Billings in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Billings sees average daytime highs around 36°F and overnight lows near 19°F, with 2.4 in of precipitation over about 17 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 36°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Billings's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Billings's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
36°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
19°F
Precipitation
2.4 in
17 wet days
Avg wind
8 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Billings in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 36°F.

A typical winter day in Billings reaches about 36°F and drops to 19°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Billings

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
90 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Billings weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan35° / 18°0.95.75.88.90.0
Feb39° / 20°0.865.410.10.0
Mar49° / 27°1.27.14.311.62.1
Apr58° / 35°2.310.83.813.34.0
May67° / 45°2.610.70.614.76.0
Jun77° / 53°2.19015.56.9
Jul87° / 60°0.94.9015.25.5
Aug86° / 58°0.73.9013.96.1
Sep74° / 49°1.45.50.212.37.6
Oct59° / 38°1.87.22.210.75.0
Nov45° / 27°0.95.93.59.31.2
Dec36° / 20°0.85.45.28.50.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Billings gets around 2.4 in of rain and snow over 17 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 8 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 42 min in early December to 10 h 42 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.2 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Billings?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Billings.

What to pack for Billings in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Billings sees daytime highs around 36°F and nights near 19°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Billings in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Billings peaks around July 13 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 13UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Billings in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Billings is worst in August — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodGoodModerateGoodAug 1817 µg/m³Dec 157 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr11Good
May11Good
Jun12Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Billings?

Billings sits at 45.8°N, 108.5°W, 3,123 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Sheridan, 101 mi away.

Topography around Billings

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Billings.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Billings has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 551 ft around an average of 3,196 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,096 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,050 ft.

The land around Billings is covered by artificial surfaces (38%), trees (28%) and grassland (25%) within 2 miles, grassland (69%) within 10 miles, and grassland (81%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
551 ft
10 miles
1,096 ft
50 miles
6,050 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Sheridan 101 mi · Bozeman 122 mi · Great Falls 178 mi · Helena 178 mi · Gillette 179 mi · Butte 194 mi · Rexburg 211 mi · Casper 229 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Billings (45.7833°, -108.5007°, elevation 3,123 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.