1. WeatherSpark.com
  2. United States
  3. North Dakota
  4. Bottineau

December Weather in Bottineau North Dakota, United States

Daily high temperatures decrease by 9°F, from 24°F to 15°F, rarely falling below -6°F or exceeding 40°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 9°F, from 10°F to 0°F, rarely falling below -21°F or exceeding 25°F.

For reference, on July 23, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Bottineau typically range from 57°F to 79°F, while on January 12, the coldest day of the year, they range from -0°F to 15°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in December in Bottineau

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on December. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in December in Bottineau

Average Hourly Temperature in December in BottineauDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanfrigidfreezingvery cold
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Ufa, Russia (5,157 miles away) and Nagornyy, Russia (5,417 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Bottineau (view comparison).

Map
Marker
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Compare Bottineau to another city:

Map

The month of December in Bottineau experiences gradually increasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy increasing from 59% to 63%.

The clearest day of the month is December 3, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 41% of the time.

For reference, on February 20, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 65%, while on July 30, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 73%.

Cloud Cover Categories in December in Bottineau

Cloud Cover Categories in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJanDec 141%Dec 141%Dec 3137%Dec 3137%Dec 1140%Dec 1140%Dec 2138%Dec 2138%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Bottineau, the chance of a wet day over the course of December is essentially constant, remaining around 6% throughout.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 37% on June 13, and its lowest chance is 4% on February 9.

Probability of Precipitation in December in Bottineau

Probability of Precipitation in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%1%1%2%2%3%3%4%4%5%5%6%6%7%7%8%8%9%9%10%10%11%11%12%12%NovJanDec 16%Dec 16%Dec 316%Dec 316%Dec 115%Dec 115%Dec 216%Dec 216%snowrainmixed
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day snowfall during December in Bottineau is essentially constant, remaining about 2.6 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 6.6 inches or falling below 0.1 inches.

Average Monthly Snowfall in December in Bottineau

The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Over the course of December in Bottineau, the length of the day is essentially constant. The shortest day of the month is December 21, with 8 hours, 15 minutes of daylight and the longest day is December 1, with 8 hours, 33 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December in Bottineau

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrNovJanDec 218 hr, 15 minDec 218 hr, 15 minnightnightdaydayDec 18 hr, 33 minDec 18 hr, 33 min
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the month in Bottineau is 8:14 AM on December 1 and the latest sunrise is 21 minutes later at 8:35 AM on December 31.

The earliest sunset is 4:45 PM on December 10 and the latest sunset is 10 minutes later at 4:55 PM on December 31.

Daylight saving time is observed in Bottineau during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during December, so the entire month is in daylight saving time.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:38 AM and sets 16 hours, 11 minutes later, at 9:48 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 8:32 AM and sets 8 hours, 15 minutes later, at 4:47 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December in Bottineau

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNovJan8:14 AM8:14 AMDec 14:47 PMDec 14:47 PM8:35 AM8:35 AMDec 314:55 PMDec 314:55 PM8:25 AM8:25 AMDec 114:45 PMDec 114:45 PM8:32 AM8:32 AMDec 214:47 PMDec 214:47 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day over the course of December. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December in Bottineau

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December in BottineauDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJan0010102000101020
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of December 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for December 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. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December in Bottineau

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December in BottineauDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanNov 17:48 AMNov 17:48 AMNov 153:29 PMNov 153:29 PMDec 112:22 AMDec 112:22 AMDec 153:02 AMDec 153:02 AMDec 304:28 PMDec 304:28 PMJan 134:28 PMJan 134:28 PMJan 296:37 AMJan 296:37 AM8:48 AM8:48 AM6:05 PM6:05 PM4:30 PM4:30 PM9:17 AM9:17 AM7:59 AM7:59 AM3:58 PM3:58 PM3:40 PM3:40 PM9:24 AM9:24 AM9:01 AM9:01 AM4:15 PM4:15 PM4:40 PM4:40 PM9:30 AM9:30 AM8:48 AM8:48 AM5:49 PM5:49 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Dec 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
0%9:10 AMSE4:35 PMSW-12:52 PMS245,226 mi
2
3%10:14 AMSE5:24 PMSW-1:49 PMS243,137 mi
3
7%11:07 AMSE6:28 PMSW-2:48 PMS241,001 mi
4
14%11:48 AMSE7:42 PMSW-3:45 PMS238,854 mi
5
22%12:19 PMSE9:02 PMWSW-4:40 PMS236,714 mi
6
32%12:42 PMESE10:23 PMWSW-5:32 PMS234,600 mi
7
43%1:00 PMESE11:44 PMWSW-6:21 PMS232,550 mi
8
50%1:16 PME--7:08 PMS230,639 mi
9
66%-1:04 AMW1:32 PME7:55 PMS228,985 mi
10
77%-2:26 AMW1:47 PMENE8:43 PMS227,743 mi
11
86%-3:50 AMWNW2:05 PMENE9:34 PMS227,088 mi
12
94%-5:17 AMWNW2:28 PMENE10:29 PMS227,177 mi
13
98%-6:45 AMNW2:58 PMNE11:28 PMS228,118 mi
14
99%-8:10 AMNW3:40 PMNE--
15
100%-9:24 AMNW4:37 PMNE12:30 AMS229,924 mi
16
99%-10:22 AMNW5:47 PMNE1:31 AMS232,495 mi
17
95%-11:03 AMNW7:05 PMNE2:31 AMS235,627 mi
18
89%-11:31 AMNW8:23 PMENE3:25 AMS239,046 mi
19
82%-11:53 AMWNW9:38 PMENE4:14 AMS242,453 mi
20
73%-12:09 PMWNW10:50 PMENE4:59 AMS245,568 mi
21
64%-12:22 PMW11:58 PME5:40 AMS248,153 mi
22
50%-12:35 PMW-6:19 AMS250,033 mi
23
44%1:05 AME12:47 PMW-6:58 AMS251,097 mi
24
35%2:12 AMESE1:00 PMWSW-7:37 AMS251,309 mi
25
26%3:20 AMESE1:15 PMWSW-8:18 AMS250,698 mi
26
18%4:30 AMESE1:33 PMWSW-9:02 AMS249,355 mi
27
11%5:43 AMSE1:57 PMSW-9:50 AMS247,424 mi
28
5%6:55 AMSE2:30 PMSW-10:42 AMS245,084 mi
29
2%8:02 AMSE3:16 PMSW-11:39 AMS242,538 mi
30
0%9:01 AMSE4:15 PMSW-12:38 PMS239,983 mi
31
1%9:46 AMSE5:28 PMSW-1:37 PMS237,593 mi

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.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Bottineau is essentially constant during December, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on July 16, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 15% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in December in Bottineau

Humidity Comfort Levels in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%NovJanDec 10%Dec 10%Dec 310%Dec 310%Dec 110%Dec 110%Dec 210%Dec 210%drydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters 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 Bottineau is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.1 miles per hour of 10.2 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on March 30, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 11.5 miles per hour, while on July 21, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 8.1 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in December in Bottineau

Average Wind Speed in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphNovJanDec 110.1 mphDec 110.1 mphDec 3110.3 mphDec 3110.3 mphDec 1610.1 mphDec 1610.1 mph
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Bottineau throughout December is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 40% on December 28.

Wind Direction in December in Bottineau

Wind Direction in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NovJanwestsouthnortheast
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

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 (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Bottineau typically lasts for 4.3 months (134 days), from around May 12 to around September 23, rarely starting before April 24 or after May 29, and rarely ending before September 7 or after October 8.

The month of December in Bottineau is reliably fully outside of the growing season.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December in Bottineau

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJan-0%Dec 16-0%Dec 160%Nov 260%Nov 26frigidfreezingvery coldcold
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

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 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Bottineau are essentially constant during December, remaining around 1,919°F throughout.

Growing Degree Days in December in Bottineau

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of December, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 in Bottineau is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.1 kWh of 1.2 kWh throughout.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during December is 1.1 kWh on December 18.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December in Bottineau

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December in BottineauDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 kWh0.0 kWh0.5 kWh0.5 kWh1.0 kWh1.0 kWh1.5 kWh1.5 kWh2.0 kWh2.0 kWh2.5 kWh2.5 kWhNovJanDec 181.1 kWhDec 181.1 kWhDec 11.3 kWhDec 11.3 kWhDec 311.2 kWhDec 311.2 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Bottineau are 48.827 deg latitude, -100.446 deg longitude, and 1,634 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Bottineau contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 220 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,634 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,024 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,138 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Bottineau is covered by cropland (84%), within 10 miles by cropland (69%) and grassland (15%), and within 50 miles by cropland (69%) and grassland (21%).

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

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 4 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Bottineau.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Bottineau 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 Bottineau is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Bottineau and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

  • Rugby Municipal Airport (KRUG, 30%, 36 mi, southeast, -85 ft elevation change)
  • Rugby Municipal Airport (K06D, 27%, 38 mi, east, 187 ft elevation change)
  • Melita, Man (CWEI, 25%, 40 mi, northwest, -171 ft elevation change)
  • Minot Air Force Base (KMIB, 18%, 50 mi, southwest, 33 ft elevation change)

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Bottineau 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.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.