Zortman, MT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Zortman's primary NOAA station, ZORTMAN.
The climate verdict for Zortman
Dryness leads the climate profile for Zortman, Montana, with 19.5 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 43°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.5"
- annual precipitation
- 128 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Zortman: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00249900 · Zortman, MT 43°F mean · 19.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #823
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Grafton
- PRCP-DRY 19.5"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,163 HDD
- STN-1 USC00249900
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Grafton, NH (+ 0 °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 MT station list.
- Zortman (this station) 43°F
- Hot Sunburst, MT 43°F
- Near Grafton, NH 43°F
- Near Hartford, ME 43°F
- Near E Sangerville, ME 43°F
Zortman sits in Montana, the #6 coldest U.S. state at 43.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Zortman
Zortman: 21/100 · grade F
Zortman publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Zortman, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 19.5 in · 15.5 from 35 in | 45/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 190 calendar days | 19/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.2°F · 24.3° from 67.5°F | 13/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 128 days/year | 11/100 · F |
Zortman · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Zortman is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 23.9°F and warmest-month mean 66.3°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
- 66.3°F
- Coldest month
- 23.9°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 Zortman sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Zortman's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 88%
- Among 6,861 stations, Zortman sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 73%
- Zortman's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 46th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Zortman compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Zortman's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F (1°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.9" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 34°F (1°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 0.6" | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.8" | 27.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (11°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.8" | 20.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 61°F (16°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 3.2" | 8.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 69°F (21°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 4.0" | 1.0 | 0.3 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 2.3" | 0.3 | 4.1 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 1.4" | 0.3 | 3.8 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.4" | 4.0 | 0.7 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.3" | 16.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (6°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.0" | 24.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 35°F (1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.7" | 28.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 82°F around July 30, short of 90°F on every date, while 190 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near January 2.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 190 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.
The widest day
August 12 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Zortman.
Where Zortman Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 190 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Zortman 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
Zortman runs a summer-peaked wet season
40% of Zortman'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 June at 4.0", on a 42.4°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: June, May, July, taking 49% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.6".
- Winter share: 12% 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 18
50% probability date
Growing Season
128 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,163
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
260
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MT closest to Zortman 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 (43°F here).
- Beulah, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Ellendale, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Livermore Falls, ME 43°F · 0.0°F off
- McLaughlin, SD 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Crystal City, TX 19.5" · 0.0" off
- Winona, KS 19.5" · 0.0" off
- Gail, TX 19.4" · 0.0" off
- Albin, WY 19.5" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Zortman's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Zortman's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,163 annual heating degree days against 260 for cooling. Its 42.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 128 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.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Zortman's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 42.4°F. The annual average is 43°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Zortman's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 19.5 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Zortman's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Zortman, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Zortman's climate
How much rain does Zortman get? ▼
How cold does Zortman get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Zortman? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Zortman's primary station: ZORTMAN (USC00249900). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 3082675), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Zortman: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Zortman 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.