Climate and average weather in Bozeman

In Bozeman, the summers are warm, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late June to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Bozeman typically varies from 10°F to 78°F, and is rarely below -7°F or above 88°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Bozeman for warm-weather activities is from late June to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
78°
Coldest
Dec
10°
Wettest
Jun
4.2 in
Driest
Jan
1.2 in
Rain / yr
26.8 in
126 wet days
Daylight
8.5–15.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
4,816 ft
45.7°N
Clearest
Jul
39% cloud

Bozeman is city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States.

Density
875/km²
people per km²
Founded
1864

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Bozeman weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late June to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Bozeman, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.0 months, from June 16 to September 14, with daily high temperatures above 66°F. The hottest month of the year in Bozeman is July, with an average high of 78°F and low of 48°F.

The cool season lasts 3.7 months, from November 15 to March 7, with daily high temperatures below 37°F. The coldest month of the year in Bozeman is December, with an average low of 10°F and high of 28°F.

Days typically run about 22°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 30°F) in August.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan2812
Feb3113
Mar3919
Apr4726
May5835
Jun6742
Jul7848
Aug7747
Sep6640
Oct5129
Nov3717
Dec2810

How hot and cold Bozeman really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 1°F (around December 18), with roughly 232 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 130 of them bitterly cold — worst in December.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan2828412
Feb3131613
Mar39391319
Apr47472026
May58583135
Jun67674042
Jul78784748
Aug77774647
Sep66663740
Oct51512429
Nov37371017
Dec2728210

Average hourly temperature in Bozeman

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 78°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 10°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Bozeman weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan28° / 12°1.28.798.90.0
Feb31° / 13°1.38.69.310.10.0
Mar39° / 19°1.911.39.511.60.1
Apr47° / 26°3.214.19.513.31.4
May58° / 35°4.016.33.214.73.6
Jun67° / 42°4.214.40.715.45.6
Jul78° / 48°2.08.6015.17.3
Aug77° / 47°1.67.2013.97.6
Sep66° / 40°2.18.30.912.36.4
Oct51° / 29°2.310.64.810.72.6
Nov37° / 17°1.79.58.49.30.0
Dec28° / 10°1.38.798.60.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Bozeman gets about 26.8 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.8 months, from around Mar 14 to Jul 6, peaking in May at about 56% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 30.

June is the wettest month by volume, with 4.2 in over about 14 wet days; January is the driest, with 1.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 25 · 56%Jul 30 · 21%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb309
Mar3711
Apr4714
May5316
Jun4814
Jul289
Aug237
Sep288
Oct3311
Nov3210
Dec289

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Bozeman collects about 26.8 in of rain across 126 wet days — roughly 2.2 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 4.2 in, while January is the driest at just 1.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 43% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

012345JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.21.31.93.24.04.22.01.62.12.31.71.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.299
Feb1.399
Mar1.91110
Apr3.21410
May4.0163
Jun4.2141
Jul2.090
Aug1.670
Sep2.181
Oct2.3115
Nov1.7108
Dec1.399

Snow in Bozeman

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Bozeman averages about 64 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 8 to Jun 18 — about 9.3 months.

March is snowiest, with roughly 9 days of snow and an estimated 14 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 104 in of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonMar 29
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan913
Feb914
Mar1014
Apr1019
May36
Jun12
Jul00
Aug00
Sep12
Oct59
Nov813
Dec913

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Bozeman, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 17 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around November 5. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 77% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 6 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around June 16. The cloudiest month is April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 22 · 80%Apr 7 · 32%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4456
Feb4357
Mar3862
Apr3466
May3961
Jun5149
Jul7723
Aug7525
Sep6436
Oct5644
Nov5050
Dec4456

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 13, brings about 15 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 7 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.98:084:59
Feb10.17:375:41
Mar11.66:466:22
Apr13.35:467:03
May14.74:597:42
Jun15.44:408:09
Jul15.14:548:05
Aug13.95:307:27
Sep12.36:096:28
Oct10.76:495:30
Nov9.37:324:46
Dec8.68:054:36

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Bozeman averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 18 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.3 months, from around Jun 20 to Oct 28. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 17 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is April, down near 6 sunny days — about 66% fewer than the July peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightJul 2218 daysApr 85 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan8Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar7Gloomy
Apr6Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun9Mixed
Jul17Bright
Aug17Bright
Sep14Mixed
Oct11Mixed
Nov9Mixed
Dec8Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Bozeman, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in June, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun991
Jul973
Aug991
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Bozeman is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeApr 25 · 5 mphJul 21 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar4calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec4calm

Hazard calendar for Bozeman

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Bozeman's rainy season runs March–July, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Bozeman

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bozeman throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early July, Bozeman is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Bozeman for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 23 · 7.7

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.1poor
Apr1.4poor
May3.6fair
Jun5.6good
Jul7.3good
Aug7.6ideal
Sep6.3good
Oct2.7poor
Nov0.1poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Bozeman for hot-weather activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 29 · 7.3

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).

What to pack for Bozeman, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 78°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 28°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Bozeman sees daytime highs around 78°F and nights near 48°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Bozeman by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bozeman peaks around July 12 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateVery highHighModerateLowJul 12UV 9Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Bozeman

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar4.50
Apr50
May7.53.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.53.5
Sep5.50
Oct3.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Bozeman by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Bozeman is worst in August — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.2× the cleanest month (January, 6 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1618 µg/m³Jan 126 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb7Good
Mar9Good
Apr10Good
May10Good
Jun9Good
Jul15Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct7Good
Nov8Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Bozeman typically lasts about 153 days, from around May 9 to October 8 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 28 to September 14.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1810%May 950%May 2890%Sep 1490%Oct 850%Nov 1610%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan431
Feb628
Mar1031
Apr2130
May6728
Jun970
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep8716
Oct3831
Nov1130
Dec331

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Bozeman banks about 1,032 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May3
Jun146
Jul404
Aug380
Sep99
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Bozeman receives about 4.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.6 and 7.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 19. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.7 kWh/m² — roughly 78% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 97.7 kWhDec 211.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb3.1Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.9Bright
May6.6Intense
Jun7.2Intense
Jul7.6Intense
Aug6.6Intense
Sep4.9Bright
Oct3.3Moderate
Nov2.2Moderate
Dec1.7Dim

Where is Bozeman?

Bozeman sits at 45.7°N, 111.0°W, 4,816 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Butte, 75 mi away.

Topography around Bozeman

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Bozeman has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 627 ft around an average of 4,843 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,731 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,293 ft.

The land around Bozeman is covered by artificial surfaces (36%), grassland (32%) and trees (23%) within 2 miles, grassland (44%) and trees (34%) within 10 miles, and grassland (54%) and trees (36%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
627 ft
10 miles
4,731 ft
50 miles
7,293 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainmoss and lichen
Nearby: Butte 75 mi · Helena 79 mi · Billings 122 mi · Great Falls 126 mi · Rexburg 133 mi · Idaho Falls 160 mi · Missoula 163 mi · Conda 206 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 Bozeman (45.6797°, -111.0386°, elevation 4,816 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).