Climate · Libby

Libby, MT climate

Libby has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 86°, a January night drops to 21°, and about 48 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.

NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals Updated once a decade
July high
86°
89th hottest of 497 Montana towns
January low
21°
9th mildest of 497 Montana towns
Rain + melted snow
18 in
83rd wettest of 497 Montana towns
Snow a winter
48 in
143rd snowiest of 408 Montana towns
A normal year

What a year in Libby feels like

Winter

35° / 22°
Typical high / low · 17 days with an inch or more of snow

Spring

59° / 33°
Typical high / low · Last frost around May 10

Summer

82° / 48°
Typical high / low · 23 days reach 90° in a normal year

Fall

57° / 34°
Typical high / low · First frost around Sep 26
Best months to be outsideJunSepHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month

Libby weather by month

Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.

MonthHighLowRain + meltSnowWet daysSnow on ground30-yr range
January33°21°1.9" 11.8"1430 17° – 33°
February39°22°1.3" 5.4"1022 21° – 37°
March50°27°1.6" 3.8"1210 32° – 44°
April59°33°1.2" 0.2"100 41° – 53°
May70°40°1.6" 0100 50° – 61°
June76°46°1.9" 0120 57° – 68°
July86°50°0.8" 070 60° – 74°
August86°48°0.7" 050 61° – 70°
September74°41°1.1" 070 54° – 63°
October57°33°1.7" 0.3"100 40° – 51°
November41°28°2.3" 6.3"136 27° – 41°
December33°22°2.3" 20.4"1425 21° – 32°
Year58°34°18.4"48.2"12593

“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.

Rain & snow

Rain and snow in Libby

Libby gets 18 inches of rain and melted snow a year. November is the wettest month and August the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 125 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 93 days of the year.

18 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 90% of U.S. towns
48 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 80% of U.S. towns
93 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 88% of U.S. towns

Rain + melted snow by month

Inches of water
2.3"

Snowfall by month

Inches of snow
20"
Frost & the growing season

About 137 frost-free days a year

In half of years the last 32° night comes by May 10 and the first one by September 26. That leaves about 137 frost-free days for gardens, shorter than 91% of U.S. towns.

182
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
5
nights below 0° in a normal year
23
days that reach 90° in a normal year

Freezing nights by month

Average nights at or below 32°

90° days by month

Average days at 90° or more
Heating & cooling

Heating and cooling a home in Libby

Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Libby, 97% of that work is heating and 3% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.

97%heating
7,344 heating degree daysMore heating than 77% of U.S. towns
234 cooling degree daysLess cooling than 95% of U.S. towns

Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.

Compared with other towns

How Libby compares

Summer heat86° July high
Hotter than 58% of U.S. towns89th hottest of 497 Montana towns
Winter cold21° January low
Milder than 59% of U.S. towns9th mildest of 497 Montana towns
Precipitation18" a year
Drier than 90% of U.S. towns83rd wettest of 497 Montana towns
Snow48" a winter
Snowier than 80% of U.S. towns143rd snowiest of 408 Montana towns
Growing season137 frost-free days
Shorter than 91% of U.S. towns64th longest of 490 Montana towns

Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.

Then and now

Warmer than it used to be

+1.8°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)

The last 30 years in Libby averaged 1.8° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in January (+4.7°). The shift is larger than in 86% of U.S. towns.

❄️ Winter+3.0° now 28°, was 25°
🌷 Spring+1.3° now 46°, was 45°
☀️ Summer+1.7° now 65°, was 64°
🍂 Fall+1.1° now 46°, was 45°

Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Libby’s spot on NOAA’s grid

Year to year

How much a month can swing

A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. February swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 21° to 37°. August is the most reliable, staying within 9°.

Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions

Common questions about Libby’s climate

What is the coldest month in Libby?

January, with a typical high of 33° and a low of 21°.

What is the hottest month in Libby?

July, with a typical high of 86° and a low of 50°. About 23 days a year reach 90°.

How much snow does Libby get?

About 48 inches in a normal winter, most of it in December.

When is the first frost in Libby?

In half of years the first 32° night comes by September 26, and the last spring frost by May 10.

What is the rainiest month in Libby?

November, with 2.3 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 18 inches.

Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Libby itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Libby 1 Ne Rs, MT (1 mi, snow) and Libby, MT (1 mi, frost, heat and degree days). Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Libby, MTView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map
Loading boundary…

Libby is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01