Fargo, ND climate: monthly averages and frost dates
Fargo, ND has very cold winters and warm summers by this site's scale, with moderate annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00014914 (FARGO HECTOR INTL AP), 4 mi (7 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 82.1°F
- July
- Coldest month mean
- 9.2°F
- January
- Precipitation
- 23.9 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 51.4 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- May 10
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- September 30
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in Fargo
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18.2 | 0.2 | 9.2 | 0.71 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 0.0 | 30.8 |
| February | 22.7 | 4.1 | 13.4 | 0.69 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 0.0 | 27.3 |
| March | 36.3 | 18.1 | 27.2 | 1.25 | 9.2 | 7.7 | 0.0 | 26.7 |
| April | 54.1 | 31.9 | 43.0 | 1.54 | 4.1 | 8.2 | 0.1 | 15.6 |
| May | 68.7 | 44.4 | 56.6 | 3.09 | 0.0 | 11.4 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| June | 78.1 | 55.6 | 66.8 | 4.29 | 0.0 | 11.8 | 2.1 | 0.0 |
| July | 82.1 | 59.4 | 70.7 | 3.07 | 0.0 | 9.7 | 3.9 | 0.0 |
| August | 80.7 | 56.8 | 68.8 | 2.60 | 0.0 | 8.6 | 3.1 | 0.0 |
| September | 72.0 | 48.1 | 60.0 | 2.68 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| October | 55.8 | 35.2 | 45.5 | 2.17 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 0.1 | 12.0 |
| November | 38.1 | 20.9 | 29.5 | 0.97 | 6.8 | 7.6 | 0.0 | 25.5 |
| December | 24.0 | 7.5 | 15.7 | 0.89 | 11.7 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 30.8 |
| Year | 52.6 | 31.8 | 42.2 | 23.95 | 51.4 | 108.6 | 11.2 | 172.4 |
How cold is winter in Fargo?
Winters in Fargo are very cold by this site's scale (coldest-month mean below 20°F). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 9.2°F (−12.7°C), a normal daily high of 18.2°F (−7.7°C) and a normal daily low of 0.2°F (−17.7°C).
The station averages 172.4 nights a year at or below 32°F and 92.7 days when the high stays at or below 32°F.
The normal daily low is at or below freezing in November to April.
How hot is summer in Fargo?
Summers in Fargo are warm by this site's scale (hottest-month high 80 to under 90°F). July has the highest normal daily high, 82.1°F (27.8°C), with nights averaging 59.4°F (15.2°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 11.2 days in a normal year.
What is the wettest month in Fargo?
Fargo gets 23.95 in (608 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as moderate (20 to under 40 in a year). The wettest month is June with 4.29 in (109 mm); the driest is February with 0.69 in (18 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 108.6 days a year.
Does it snow in Fargo?
Normal annual snowfall in Fargo is 51.4 in (131 cm), which this site classes as heavy (36 to under 72 in a year).
December is the snowiest month, with 11.7 in (30 cm).
A day with 1.0 in or more of snowfall comes 14.3 times a year on average.
Which months are mild in Fargo?
4 months in Fargo meet this site's comfort thresholds (normal high 65–85°F, low 45°F or higher, fewer than 10 days with 0.10 in or more of precipitation): June to September.
May misses by one threshold only (normal low 44.4°F, below the 45°F limit).
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in Fargo
In Fargo the median last spring night at or below 32°F is May 10, and the median first autumn one is September 30 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 143 days.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after May 23, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by September 18.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after April 27 is 90%.
For a hard freeze (28°F or lower) the median dates are April 30 in spring and October 10 in autumn.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | May 23 | September 18 | 162 |
| 20% | May 18 | September 22 | 155 |
| 30% | May 15 | September 25 | 151 |
| 40% | May 12 | September 28 | 147 |
| 50% | May 10 | September 30 | 143 |
| 60% | May 7 | October 3 | 139 |
| 70% | May 4 | October 5 | 134 |
| 80% | May 1 | October 9 | 130 |
| 90% | April 27 | October 15 | 124 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | May 19 | September 22 | 124 |
| 32°F | May 10 | September 30 | 143 |
| 28°F | April 30 | October 10 | 161 |
| 24°F | April 20 | October 21 | 182 |
| 20°F | April 11 | October 31 | 201 |
| 16°F | April 4 | November 5 | 217 |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 81% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 51% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to Fargo by station distance are Minneapolis, MN at 223 mi (358 km), Kansas City, MO at 537 mi (865 km) and Chicago, IL at 554 mi (892 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of Fargo's (winter: very cold, summer: warm, precipitation: moderate), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Minneapolis, MN, Billings, MT and Burlington, VT.
Compared with Minneapolis, MN, Fargo's peak-month normal high is 1.3°F (0.7°C) lower, its coldest-month mean is 7.0°F (3.9°C) lower, and its annual precipitation is 7.67 in less.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo, ND | this page | – | 9.2 | 82.1 | 23.9 | 51.4 | May 10 |
| Minneapolis, MN | nearby, similar | 223 mi (358 km) | 16.2 | 83.4 | 31.6 | 51.2 | April 23 |
| Kansas City, MO | nearby | 537 mi (865 km) | 29.0 | 88.3 | 39.3 | 18.2 | April 13 |
| Chicago, IL | nearby | 554 mi (892 km) | 25.2 | 84.5 | 37.9 | 38.4 | April 16 |
| Billings, MT | similar | 564 mi (908 km) | 27.0 | 87.3 | 14.3 | 57.4 | May 4 |
| Burlington, VT | similar | 1,150 mi (1,851 km) | 20.9 | 82.4 | 37.5 | 87.5 | April 29 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for Fargo come from NOAA station FARGO HECTOR INTL AP, ND US (USW00014914) at 46.9253, -96.8111, elevation 900 ft (274 m). It lies 4 mi (7 km) in a straight line from the center point of Fargo city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 28 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- S: Standard: meets WMO standards for data availability for 24 or more years.
Cite the data as:
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00014914 (FARGO HECTOR INTL AP, ND US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00014914 (FARGO HECTOR INTL AP, ND US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Files used: monthly normals CSV, annual/seasonal normals CSV (retrieved 2026-10-09). The values on this page as JSON: /us/nd/fargo/data.json.