Winner, South Dakota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Winner's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 19.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 32°C, 494 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWinner Wiley Field
- Station IDUSW00094990
- Location43.39°N 99.84°W
- Elevation2,032 ft (619 m)
- Population2,962
On October 22, the normal high in Winner is 61°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Winner.
- Jan 35° 15°
- Feb 39° 17°
- Mar 50° 26°
- Apr 60° 36°
- May 71° 47°
- Jun 82° 58°
- Jul 90° 64°
- Aug 87° 62°
- Sep 79° 53°
- Oct 64° 39°
- Nov 49° 27°
- Dec 37° 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 in Winner each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.72 in), the least in January (0.21 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 15°F | 24.6°F | 0.21 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 39°F | 17°F | 27.9°F | 0.30 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 50°F | 26°F | 38.1°F | 0.84 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 36°F | 48.0°F | 2.11 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 47°F | 59.0°F | 3.39 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 82°F | 58°F | 69.8°F | 3.72 | 12 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 90°F | 64°F | 77.0°F | 2.36 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 87°F | 62°F | 74.9°F | 2.53 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 79°F | 53°F | 66.1°F | 1.81 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 1.48 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 27°F | 37.8°F | 0.44 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 37°F | 18°F | 27.5°F | 0.26 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 39°F | 50.2°F | 19.45 | 88 | 40 | 146 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −10°C | −4.1°C | 5 mm |
| February | 4°C | −8°C | −2.3°C | 8 mm |
| March | 10°C | −3°C | 3.4°C | 21 mm |
| April | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 54 mm |
| May | 22°C | 8°C | 15.0°C | 86 mm |
| June | 28°C | 14°C | 21.0°C | 94 mm |
| July | 32°C | 18°C | 25.0°C | 60 mm |
| August | 31°C | 17°C | 23.8°C | 64 mm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 46 mm |
| October | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 38 mm |
| November | 9°C | −3°C | 3.2°C | 11 mm |
| December | 3°C | −8°C | −2.5°C | 7 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Winner's own co-op station Winner station does: 49 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094990; 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 Winner?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USW00094990.
When is the last frost in Winner?
In Winner, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 in half of years and before September 27 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 11 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 27; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 180 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Winner in zone 5a in ZIP code 57584, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Winner's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (20 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 USW00094990; 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 Winner?
In a normal year in Winner, 40 days a year reach 90°F (7 of them 100°F or more), 146 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 88 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 40a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 146a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 45high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 88a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1997) is 115°F, on July 25, 2003; the lowest is −27°F, on January 1, 2018.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 25.62 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094990; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094990. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Winner?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Winner, 4.2 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 | 75% | 2.0 |
| February | 76% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 80% | 6.7 |
| July | 86% | 6.9 |
| August | 84% | 5.8 |
| September | 82% | 4.6 |
| October | 76% | 3.1 |
| November | 75% | 2.1 |
| December | 72% | 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 Winner need?
A normal year in Winner brings 6,421 heating degree days, 20% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,062 cooling degree days, 17% more 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 3,320 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,251 | 0 |
| February | 1,039 | 0 |
| March | 835 | 1 |
| April | 512 | 4 |
| May | 228 | 41 |
| June | 39 | 185 |
| July | 3 | 373 |
| August | 7 | 312 |
| September | 98 | 131 |
| October | 432 | 15 |
| November | 816 | 0 |
| December | 1,161 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,421 | 1,062 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094990. 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 Winner been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 51.7°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.2°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.0°F | +1.8°F | 15.81 |
| 2022 | 49.7°F | −0.5°F | – |
| 2023 | 50.7°F | +0.5°F | – |
| 2024 | 51.7°F | +1.5°F | 17.97 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094990. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Winner's climate compare?
Winner is warmer than 98 of the other 99 places with their own NOAA record in South Dakota, and wetter than 22. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.2°F is warmer than 41%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Winner is Dwa: continental, dry-winter, 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 Winner 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.
- Colome, SD337 people · 11 mi SE
- New Witten, SD54 people · 12 mi W
- Ideal, SD39 people · 11 mi N
- Hamill, SD0 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.
What do Winner's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Winner. This page uses Winner Wiley Field; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner station USC00399367 | 2 mi S | 2,016 ft | 49.7°F | 13°F | 90°F | 23.2 | 49 | May 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Winner's climate
What is the coldest month in Winner?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Winner?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Winner's NOAA station; Winner's own co-op station Winner station records 49 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Winner?
June, with 3.72 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.21 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Winner in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Winner in zone 5a in ZIP code 57584, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Winner's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Winner?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 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
- Gregory, SD23 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Wood, SD33 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Kennebec, SD35 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Chamberlain, SD37 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made