South Dakota

Murdo, South Dakota Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Murdo, 0.4 km from Murdo

The warmest month is July, with an average high of 87°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of 12°F. A normal year brings 21.6 in of precipitation and 49.1 in of snow.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Pierre (PIR), since 1893. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Murdo through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.-50050100150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 24

Normal high
73°F
Normal low
48°F
Record high
92°Fin 1990
Record low
25°Fin 2000
Chance of a wet day
23%
Daylight
12 h 03 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysSnowfallFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January31°F12°F68°F (1981)-33°F (1966)0.57 in5.57.5 in29.71,3590
February34°F14°F75°F (1992)-35°F (1994)0.71 in5.68.5 in26.41,1380
March45°F24°F88°F (2012)-20°F (2014)1.17 in6.28.1 in24.59400
April57°F34°F98°F (1980)0°F (2018)2.37 in9.26.8 in12.75902
May68°F46°F105°F (1969)21°F (2013)3.44 in12.60.0 in1.928627
June79°F57°F112°F (1988)34°F (1998)3.63 in11.30.0 in0.060135
July87°F63°F117°F (2006)42°F (1959)2.84 in8.40.0 in0.07306
August85°F61°F114°F (1937)39°F (1964)2.37 in7.50.0 in0.015266
September77°F51°F108°F (1983)21°F (1995)1.48 in6.40.0 in0.4136102
October60°F37°F98°F (1997)2°F (2020)1.80 in7.41.8 in8.75108
November45°F25°F87°F (1999)-18°F (1959)0.68 in5.05.6 in22.89000
December33°F15°F77°F (1998)-31°F (1990)0.59 in5.410.8 in30.21,2660
Year58°F36°F21.65 in9149.1 in1577,208846

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

21.6 in in a normal year, most in June.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Murdo, in percent, and of at least 0.1 inch of snowfall.01020304050JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day
  • Chance of snowfall

Snow

NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normals for Murdo.

49.1 in of snow in a normal year.

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Murdo. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

The last spring freeze typically comes around May 3 and the first fall freeze around October 9, a growing season of about 158 days.

Median at 36°F
last May 12, first October 1
Median at 32°F
last May 3, first October 9
Median at 28°F
last April 22, first October 18

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Murdo.

The muggiest month is July, when 12 percent of days are muggy or worse, with a mean dew point of 65°F or more.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January16°F77%100%0%0%0%0%0%
February18°F72%100%0%0%0%0%0%
March25°F66%100%0%0%0%0%0%
April32°F62%100%0%0%0%0%0%
May43°F60%92%6%2%0%0%0%
June54°F60%58%21%15%5%0%0%
July57°F54%39%28%22%11%1%0%
August55°F55%46%29%19%6%0%0%
September46°F55%86%11%3%0%0%0%
October35°F63%100%0%0%0%0%0%
November26°F71%100%0%0%0%0%0%
December19°F77%100%0%0%0%0%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is August, with the sky 47 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is March, at 67 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is April, averaging 12.1 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 19, with 15 h 29 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 18, with 8 h 54 min.

Hours of daylight at Murdo through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How Jones County is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in Jones County: 73.5°F (+0.6 °F against 1991-2020), the 56th warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in Jones County: 2.55 in (+0.32 in against 1991-2020), the 40th wettest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Jones County: 53.4°F (+3.4 °F against 1991-2020), the 5th warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Jones County: 14.71 in (-0.98 in against 1991-2020), the 58th wettest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
80.4°F in 1937
Coolest August
66.0°F in 1915
Wettest August
5.24 in in 1906
Driest August
0.31 in in 2001

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in Jones County against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1895 to 2025.-6-4-20+2+4+61900192019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

South Dakota climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Murdo in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1893. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Nearby

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USC00395891 (Murdo), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USW00024025, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-24. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.