Climate · Ryegate

Ryegate, MT climate

Ryegate has cold, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 86°, a January night drops to 13°, and about 53 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.

NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals Updated once a decade
July high
86°
110th hottest of 497 Montana towns
January low
13°
245th mildest of 497 Montana towns
Rain + melted snow
14 in
242nd driest of 497 Montana towns
Snow a winter
53 in
102nd snowiest of 408 Montana towns
A normal year

What a year in Ryegate feels like

Winter

38° / 14°
Typical high / low · 19 days with an inch or more of snow

Spring

58° / 30°
Typical high / low · Last frost around May 17

Summer

82° / 50°
Typical high / low · 34 days reach 90° in a normal year

Fall

60° / 31°
Typical high / low · First frost around Sep 23
Best months to be outsideJunSepHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month

Ryegate 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
January37°13°0.3" 8.3"417 15° – 35°
February40°14°0.4" 8.3"513 6° – 38°
March49°22°0.7" 10.1"68 23° – 43°
April57°30°1.5" 6.0"83 38° – 48°
May67°38°2.7" 0.7"90 48° – 57°
June76°46°2.7" 0110 56° – 66°
July86°52°1.6" 070 60° – 76°
August85°51°1.2" 050 61° – 73°
September74°42°1.2" 0.3"50 54° – 64°
October60°31°1.1" 3.6"52 37° – 52°
November46°21°0.6" 7.2"46 26° – 43°
December37°14°0.5" 8.4"512 16° – 34°
Year59°31°14.4"52.9"7561

“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 Ryegate

Ryegate gets 14 inches of rain and melted snow a year. June is the wettest month and January the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 75 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 61 days of the year.

14 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 95% of U.S. towns
53 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 85% of U.S. towns
61 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 72% of U.S. towns

Rain + melted snow by month

Inches of water
2.7"

Snowfall by month

Inches of snow
10"
Frost & the growing season

About 127 frost-free days a year

In half of years the last 32° night comes by May 17 and the first one by September 23. That leaves about 127 frost-free days for gardens, shorter than 96% of U.S. towns.

175
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
16
nights below 0° in a normal year
34
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 Ryegate

Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Ryegate, 95% of that work is heating and 5% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.

95%heating
7,174 heating degree daysMore heating than 75% of U.S. towns
369 cooling degree daysLess cooling than 87% 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 Ryegate compares

Summer heat86° July high
Hotter than 55% of U.S. towns110th hottest of 497 Montana towns
Winter cold13° January low
Colder than 75% of U.S. towns245th mildest of 497 Montana towns
Precipitation14" a year
Drier than 95% of U.S. towns242nd driest of 497 Montana towns
Snow53" a winter
Snowier than 85% of U.S. towns102nd snowiest of 408 Montana towns
Growing season127 frost-free days
Shorter than 96% of U.S. towns182nd 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

+1.0°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)

The last 30 years in Ryegate averaged 1.0° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in January (+3.9°). The shift is smaller than in 71% of U.S. towns.

❄️ Winter+1.9° now 26°, was 24°
🌷 Spring+1.0° now 44°, was 43°
☀️ Summer+0.5° now 66°, was 65°
🍂 Fall+0.6° now 46°, was 45°

Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Ryegate’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 6° to 38°. May is the most reliable, staying within 9°.

Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions

Common questions about Ryegate’s climate

What is the coldest month in Ryegate?

January, with a typical high of 37° and a low of 13°.

What is the hottest month in Ryegate?

July, with a typical high of 86° and a low of 52°. About 34 days a year reach 90°.

How much snow does Ryegate get?

About 53 inches in a normal winter, most of it in March.

When is the first frost in Ryegate?

In half of years the first 32° night comes by September 23, and the last spring frost by May 17.

What is the rainiest month in Ryegate?

June, with 2.7 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 14 inches.

Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Ryegate itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Ryegate 18 Nnw, MT (17 mi, snow) and Ryegate, 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.

The door’s open

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Ryegate, MTView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map
Loading boundary…

Ryegate 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