Average Weather at Grand Forks Air Force Base North Dakota, United States

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3. North Dakota
4. Grand Forks County
5. Grand Forks Air Force Base

At Grand Forks Air Force Base, the summers are long and warm; the winters are frigid, snowy, and windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 1°F to 82°F and is rarely below -19°F or above 90°F.

The warm season lasts for 4.1 months, from May 16 to September 19, with an average daily high temperature above 69°F. The hottest day of the year is July 25, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.4 months, from November 26 to March 6, with an average daily high temperature below 30°F. The coldest day of the year is January 15, with an average low of 1°F and high of 17°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.

At Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks Air Force Base begins around June 7 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around October 8. On July 31, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 74% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 26% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 8 and lasts for 8.0 months, ending around June 7. On February 4, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 62% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 38% of the time.

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

The wetter season lasts 4.4 months, from May 3 to September 15, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 38% on July 5.

The drier season lasts 7.6 months, from September 15 to May 3. The smallest chance of a wet day is 5% on January 24.

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 Grand Forks Air Force Base changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.1 months, from March 13 to November 16. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 38% on July 5.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.8 months, from November 16 to March 13. The highest chance of a day with snow alone is 6% on January 2.

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. Grand Forks Air Force Base experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from March 24 to November 12, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around June 19, with an average total accumulation of 3.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from November 12 to March 24. The least rain falls around January 8, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

We report snowfall in liquid-equivalent terms. The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount, assuming the ground is frozen. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 5.9 months, from October 26 to April 23, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least 0.1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around December 31, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from April 23 to October 26. The least snow falls around July 26, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Grand Forks Air Force Base varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 23 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 16 hours, 2 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:29 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 50 minutes later at 8:19 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:36 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 57 minutes later at 9:33 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Grand Forks Air Force Base during 2017, starting in the spring on March 12, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 5.

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.

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

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from June 10 to September 10, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 5% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is July 18, with muggy conditions 21% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is December 7, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Grand Forks Air Force Base experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.6 months, from September 14 to June 1, with average wind speeds of more than 5.8 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is March 21, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.4 months, from June 1 to September 14. The calmest day of the year is July 27, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 1.4 months, from May 24 to July 6; for 1.9 months, from July 18 to September 16; and for 5.0 days, from November 3 to November 8, with a peak percentage of 35% on August 19. The wind is most often from the north for 1.7 weeks, from July 6 to July 18; for 1.0 months, from September 16 to October 16; and for 6.3 months, from November 16 to May 24, with a peak percentage of 32% on October 6. The wind is most often from the west for 2.6 weeks, from October 16 to November 3 and for 1.1 weeks, from November 8 to November 16, with a peak percentage of 32% on October 23.

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 May 2 to August 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest day of the year is July 8, 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 day of the year is December 19, with an average of 1.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Grand Forks Air Force Base are 47.950 deg latitude, -97.394 deg longitude, and 892 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Grand Forks Air Force Base is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 66 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 894 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (338 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (860 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Grand Forks Air Force Base is covered by cropland (71%) and artificial surfaces (20%), within 10 miles by cropland (98%), and within 50 miles by cropland (97%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Grand Forks 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

Grand Forks 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 Grand Forks International Airport, Hutson Field, Crookston Municipal Airport-Kirkwood Field, Cavalier Municipal Airport, Hallock Municipal Airport, Walhalla Municipal Airport, Hector International Airport, and Thief River Falls Regional 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 Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , 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 aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.