Climate averages 1991–2020
Rapid City weather
in February.
A cold, fairly dry month: the 10th warmest and the joint 3rd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
February is a cold month in Rapid City: daytime highs average 3.5°C and nights cool to about -7.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 20 mm of rain on roughly 5 days, which makes February a fairly dry month (the joint 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 26 min on an average February day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Bismarck (358 km away). In February its highs average -2.9°C, 6.4°C cooler than Rapid City, with 18 mm of precipitation.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Rapid City ranks joint 400th of 498 for the warmest February highs and joint 17th of 498 for the driest February (rainfall, lowest first). The mean February high of those 498 cities is 11.1°C; Rapid City is 7.7°C cooler than that mean.
From February to March, average highs rise by 5.0°C to 8.5°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 20 mm to 40 mm.
The annual picture
February in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Rapid City climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.5°C-8.1°C | -8.1°C | 13 | 3.9 | 9.39 h |
| February, selected | 3.5°C-7.6°C | -7.6°C | 20 | 5.1 | 10.410 h |
| March | 8.5°C-3.5°C | -3.5°C | 40 | 7.6 | 11.912 h |
| April | 12.8°C1.1°C | 1.1°C | 80 | 11.8 | 13.413 h |
| May | 18.4°C7.2°C | 7.2°C | 112 | 14.1 | 14.715 h |
| June | 24.4°C12.9°C | 12.9°C | 97 | 14.5 | 15.415 h |
| July | 28.9°C16.9°C | 16.9°C | 78 | 13.4 | 15.115 h |
| August | 28.2°C16.1°C | 16.1°C | 60 | 10.8 | 14.014 h |
| September | 23.3°C11.2°C | 11.2°C | 42 | 6.7 | 12.613 h |
| October | 14.9°C3.9°C | 3.9°C | 50 | 7.3 | 11.011 h |
| November | 7.9°C-2.5°C | -2.5°C | 20 | 4.4 | 9.710 h |
| December | 2.8°C-6.9°C | -6.9°C | 15 | 3.6 | 9.09 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
February in nearby cities
- Bismarck in FebruaryUnited States · 358 kmHigh -2.9°C · Low -12.5°C · 18 mm precipitation
- Fort Collins in FebruaryUnited States · 417 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low -7.5°C · 18 mm rain
- Greeley in FebruaryUnited States · 424 kmHigh 7.4°C · Low -6.3°C · 11 mm rain
- Loveland in FebruaryUnited States · 437 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low -7.8°C · 18 mm rain
- Billings in FebruaryUnited States · 456 kmHigh 3.5°C · Low -7.6°C · 20 mm rain
- Longmont in FebruaryUnited States · 462 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low -7.6°C · 20 mm rain
- Boulder in FebruaryUnited States · 482 kmHigh 5.4°C · Low -8.3°C · 26 mm rain
- Thornton in FebruaryUnited States · 490 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low -8.7°C · 23 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Rapid City) is explained once on the Rapid City year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.