Brookings in Fall

In fall (September, October and November), Brookings sees average daytime highs around 56°F and overnight lows near 37°F, with 6.4 in of precipitation over about 20 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 3rd-wettest season.

Over the season highs ease from about 76°F in early September to 34°F by late November. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time across fall, and the air most often feels dry.

Fall is Brookings's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Brookings's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
56°F
2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
37°F
Precipitation
6.4 in
20 wet days
Avg wind
10 mph
Travel score
4.0
2nd-best season
Months
Sep · Oct · Nov

Temperature in Brookings in Fall

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 76°F in early September to 34°F by late November.

A typical fall day in Brookings reaches about 56°F and drops to 37°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is September, the coolest November.

20°40°60°80°SepOctNov

How fall really feels in Brookings

Once humidity and wind are folded in, fall brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 50 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
50
16 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Brookings weather by month

How the three fall months (September, October and November) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 0.854.99.10.0
Feb28° / 11°0.84.54.510.20.0
Mar40° / 22°1.76.43.811.60.5
Apr55° / 34°3.19.72.413.23.5
May67° / 47°3.711.20.114.55.9
Jun77° / 58°4.512.2015.36.5
Jul81° / 62°3.18.70156.9
Aug79° / 59°3.28.4013.87.2
Sep71° / 50°2.87.5012.37.2
Oct57° / 37°2.27.31.110.84.4
Nov41° / 24°1.453.49.40.5
Dec28° / 13°0.94.95.18.70.0

Cloud cover in Fall

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 40% of the time across fall.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Chance of precipitation in Fall

Any precipitationSnow

Brookings gets around 6.4 in of rain and snow over 20 wet days across fall. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%SepOctNov

Humidity in Fall

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Wind in Fall

Winds average 10 mph across fall.

051015SepOctNov

Sunrise & sunset in Fall

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 06 min in early September to 8 h 54 min by late November. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMSepOctNov

Solar energy in Fall

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across fall, about 3.2 kWh/m².

0246SepOctNov
Planning a trip in fall

Hazard calendar for Brookings

In seasonPeak

In fall, Brookings overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Brookings's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is fall a good time to visit Brookings?

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

4.0
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
1.8
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

fall is a reasonable time to visit Brookings for sightseeing.

What to pack for Brookings in Fall

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

In fall, Brookings sees daytime highs around 56°F and nights near 37°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 20 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Brookings in Fall

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across fall averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Brookings peaks around June 18 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 highHighModerateLowJun 18UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May6High
Jun9Very high
Jul7Very high
Aug6High
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Brookings?

Brookings sits at 44.3°N, 96.8°W, 1,621 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Watertown, 43 mi away.

Topography around Brookings

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Brookings has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 118 ft around an average of 1,627 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 246 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 974 ft.

The land around Brookings is covered by grassland (42%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 2 miles, cropland (63%) and grassland (29%) within 10 miles, and cropland (72%) and grassland (23%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
118 ft
10 miles
246 ft
50 miles
974 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Fall weather nearby: Watertown 43 mi · Sioux Falls 53 mi · Mitchell 74 mi · Willmar 103 mi · Aberdeen 115 mi · Sioux City 127 mi · Mankato 139 mi · Saint Cloud 155 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 Brookings (44.3114°, -96.7984°, elevation 1,621 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.