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Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Minot Air Force Base North Dakota, United States

At Minot Air Force Base, 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 3°F to 83°F and is rarely below -18°F or above 93°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Minot Air Force Base for warm-weather activities is from late June to mid August.

Climate at Minot Air Force Base

freezingcoldcoolwarmcoolcoldfreezingJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNowNow75%75%36%36%clearovercastprecipitation: 2.8 inprecipitation: 2.8 in0.2 in0.2 inmuggy: 13%muggy: 13%0%0%drydrytourism score: 6.8tourism score: 6.80.00.0
Minot Air Force Base weather by month. Click on each chart for more information.

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 21 to September 17, with an average daily high temperature above 70°F. The hottest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is July, with an average high of 82°F and low of 58°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.5 months, from November 23 to March 5, with an average daily high temperature below 32°F. The coldest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is January, with an average low of 4°F and high of 20°F.

Average High and Low Temperature at Minot Air Force Base

Average High and Low Temperature at Minot Air Force BasewarmcoldcoldJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec-20°F-20°F-10°F-10°F0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°F80°F80°F90°F90°F100°F100°FJan 1219°FJan 1219°FJul 2983°FJul 2983°F3°F3°F58°F58°FMay 2170°FMay 2170°FSep 1770°FSep 1770°FNov 2332°FNov 2332°FMar 532°FMar 532°F46°F46°F45°F45°F16°F16°F15°F15°FNowNow
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.
AverageJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
High 20°F25°F38°F55°F68°F77°F82°F81°F71°F55°F36°F23°F
Temp. 11°F15°F27°F42°F55°F64°F69°F68°F57°F43°F28°F14°F
Low 4°F8°F20°F32°F44°F54°F58°F55°F46°F34°F20°F7°F

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

Average Hourly Temperature at Minot Air Force Base

Average Hourly Temperature at Minot Air Force BaseJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 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 AMNowNowfrigidfrigidfrigidfreezingfreezingcoldcoldcoolcomfortablewarmfrigidvery coldvery 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.

Samara, Russia (5,226 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Minot Air Force Base (view comparison).

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At Minot Air Force Base, 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 at Minot Air Force Base begins around June 6 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around October 11.

The clearest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 72% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 7.8 months, ending around June 6.

The cloudiest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 63% of the time.

Cloud Cover Categories at Minot Air Force Base

Cloud Cover Categories at Minot Air Force BaseclearercloudiercloudierJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%Jul 3075%Jul 3075%Feb 2036%Feb 2036%Jun 655%Jun 655%Oct 1155%Oct 1155%NowNowclearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastmostly clear
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.
FractionJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cloudier 62%63%58%51%47%40%28%29%38%47%54%59%
Clearer 38%37%42%49%53%60%72%71%62%53%46%41%

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Minot Air Force Base varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from April 27 to September 6, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Minot Air Force Base is June, with an average of 9.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.7 months, from September 6 to April 27. The month with the fewest wet days at Minot Air Force Base is February, with an average of 1.2 days with at least 0.04 inches 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 at Minot Air Force Base changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 7.7 months, from March 17 to November 7. The month with the most days of rain alone at Minot Air Force Base is June, with an average of 9.7 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 4.3 months, from November 7 to March 17. The month with the most days of snow alone at Minot Air Force Base is December, with an average of 1.7 days.

Daily Chance of Precipitation at Minot Air Force Base

Daily Chance of Precipitation at Minot Air Force BasesnowrainsnowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Jun 2734%Jun 2734%Feb 83%Feb 83%Mar 178%Mar 178%Nov 79%Nov 79%Apr 2718%Apr 2718%Sep 618%Sep 618%NowNowrainsnow
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).
Days ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rain 0.0d0.1d0.8d3.3d7.1d9.7d8.5d6.3d5.0d2.8d0.8d0.0d
Mixed 0.1d0.2d0.6d0.6d0.3d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.5d0.3d0.1d
Snow 1.6d1.0d1.0d0.5d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.4d1.3d1.7d
Any 1.8d1.2d2.4d4.4d7.5d9.7d8.5d6.3d5.1d3.6d2.4d1.8d

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. Minot Air Force Base experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.9 months, from April 2 to October 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Minot Air Force Base is June, with an average rainfall of 2.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from October 30 to April 2. The month with the least rain at Minot Air Force Base is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall at Minot Air Force Base

Average Monthly Rainfall at Minot Air Force BaserainJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 in0 in1 in1 in2 in2 in3 in3 in4 in4 in5 in5 inJun 162.8 inJun 162.8 inDec 270.0 inDec 270.0 inApr 20.5 inApr 20.5 inOct 300.5 inOct 300.5 in
The average rainfall (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 snowfall.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Rainfall 0.0″0.1″0.2″0.9″2.1″2.8″2.1″1.5″1.3″0.9″0.2″0.0″

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.7 months, from October 13 to May 5, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Minot Air Force Base is November, with an average snowfall of 2.9 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.3 months, from May 5 to October 13. The least snow falls around July 25, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

Average Monthly Snowfall at Minot Air Force Base

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.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Snowfall 2.5″1.9″2.6″2.0″0.6″0.0″0.0″0.0″0.1″1.2″2.9″2.8″

The length of the day at Minot Air Force Base varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 19 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 16 hours, 7 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight at Minot Air Force Base

Hours of Daylight and Twilight at Minot Air Force BaseJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hr12 hr, 9 minMar 1912 hr, 9 minMar 1916 hr, 7 minJun 2016 hr, 7 minJun 2012 hr, 12 minSep 2212 hr, 12 minSep 228 hr, 19 minDec 218 hr, 19 minDec 21nightnightdayNowNow
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.
Hours ofJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight 8.8h10.2h12.0h13.7h15.3h16.0h15.6h14.2h12.5h10.8h9.2h8.4h

The earliest sunrise is at 5:43 AM on June 15, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 54 minutes later at 8:37 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 4:50 PM on December 10, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 1 minute later at 9:51 PM on June 25.

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

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time at Minot Air Force Base

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time at Minot Air Force BaseJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMJun 155:43 AMJun 155:43 AM9:51 PMJun 259:51 PMJun 25Dec 104:50 PMDec 104:50 PM8:37 AMDec 318:37 AMDec 31Mar 10DSTMar 10DSTDSTNov 3DSTNov 3daynightnightnightnightSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunsetNowNow
The solar day over the course of the year 2024. 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 transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

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 at Minot Air Force Base

Solar Elevation and Azimuth at Minot Air Force BaseJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 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 AM00010101010202030304040506000010101020202020303040405050601865NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of the year 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 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.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases at Minot Air Force Base

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.

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.

Minot Air Force Base experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from June 14 to August 28, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 3% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Minot Air Force Base is July, with 3.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 28, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

Humidity Comfort Levels at Minot Air Force Base

Humidity Comfort Levels at Minot Air Force BasemuggyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%Feb 280%Feb 280%Jul 1613%Jul 1613%Jun 143%Jun 143%Aug 283%Aug 283%NowNowcomfortablecomfortabledrydrymuggymuggy
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.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Muggy days 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.1d1.3d3.8d1.7d0.3d0.0d0.0d0.0d

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 at Minot Air Force Base experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.9 months, from September 12 to June 7, with average wind speeds of more than 10.7 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.1 months, from June 7 to September 12. The calmest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.4 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed at Minot Air Force Base

Average Wind Speed at Minot Air Force BasewindywindyJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mph18 mph18 mph20 mph20 mphMar 2512.2 mphMar 2512.2 mphJul 219.2 mphJul 219.2 mphSep 1210.7 mphSep 1210.7 mphJun 710.7 mphJun 710.7 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Wind Speed (mph) 11.711.612.011.911.510.59.49.710.811.611.511.5

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Minot Air Force Base varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 2.6 months, from March 3 to May 22, with a peak percentage of 30% on March 8. The wind is most often from the south for 2.1 weeks, from May 22 to June 6 and for 1.7 months, from July 9 to September 1, with a peak percentage of 31% on August 18. The wind is most often from the west for 1.1 months, from June 6 to July 9 and for 6.1 months, from September 1 to March 3, with a peak percentage of 30% on June 21.

Wind Direction at Minot Air Force Base

Wind Direction at Minot Air Force BaseWNSWSWJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NowNowwestsoutheastnorth
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).

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Minot Air Force Base throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Minot Air Force Base for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Tourism Score at Minot Air Force Base

Tourism Score at Minot Air Force Basebest timeJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810106.86.80.00.0NowNowtemperaturetemperature cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationtourism score
The tourism score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Minot Air Force Base for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Beach/Pool Score at Minot Air Force Base

Beach/Pool Score at Minot Air Force BaseJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810104.14.10.00.0NowNow cloudscloudsprecipitationprecipitationbeach/pool score
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM 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 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F 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 (≥ 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 at Minot Air Force Base typically lasts for 4.4 months (136 days), from around May 11 to around September 24, rarely starting before April 22 or after May 28, and rarely ending before September 7 or after October 11.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season at Minot Air Force Base

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season at Minot Air Force Basegrowing seasonJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%May 1150%May 1150%Sep 2450%Sep 2450%May 2890%May 2890%Sep 790%Sep 790%Apr 2210%Apr 2210%Oct 1110%Oct 1110%0%Nov 280%Nov 28Jul 12100%Jul 12100%NowNowfrigidfreezingcoolcomfortablewarmcoldhotvery 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 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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Minot Air Force Base should appear around April 29, only rarely appearing before April 19 or after May 16.

Growing Degree Days at Minot Air Force Base

Growing Degree Days at Minot Air Force BaseJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0°F0°F500°F500°F1,000°F1,000°F1,500°F1,500°F2,000°F2,000°F2,500°F2,500°FApr 2990°FApr 2990°FJul 7900°FJul 7900°FAug 251,800°FAug 251,800°FDec 312,257°FDec 312,257°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, 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 experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from April 30 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is July, with an average of 7.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from October 27 to February 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Minot Air Force Base is December, with an average of 1.2 kWh.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy at Minot Air Force Base

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy at Minot Air Force BasebrightdarkdarkJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWh9 kWh9 kWhJul 107.1 kWhJul 107.1 kWhDec 231.2 kWhDec 231.2 kWhApr 306.0 kWhApr 306.0 kWhAug 186.0 kWhAug 186.0 kWhOct 272.4 kWhOct 272.4 kWhFeb 132.4 kWhFeb 132.4 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Solar Energy (kWh) 1.52.53.95.46.46.97.06.04.52.91.71.2

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Minot Air Force Base are 48.416 deg latitude, -101.358 deg longitude, and 1,650 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Minot Air Force Base is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 82 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,647 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (299 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,093 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Minot Air Force Base is covered by cropland (71%) and grassland (17%), within 10 miles by cropland (86%) and grassland (12%), and within 50 miles by cropland (71%) and grassland (26%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Minot Air Force Base, 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

Minot Air Force Base has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required.

In the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on records from nearby stations, adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal intra-station differences. For a given day of the year and hour of the day, the fallback station is selected to minimize the prediction error over the years for which there are measurements for both stations.

The stations on which we may fall back include but are not limited to Minot International Airport; Garrison; Melita, Man; Roseglen; Mercer County Regional Airport; Rugby Municipal Airport; Estevan Regional Aerodrome; and Crosby Municipal Airport.

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.