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Bismarck, North Dakota climate
Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
Bismarck has a strongly seasonal cold-temperate climate (Warm-summer humid continental, Köppen Dfb). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 85°F, while the coldest is January averaging around 2°F at night. Precipitation totals about 19 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — June alone averages 3.4 inches while January barely receives 0.48 inches. Winters bring significant snowfall (50 inches of snow per year on average).
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsBismarck climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 | 85 | 84 | 73 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 13 | 18 | 30 | 43 | 55 | 65 | 71 | 70 | 60 | 45 | 30 | 18 |
| Avg low (°F) | 2 | 7 | 19 | 30 | 42 | 53 | 58 | 56 | 46 | 33 | 19 | 8 |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Snowfall (in) | 8.9 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 4.6 | 0.4 | — | — | — | — | 2.5 | 8.0 | 10.1 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 23 | 28 | 41 | 56 | 68 | 78 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 13 | 18 | 30 | 43 | 55 | 65 |
| Avg low (°F) | 2 | 7 | 19 | 30 | 42 | 53 |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.4 |
| Snowfall (in) | 8.9 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 4.6 | 0.4 | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 85 | 84 | 73 | 57 | 41 | 28 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 71 | 70 | 60 | 45 | 30 | 18 |
| Avg low (°F) | 58 | 56 | 46 | 33 | 19 | 8 |
| Precipitation (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Snowfall (in) | — | — | — | 2.5 | 8.0 | 10.1 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 31 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 0.1 | — | — | 2 | 15 | 28 | 31 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 | — | — | — | — | 0.6 | 2 | 3 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 31 | 28 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | — | — | 2 | 15 | 28 | 31 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days) | — | — | — | 0.6 | 2 | 3 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 65 | 64 | 67 | 65 | 63 | 58 | 48 | 48 | 53 | 63 | 64 | 66 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 88 | 82 | 72 | 63 | 61 | 62 | 58 | 57 | 59 | 67 | 77 | 85 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 8.4 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 7.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 65 | 64 | 67 | 65 | 63 | 58 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 12 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 88 | 82 | 72 | 63 | 61 | 62 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 8.4 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 7.2 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 48 | 48 | 53 | 63 | 64 | 66 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 8 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 58 | 57 | 59 | 67 | 77 | 85 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.5 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Bismarck (NOAA GHCN station USW00024011), about 5 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.