Climate
South Dakota has a continental climate, semi-arid in the west outside of the Black Hills, with four distinct seasons, ranging from very cold winters to hot summers. During the summers, the average high temperature throughout the state is often close to 90 °F (32 °C), although it generally cools down to near 60 °F (15 °C) at night. It is not unusual for South Dakota to have severe hot, dry spells in the summer with the temperature climbing above 100 °F (38 °C) several times every year. Winters are cold with January high temperatures averaging below freezing and low temperatures averaging below 10 °F (- 12 °C) in most of the state. The highest temperature recorded in the state was 120 °F (49 °C) on July 5, 1936 in Gann Valley, and the lowest was – 58 °F (- 50 °C) on February 17, 1936 in McIntosh.
Average annual precipitation in South Dakota ranges from semi-arid in the northwestern part of the state (around 15 inches, or 381 mm) to semi-humid around the southeast portion of the state (around 25 inches, or 635 mm), although a small area centered around Lead in the Black Hills has the highest precipitation at nearly 30 inches (762 mm) per year.
South Dakota summers bring frequent thunderstorms which can be severe with high winds, thunder, and hail. The eastern part of the state is often considered part of tornado alley, and South Dakota experiences an average of 29 tornadoes per year. Winters are somewhat more stable, although severe weather in the form of blizzards and ice storms can occur during the season. Severe weather in the state can occasionally turn deadly. Between 1950 and 1994, 11 people were killed by tornadoes in the state, and the 1972 Black Hills flood tore through central Rapid City, killing 238 people and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various South Dakota Cities | ||||||||||||
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 21/1 | 29/9 | 40/21 | 57/33 | 70/46 | 79/55 | 85/60 | 84/57 | 73/47 | 59/34 | 39/20 | 26/6 |
| Huron | 25/4 | 31/11 | 43/22 | 58/34 | 70/46 | 80/55 | 86/61 | 84/59 | 75/47 | 61/35 | 41/21 | 29/8 |
| Rapid City | 34/10 | 38/14 | 45/21 | 55/31 | 65/42 | 75/52 | 83/58 | 82/55 | 73/45 | 61/34 | 44/21 | 37/13 |
| Sioux Falls | 25/3 | 32/10 | 44/21 | 59/33 | 71/45 | 81/55 | 86/60 | 83/58 | 74/48 | 61/35 | 42/21 | 29/8 |
Read more about this topic: Geography Of South Dakota
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“Ghosts, we hope, may be always with us—that is, never too far out of the reach of fancy. On the whole, it would seem they adapt themselves well, perhaps better than we do, to changing world conditions—they enlarge their domain, shift their hold on our nerves, and, dispossessed of one habitat, set up house in another. The universal battiness of our century looks like providing them with a propitious climate ...”
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973)
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)