Mitchell Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (South Dakota, United States) (2024)

In Mitchell, the summers are warm; the winters are freezing, snowy, and windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -12°C to 31°C and is rarely below -23°C or above 36°C.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Mitchell for warm-weather activities is from mid June to early September.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from 27 May to 17 September, with an average daily high temperature above 24°C. The hottest month of the year in Mitchell is July, with an average high of 30°C and low of 18°C.

The cold season lasts for 3.3 months, from 24 November to 2 March, with an average daily high temperature below 4°C. The coldest month of the year in Mitchell is January, with an average low of -11°C and high of -2°C.

In Mitchell, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Mitchell begins around 6 June and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around 13 October.

The clearest month of the year in Mitchell is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 75% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around 13 October and lasts for 7.8 months, ending around 6 June.

The cloudiest month of the year in Mitchell is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 53% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 1 millimetre of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Mitchell varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from 10 April to 20 September, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Mitchell is June, with an average of 11.2 days with at least 1 millimetre of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from 20 September to 10 April. The month with the fewest wet days in Mitchell is January, with an average of 1.4 days with at least 1 millimetre of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Mitchell changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.8 months, from 26 February to 19 November. The month with the most days of rain alone in Mitchell is June, with an average of 11.2 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.3 months, from 19 November to 26 February. The month with the most days of snow alone in Mitchell is December, with an average of 1.5 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Mitchell experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.3 months, from 3 March to 14 November, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 13 millimetres. The month with the most rain in Mitchell is June, with an average rainfall of 88 millimetres.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from 14 November to 3 March. The month with the least rain in Mitchell is January, with an average rainfall of 2 millimetre.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Mitchell experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from 31 October to 30 April, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 25 millimetres. The month with the most snow in Mitchell is December, with an average snowfall of 71 millimetres.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from 30 April to 31 October. The least snow falls around 20 July, with an average total accumulation of 0 millimetres.

The length of the day in Mitchell varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is 21 December, with 8 hours, 55 minutes of daylight; the longest day is 20 June, with 15 hours, 27 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 05:49 on 14 June, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 20 minutes later at 08:10 on 2 November. The earliest sunset is at 16:54 on 8 December, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 23 minutes later at 21:18 on 25 June.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Mitchell during 2024, starting in the spring on 10 March, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on 3 November.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Mitchell experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from 8 June to 12 September, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 10% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Mitchell is July, with 11.1 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is 20 February, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 metres above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Mitchell experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.7 months, from 12 September to 1 June, with average wind speeds of more than 17.7 kilometres per hour. The windiest month of the year in Mitchell is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 20.0 kilometres per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.3 months, from 1 June to 12 September. The calmest month of the year in Mitchell is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 15.5 kilometres per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Mitchell varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 6.2 months, from 5 May to 11 November, with a peak percentage of 46% on 25 August. The wind is most often from the north for 5.8 months, from 11 November to 5 May, with a peak percentage of 33% on 1 January.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Mitchell throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 18°C and 27°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Mitchell for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 24°C and 32°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Mitchell for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 08:00 and 21:00 of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 1 millimetre of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 10°C, rising linearly to 9 for 18°C, to 10 for 24°C, falling linearly to 9 for 27°C, and to 1 for 32°C or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 18°C, rising linearly to 9 for 24°C, to 10 for 28°C, falling linearly to 9 for 32°C, and to 1 for 38°C or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 0°C) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from 1 July until 30 June in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Mitchell typically lasts for 5.3 months (161 days), from around 26 April to around 5 October, rarely starting before 6 April or after 18 May, and rarely ending before 16 September or after 24 October.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 10°C and a cap of 30°C.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Mitchell should appear around 15 April, only rarely appearing before 1 April or after 3 May.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from 4 May to 18 August, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Mitchell is July, with an average of 7.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from 29 October to 11 February, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.8 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Mitchell is December, with an average of 1.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Mitchell are 43.709 deg latitude, -98.030 deg longitude, and 398 m elevation.

The topography within 3 kilometres of Mitchell contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 44 metres and an average elevation above sea level of 399 metres. Within 16 kilometres also contains only modest variations in elevation (77 metres). Within 80 kilometres contains only modest variations in elevation (265 metres).

The area within 3 kilometres of Mitchell is covered by artificial surfaces (36%), cropland (34%), and grassland (30%), within 16 kilometres by cropland (69%) and grassland (29%), and within 80 kilometres by cropland (73%) and grassland (27%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Mitchell, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Mitchell.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Mitchell according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Mitchell is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Mitchell and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

• Mitchell Municipal Airport (KMHE, 97%, 7 km, north, -2 m elevation change)
• Chan Gurney Municipal Airport (KYKN, 1.7%, 107 km, southeast, -41 m elevation change)
• The O'Neill Municipal Airport (KONL, 1.0%, 148 km, south, 221 m elevation change)

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Mitchell and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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