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Has the climate in Dickinson changed?

Dickinson has warmed about 2°F between 1971 and 2010.

About 0.5°F per decade, measured from Dickinson's official daily weather records, 1971–2010. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Dickinson's warming is broadly in line with other cities in United States — neither unusually fast nor unusually slow.

What has actually changed

Each card compares the 1970s (the first ten years of the record) with recent years (the last ten) — the same span the headline and the chart use.

Freezing nights
98 fewer nights
1970s
202 / yr
Recent
104 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+1.7°F
1970s
40.7°F
Recent
42.4°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
6 fewer days
1970s
19 / yr
Recent
13 / yr
Slightly fewer hot days
Rainy days
15 more days
1970s
79 / yr
Recent
94 / yr
Wetter on average

Dickinson's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2010.

36°38°40°42°44°46°1971: 39.6°F1972: 38.2°F1973: 42.3°F1974: 42.1°F1975: 40.3°F1976: 43.0°F1977: 41.6°F1978: 38.2°F1979: 37.9°F1980: 42.4°F1981: 44.4°F1982: 37.9°F1983: 41.3°F1984: 39.1°F1985: 38.3°F1986: 42.0°F1987: 44.7°F1988: 42.9°F1989: 40.8°F1990: 42.4°F1991: 42.9°F1992: 42.3°F1993: 39.0°F1994: 40.6°F1995: 41.9°F1996: 38.5°F1997: 41.9°F1998: 43.5°F1999: 44.0°F2000: 41.9°F2001: 43.3°F2002: 41.5°F2003: 41.9°F2004: 41.9°F2005: 43.3°F2006: 44.6°F2007: 44.0°F2008: 41.3°F2009: 39.2°F2010: 40.6°Flong-term trend19711980199020002010
a warmer-than-average year a cooler-than-average year

Each bar is one year. Most recent years sit above the older ones. Some recent years still came in cool — warming is a slope, not a straight climb.

In day-to-day terms, that long-term shift shows up as about 61 fewer freezing nights a year and about 5 fewer days above 90°F compared with the 1970s.

When in the year the change shows up

How much warmer each month is now than in the 1970s. Useful if you garden or care about a particular season — otherwise the headline above already has the answer.

-1.0°-0.5°0.0°+0.5°+1.0°+1.5°+2.0°+2.5°+3.0°January: +2.6°F+2.6JFebruary: -0.2°F-0.2FMarch: +0.5°F+0.5MApril: -0.1°F-0.1AMay: -0.8°F-0.8MJune: +0.1°F+0.1JJuly: +1.0°F+1.0JAugust: +0.7°F+0.7ASeptember: +2.0°F+2.0SOctober: -0.5°F-0.5ONovember: +2.5°F+2.5NDecember: +2.2°F+2.2D

January has warmed the most — about 2.6°F. The warming runs across the whole year, not just one season.

Methodology & sources

Temperature — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Dickinson Exp Stn (NOAA GHCN station USC00322188), about 2 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →