F
- Near Glade Park, CO 47°F
- Near Port Hope, MI 47°F
Climate Living Index · Wind Cave
Wind Cave: 29/100 · grade F
Wind Cave publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Wind Cave, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 59/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 21.2 in · 13.8 from 35 in | 52/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.2°F · 20.3° from 67.5°F | 28/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 184 calendar days | 23/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 45.9 inches/year | 23/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 137 days/year | 17/100 · F |
Wind Cave · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Wind Cave is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 27.2°F and warmest-month mean 70.7°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
- 70.7°F
- Coldest month
- 27.2°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 Wind Cave sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Wind Cave's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 72%
- Among 6,861 stations, Wind Cave sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 70%
- Wind Cave's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 51st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Wind Cave compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Wind Cave's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
59 37th percentile score exceeds 37% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F (4°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.5" | 6.3" | 29.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.7" | 7.1" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 50°F (10°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 1.1" | 9.6" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 2.3" | 7.8" | 17.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 3.7" | 0.9" | 5.0 | 0.2 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.8 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.5 |
| September | 76°F (25°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.5" | 0.2" | 1.2 | 2.6 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.6" | 2.1" | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.7" | 4.4" | 25.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.5" | 7.5" | 29.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 21, short of 90°F on every date, while 184 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near December 24.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 21, then returns to freezing around October 21, covering 184 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.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 1, when 39% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 11 at 12%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 88 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 10 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 30°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Wind Cave.
Where Wind Cave Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 184 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Wind Cave earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 6.3"
4.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.1"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.6"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.8"
9.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
11.2 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
7.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
4.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.5"
3.8 days with precipitation
Wind Cave runs a summer-peaked wet season
41% of Wind Cave'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 May at 3.7", on a 43.5°F seasonal spread. 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.
- Wettest three months: May, June, July, taking 47% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.5".
- Winter share: 8% falls in December, January and February.
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.
How Wind Cave's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 88 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 21.2" between them, or roughly 0.24 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Wind Cave
Wind Cave averages 45.9 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 23 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 45.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 23 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 22% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 29
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 15
50% probability date
Growing Season
137 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,950
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
482
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside SD closest to Wind Cave 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 (47°F here).
- Amboy, MN 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Burton, MI 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Concord, NH 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Atkinson, WI 47°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (21.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Roscoe, TX 21.2" · 0.0" off
- Montrose, CO 21.2" · 0.0" off
- Edgeley, ND 21.1" · 0.1" off
- McHenry, ND 21.1" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Wind Cave
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Wind Cave's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,950 annual heating degree days against 482 for cooling. Its 43.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 137 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.
-
1. Wind Cave coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 27°F (-3°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Wind Cave typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Wind Cave snow peak
March
Wind Cave averages 45.9 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Wind Cave's climate
How much snow does Wind Cave get? ▼
How cold does Wind Cave get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Wind Cave? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Wind Cave's primary station: WIND CAVE (USC00399347). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Wind Cave; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Wind Cave 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.