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Weather extremes

How extreme does Moorhead's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Moorhead has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Fargo Hector Intl Ap station 6 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Moorhead has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day
106°F Aug 18, 1976

That is about 25°F hotter than a normal August afternoon in Moorhead (typical high near 81°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 106°F Aug 18, 1976
2 106°F Jul 5, 1988
3 105°F Aug 19, 1976
❄️ Coldest night
-39°F Feb 1, 1996

About 43°F colder than a normal February night in Moorhead (typical low near 4°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -39°F Feb 1, 1996
2 -36°F Jan 30, 2004
3 -35°F Jan 16, 1977
🌧️ Most rain in one day
4.64 in Jun 19, 2000

More rain in a single day than Moorhead usually gets in the whole month of June (typical June total about 4.3 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 4.64 in Jun 19, 2000
2 4.42 in Jul 15, 1993
3 4.02 in May 4, 1977
Most snow in one day
16.3 in Jan 22, 1982

Close to a whole typical January's snow in one day (Moorhead averages about 10 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 16.3 in Jan 22, 1982
2 14.0 in Jan 17, 1996
3 13.6 in Jan 6, 1989

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

-50°-30°-10°10°30°50°70°90°110°130° all-time high 106°F JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Moorhead's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — August's 106°F is about 25°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Moorhead's warmest days reach the low 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 0s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 106°F and as low as −39°F. A single day has delivered over 5 inches of rain or close to 16 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.
Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Fargo Hector Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00014914), about 6 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →