Climateby Month

Grand Forks, ND climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 830 ft elevation

Grand Forks has warm summers and very cold and snowy winters. Highs peak at 80°F in July and fall to 15°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 6 to 12 a month. Normal snowfall is about 49 in a year. By our comfort score the best months are May, June and September.

Warmest month
80°F
July normal high
Coldest month
-1°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
100
22.8 in of precipitation
Snow a year
48.7 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Grand Forks?

Normal highs range from 15°F in January to 80°F in July.

-20°0°20°40°60°80° January: normal high 15°F (-9°C), low -1°F (-18°C) 15° -1° February: normal high 20°F (-7°C), low 3°F (-16°C) March: normal high 34°F (1°C), low 17°F (-8°C) April: normal high 52°F (11°C), low 31°F (-1°C) May: normal high 67°F (19°C), low 44°F (7°C) June: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 55°F (13°C) July: normal high 80°F (27°C), low 59°F (15°C) 80° 59° August: normal high 79°F (26°C), low 57°F (14°C) September: normal high 70°F (21°C), low 47°F (8°C) October: normal high 53°F (12°C), low 35°F (2°C) November: normal high 35°F (2°C), low 20°F (-7°C) December: normal high 21°F (-6°C), low 6°F (-14°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Grand Forks?

June has the most wet days (about 12); the year brings about 23 in of precipitation.

January: 7 wet days February: 6 wet days 6 March: 7 wet days April: 7 wet days May: 11 wet days June: 12 wet days 12 July: 10 wet days August: 9 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 8 wet days November: 6 wet days December: 8 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 48.7 in a year, most of it in December.

January: 9.5 in of snow February: 8.2 in of snow March: 7.8 in of snow April: 3.0 in of snow May: 0.1 in of snow June: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 1.5 in of snow November: 5.1 in of snow December: 13.5 in of snow 13.5 JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Grand Forks?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 6 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 0 muggy days June: 2 muggy days July: 6 muggy days 6 August: 4 muggy days September: 1 muggy days October: 0 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Grand Forks AFB Airport, 17 mi W of the city center (the nearest airport with complete hourly records).

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 8.5 hours in December to 16.0 hours in June.

January: 8.9 hours of daylight February: 10.3 hours of daylight March: 11.9 hours of daylight April: 13.7 hours of daylight May: 15.2 hours of daylight June: 16.0 hours of daylight 16.0 July: 15.6 hours of daylight August: 14.2 hours of daylight September: 12.6 hours of daylight October: 10.8 hours of daylight November: 9.3 hours of daylight December: 8.5 hours of daylight 8.5 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Grand Forks, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 15°F-1°F 0.5 in7 9.5 in 0 8.9 h
February 20°F3°F 0.6 in6 8.2 in 0 10.3 h
March 34°F17°F 0.9 in7 7.8 in 0 11.9 h
April 52°F31°F 1.2 in7 3.0 in 0 13.7 h
May 67°F44°F 3.0 in11 0.1 in 0 15.2 h
June 76°F55°F 4.1 in12 0.0 in 2 16.0 h
July 80°F59°F 3.5 in10 0.0 in 6 15.6 h
August 79°F57°F 3.0 in9 0.0 in 4 14.2 h
September 70°F47°F 2.4 in9 0.0 in 1 12.6 h
October 53°F35°F 2.0 in8 1.5 in 0 10.8 h
November 35°F20°F 0.8 in6 5.1 in 0 9.3 h
December 21°F6°F 0.7 in8 13.5 in 0 8.5 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Grand Forks

By our comfort score, the best months are May, June and September.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 240230
Feb 280226
Mar 370322
Apr 58636
May 731461
Jun 711471
Jul 661062
Aug 681252
Sep 701541
Oct 50544
Nov 311220
Dec 240230

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Grand Forks

The last spring frost typically comes around May 10, and the first fall frost around Oct 1, leaving 144 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Grand Forks
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)May 10after May 24
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 1before Sep 20
Last hard freeze (28°F)Apr 30after May 14
First hard freeze (28°F)Oct 12before Sep 29
Frost-free season144 daysunder 126 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Grand Forks Univ (NWS) (USC00323621), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in North Dakota.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 99°F (August 28, 1991); the lowest was -39°F (January 30, 2004).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Grand Forks

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall and frost dates: Grand Forks Univ (NWS) (USC00323621), 3.0 mi W of the city center, 830 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Snow depth: Grand Forks Intl Airport (USW00014916), 7.1 mi W of the city center, 842 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour: Grand Forks Af (USW00094925), 17 mi W of the city center, 906 ft (76 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Grand Forks AFB Airport (727575-94925), 17 mi W of the city center, 913 ft (83 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.
  • Not available for this location: cloud cover (no station close enough or similar enough in elevation).

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error