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Rapid City, South Dakota climate
Dwa Monsoon-influenced hot-summer humid continental
Rapid City has a strongly seasonal cool-temperate climate (Monsoon-influenced hot-summer humid continental, Köppen Dwa). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 29°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −9°C at night. Precipitation totals about 509 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — May alone averages 105 mm while January barely receives 8 mm. Winters bring significant snowfall (136 cm 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 countsRapid City climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 3 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 29 | 29 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 3 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −3 | −2 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 9 | 3 | −2 |
| Avg low (°C) | −9 | −8 | −4 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 3 | −3 | −7 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 8 | 13 | 24 | 57 | 105 | 85 | 67 | 55 | 36 | 38 | 12 | 9 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 13 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 9 | 17 | 17 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 3 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 25 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −3 | −2 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 19 |
| Avg low (°C) | −9 | −8 | −4 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 8 | 13 | 24 | 57 | 105 | 85 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 13 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 6 | 0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 3 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 23 | 22 | 17 | 9 | 3 | −2 |
| Avg low (°C) | 16 | 16 | 10 | 3 | −3 | −7 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 67 | 55 | 36 | 38 | 12 | 9 |
| Snowfall (cm) | — | — | 0 | 9 | 17 | 17 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | — | 0.3 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0.2 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 27 | 25 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 0.1 | — | — | 0.4 | 8 | 20 | 27 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | — | — | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 13 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | — | 0.3 | 3 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 27 | 25 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0.2 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | 0.4 | 8 | 20 | 27 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | — | — | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 66 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 64 | 57 | 47 | 45 | 49 | 59 | 63 | 64 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 69 | 65 | 61 | 59 | 58 | 55 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 59 | 63 | 68 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 66 | 67 | 67 | 67 | 64 | 57 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 11 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 69 | 65 | 61 | 59 | 58 | 55 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 47 | 45 | 49 | 59 | 63 | 64 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 52 | 52 | 52 | 59 | 63 | 68 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Rapid City Wfo (NOAA GHCN station USC00396948), about 2 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.