What is the hottest month in Lead?

July is the warmest month in Lead, with an average high of 81.7°F.

What is the coldest month in Lead?

February is the coldest month in Lead, with an average low of 17.6°F.

What month does Lead get the most rain?

May is typically the wettest month in Lead, with about 4.90 inches of precipitation.

What plant hardiness zone is Lead in?

Lead is approximately in USDA plant hardiness Zone 7a, based on the average annual extreme minimum temperature.

Has the climate in Lead changed recently?

18.6% of Lead's all-time daily heat records were set in the last decade (since 2015), compared to roughly 5% if records were evenly distributed over time.

Lead, SD

Climate overview — based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals from LEAD, SD US.

Dfb Warm-summer humid continental climate 7a USDA hardiness Zone 7a

Year-round temperatures (°F)

Avg high Avg low

Climate summary

Lead has an annual average temperature of 46.3°F with about 31.8 inches of precipitation per year and 183.9 inches of snow. The warmest month is July (average high 81.7°F), and the coldest is February (average low 17.6°F). May is typically the wettest month (4.90 in) and December the driest (1.51 in). Snow typically falls from January through December.

Pleasant months

1 / 12

avg high 65–80°F, low ≥ 50°F

Annual swing

41.2°F

warmest to coldest month

Heating need

6,945

HDD/yr

Cooling need

216

CDD/yr

Best time to visit Lead

Full guide →

Climate change signal

All-time records →

68 of 366 (18.6%) of Lead's all-time daily heat records have been set since 2015. If records were spread evenly across the station's history, only about 5% would fall in any given decade.

1900s		2
1910s		29
1920s		18
1930s		44
1940s		30
1950s		27
1960s		24
1970s		22
1980s		30
1990s		30
2000s		25
2010s		55
2020s		30

Bars: number of all-time daily heat records still standing that were set in each decade.

Monthly averages

Month	Avg High	Avg Low	Avg Temp	Precipitation	Snow	Rainy days
January	38.3°F	17.7°F	28.0°F	1.54 in	24.8 in	11
February	38.8°F	17.6°F	28.2°F	1.83 in	26.2 in	11
March	47.1°F	24.6°F	35.9°F	2.24 in	27.6 in	11
April	53.8°F	31.3°F	42.5°F	3.54 in	29.0 in	13
May	63.2°F	40.6°F	51.9°F	4.90 in	6.7 in	14
June	74.2°F	50.0°F	62.1°F	3.81 in	0.9 in	13
July	81.7°F	56.7°F	69.2°F	3.12 in	—	12
August	80.9°F	55.2°F	68.0°F	2.32 in	—	9
September	72.2°F	47.0°F	59.6°F	1.96 in	1.8 in	8
October	57.4°F	35.2°F	46.3°F	3.32 in	19.3 in	11
November	46.0°F	25.4°F	35.7°F	1.70 in	22.3 in	10
December	38.1°F	18.5°F	28.3°F	1.51 in	25.3 in	10