Rapid City, SD
Climate overview — based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals from RAPID CITY WFO, SD US.
Year-round temperatures (°F)
Climate summary
Rapid City has an annual average temperature of 48°F with about 20 inches of precipitation per year and 53.7 inches of snow. The warmest month is July (average high 84.4°F), and the coldest is January (average low 16.2°F). May is typically the wettest month (4.12 in) and January the driest (0.31 in). Snow typically falls from October through May.
Best time to visit Rapid City
Full guide →Climate change signal
All-time records →155 of 366 (42.3%) of Rapid City'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.
| 1990s | 30 | |
| 2000s | 126 | |
| 2010s | 104 | |
| 2020s | 106 |
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 | 36.5°F | 16.2°F | 26.4°F | 0.31 in | 5.3 in | 6 |
| February | 38.3°F | 17.5°F | 27.9°F | 0.53 in | 9.1 in | 7 |
| March | 47.4°F | 25.6°F | 36.5°F | 0.94 in | 10.4 in | 8 |
| April | 55.0°F | 34.0°F | 44.5°F | 2.26 in | 10.0 in | 11 |
| May | 65.3°F | 44.6°F | 54.9°F | 4.12 in | 2.2 in | 14 |
| June | 76.2°F | 54.6°F | 65.4°F | 3.33 in | 0.1 in | 13 |
| July | 84.4°F | 61.6°F | 73.0°F | 2.62 in | — | 11 |
| August | 83.4°F | 59.9°F | 71.6°F | 2.17 in | — | 9 |
| September | 74.0°F | 50.8°F | 62.4°F | 1.40 in | 0.1 in | 7 |
| October | 58.8°F | 37.9°F | 48.3°F | 1.49 in | 3.4 in | 8 |
| November | 47.0°F | 26.6°F | 36.8°F | 0.48 in | 6.5 in | 5 |
| December | 37.6°F | 18.6°F | 28.1°F | 0.37 in | 6.6 in | 6 |
Climate twins of Rapid City
Why these? →The most climatically similar US cities at least 140 miles away (by monthly temperature + precipitation pattern).