Rapid City weather in July

In July, Rapid City sees average daytime highs of 82°F and overnight lows near 58°F, with 3.1 in of rain across 13.4 wet days and about 15 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 82°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 47% of the time in July, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 15 h 18 min at the start of July to 14 h 30 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, July is Rapid City's 3rd-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rapid City's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 82°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 58°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 3.1 in; 13.4 wet days
Daylight: 15 hours; 4:29 AM – 7:28 PM
Cloud cover: 45%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 7 mph; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 6.88 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.9; out of 10

Rapid City is seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.

Density: 521/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1876

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

← June Rapid City year-round climate August →Best places to visit in July

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

Temperature in July

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 82°F through the month.

A typical July day in Rapid City reaches about 82°F in the afternoon and slips back to 58°F overnight — a 24°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 72°F and 92°F. Set against its neighbours, July runs about 8°F warmer than June and on par with August.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	80	80	80	80	81	81	81	82	82	82	82	82	82	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	83	82	82	82	82	82
Avg low (°F)	56	57	57	57	57	58	58	58	58	58	58	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	59	58	58

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	80	56
2	80	57
3	80	57
4	80	57
5	81	57
6	81	58
7	81	58
8	82	58
9	82	58
10	82	58
11	82	58
12	82	59
13	82	59
14	83	59
15	83	59
16	83	59
17	83	59
18	83	59
19	83	59
20	83	59
21	83	59
22	83	59
23	83	59
24	83	59
25	83	59
26	83	59
27	82	59
28	82	59
29	82	59
30	82	58
31	82	58

How July really feels in Rapid City

Once humidity and wind are folded in, July averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

July sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Rapid City weather by month

How July compares with the rest of the year at a glance. July is the 1st-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	36° / 17°	0.5	3.9	3.9	9.1	0.0
Feb	38° / 18°	0.7	5	5.1	10.2	0.0
Mar	46° / 25°	1.6	7.6	5.4	11.6	1.4
Apr	54° / 32°	3.2	11.8	5.5	13.2	3.1
May	64° / 42°	4.4	14.1	1.2	14.5	5.0
Jun	74° / 52°	3.8	14.5	0.1	15.2	6.1
Jul	82° / 58°	3.1	13.4	0	15	5.9
Aug	81° / 56°	2.4	10.9	0	13.8	6.7
Sep	72° / 47°	1.6	6.7	0.4	12.3	7.4
Oct	58° / 36°	2.0	7.3	2.7	10.8	4.7
Nov	46° / 25°	0.8	4.4	3.8	9.4	1.3
Dec	37° / 18°	0.6	3.6	3.9	8.8	0.0

Cloud cover in July

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 47% of the time in July.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 25% of July, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 27%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	70	70	71	71	71	71	72	72	72	74	74	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	74	73	73	72	72	72	70	70	70	70	70
Cloudier (%)	30	30	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	26	26	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	26	27	27	28	28	28	30	30	30	30	30

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	71	29
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	71	29
7	72	28
8	72	28
9	72	28
10	74	26
11	74	26
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	75	25
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	74	26
22	73	27
23	73	27
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	70	30
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

Chance of precipitation in July

Any precipitation

Rapid City gets around 3.1 in of rain over 13.4 wet days in July. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 43% and peaks near 45% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	44	44	45	45	45	45	45	44	44	44	43	43	42	42	42	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	43	43	43	43	44	44	44

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	44
9	44
10	44
11	43
12	43
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	44

Humidity in July

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, July lands in the dry band about 55% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	62	62	60	60	59	59	58	58	58	57	57	57	55	55	55	55	54	54	53	53	53	53	52	52	51	51	51	50	51	51	50
Comfortable (%)	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	30	30	30	30	31	31	32	32	33	33	34	34	35	35	35	36	36	36	37
Humid (%)	10	10	11	11	12	12	13	13	13	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	62	28	10
2	62	28	10
3	60	29	11
4	60	29	11
5	59	29	12
6	59	29	12
7	58	29	13
8	58	29	13
9	58	29	13
10	57	29	14
11	57	29	14
12	57	29	14
13	55	30	15
14	55	30	15
15	55	30	15
16	55	30	15
17	54	31	15
18	54	31	15
19	53	32	15
20	53	32	15
21	53	33	14
22	53	33	14
23	52	34	14
24	52	34	14
25	51	35	14
26	51	35	14
27	51	35	14
28	50	36	14
29	51	36	13
30	51	36	13
31	50	37	13

Wind in July

Winds average 7 mph in July, the calmest month.

Across July, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	7	calm
2	7	calm
3	7	calm
4	7	calm
5	7	calm
6	7	calm
7	7	calm
8	7	calm
9	7	calm
10	7	calm
11	7	calm
12	7	calm
13	7	calm
14	7	calm
15	7	calm
16	7	calm
17	7	calm
18	7	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in July

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 15 h 18 min at the start of July to 14 h 30 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 48 minutes over July. Sunrise moves from 4:18 AM to 4:43 AM, and sunset from 7:34 PM to 7:15 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	15.3	15.3	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.2	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.1	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.5
Sunrise (AM)	4:18	4:19	4:19	4:20	4:20	4:21	4:22	4:22	4:23	4:24	4:25	4:25	4:26	4:27	4:28	4:29	4:29	4:30	4:31	4:32	4:33	4:34	4:35	4:36	4:37	4:38	4:39	4:40	4:41	4:42	4:43
Sunset (PM)	7:34	7:34	7:34	7:34	7:34	7:33	7:33	7:33	7:32	7:32	7:31	7:31	7:30	7:30	7:29	7:28	7:28	7:27	7:26	7:26	7:25	7:24	7:23	7:22	7:21	7:20	7:19	7:18	7:17	7:16	7:15

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	15.3	4:18	7:34
2	15.3	4:19	7:34
3	15.2	4:19	7:34
4	15.2	4:20	7:34
5	15.2	4:20	7:34
6	15.2	4:21	7:33
7	15.2	4:22	7:33
8	15.2	4:22	7:33
9	15.2	4:23	7:32
10	15.1	4:24	7:32
11	15.1	4:25	7:31
12	15.1	4:25	7:31
13	15.1	4:26	7:30
14	15.0	4:27	7:30
15	15.0	4:28	7:29
16	15.0	4:29	7:28
17	15.0	4:29	7:28
18	14.9	4:30	7:27
19	14.9	4:31	7:26
20	14.9	4:32	7:26
21	14.9	4:33	7:25
22	14.8	4:34	7:24
23	14.8	4:35	7:23
24	14.8	4:36	7:22
25	14.7	4:37	7:21
26	14.7	4:38	7:20
27	14.7	4:39	7:19
28	14.6	4:40	7:18
29	14.6	4:41	7:17
30	14.6	4:42	7:16
31	14.5	4:43	7:15

Solar energy in July

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in July, about 6.88 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.91 kWh/m² to a high of 6.88 kWh/m² in July across the year — July's 6.88 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.9	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.5	6.5
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	7.1	Intense
2	7.1	Intense
3	7.1	Intense
4	7.0	Intense
5	7.0	Intense
6	7.0	Intense
7	7.0	Intense
8	7.0	Intense
9	7.0	Intense
10	7.0	Intense
11	7.0	Intense
12	7.0	Intense
13	7.0	Intense
14	7.0	Intense
15	7.0	Intense
16	6.9	Intense
17	6.9	Intense
18	6.9	Intense
19	6.9	Intense
20	6.8	Intense
21	6.8	Intense
22	6.8	Intense
23	6.8	Intense
24	6.7	Intense
25	6.7	Intense
26	6.7	Intense
27	6.6	Intense
28	6.6	Intense
29	6.6	Intense
30	6.5	Intense
31	6.5	Intense

Planning a trip in July

Hazard calendar for Rapid City

In seasonPeak

In July, Rapid City sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Rapid City's rainy season runs April–August, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is July a good time to visit Rapid City?

Our two travel scores rate July for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.9

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

6.5

Beach & pool

2nd-best month of the year

July is a reasonable time to visit Rapid City for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Rapid City in July

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

In July, Rapid City sees daytime highs around 82°F and nights near 58°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in Rapid City in July

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in July peaks around 8 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Rapid City peaks around June 20 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 1 (low).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	2	3	4	5	7	9	8	6	6	4	2	1
Level	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Very high	Very high	High	High	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	2	Low
Feb	3	Moderate
Mar	4	Moderate
Apr	5	High
May	7	High
Jun	9	Very high
Jul	8	Very high
Aug	6	High
Sep	6	High
Oct	4	Moderate
Nov	2	Low
Dec	1	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Rapid City?

Rapid City sits at 44.1°N, 103.2°W, 3,241 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Gillette, 114 mi away.

Topography around Rapid City

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Rapid City has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 719 ft around an average of 3,340 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,008 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,108 ft.

The land around Rapid City is covered by artificial surfaces (49%) and grassland (33%) within 2 miles, grassland (64%) and trees (24%) within 10 miles, and grassland (69%) and trees (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

719 ft

artificial surfaces 49%

10 miles

2,008 ft

grassland 64%

50 miles

5,108 ft

grassland 69%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← June Rapid City year-round climate August →Best places to visit in July

July weather nearby: Gillette 114 mi · Casper 176 mi · Sheridan 190 mi · Dickinson 194 mi · Cheyenne 219 mi · Mandan 221 mi · Bismarck 222 mi · Laramie 226 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

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 Rapid City (44.0805°, -103.231°, elevation 3,241 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	80	56
2	80	57
3	80	57
4	80	57
5	81	57
6	81	58
7	81	58
8	82	58
9	82	58
10	82	58
11	82	58
12	82	59
13	82	59
14	83	59
15	83	59
16	83	59
17	83	59
18	83	59
19	83	59
20	83	59
21	83	59
22	83	59
23	83	59
24	83	59
25	83	59
26	83	59
27	82	59
28	82	59
29	82	59
30	82	58
31	82	58

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	71	29
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	71	29
7	72	28
8	72	28
9	72	28
10	74	26
11	74	26
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	75	25
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	74	26
22	73	27
23	73	27
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	70	30
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	44
9	44
10	44
11	43
12	43
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	44

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	62	28	10
2	62	28	10
3	60	29	11
4	60	29	11
5	59	29	12
6	59	29	12
7	58	29	13
8	58	29	13
9	58	29	13
10	57	29	14
11	57	29	14
12	57	29	14
13	55	30	15
14	55	30	15
15	55	30	15
16	55	30	15
17	54	31	15
18	54	31	15
19	53	32	15
20	53	32	15
21	53	33	14
22	53	33	14
23	52	34	14
24	52	34	14
25	51	35	14
26	51	35	14
27	51	35	14
28	50	36	14
29	51	36	13
30	51	36	13
31	50	37	13

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	80	56
2	80	57
3	80	57
4	80	57
5	81	57
6	81	58
7	81	58
8	82	58
9	82	58
10	82	58
11	82	58
12	82	59
13	82	59
14	83	59
15	83	59
16	83	59
17	83	59
18	83	59
19	83	59
20	83	59
21	83	59
22	83	59
23	83	59
24	83	59
25	83	59
26	83	59
27	82	59
28	82	59
29	82	59
30	82	58
31	82	58

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	71	29
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	71	29
7	72	28
8	72	28
9	72	28
10	74	26
11	74	26
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	75	25
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	74	26
22	73	27
23	73	27
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	70	30
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	44
9	44
10	44
11	43
12	43
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	44

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	62	28	10
2	62	28	10
3	60	29	11
4	60	29	11
5	59	29	12
6	59	29	12
7	58	29	13
8	58	29	13
9	58	29	13
10	57	29	14
11	57	29	14
12	57	29	14
13	55	30	15
14	55	30	15
15	55	30	15
16	55	30	15
17	54	31	15
18	54	31	15
19	53	32	15
20	53	32	15
21	53	33	14
22	53	33	14
23	52	34	14
24	52	34	14
25	51	35	14
26	51	35	14
27	51	35	14
28	50	36	14
29	51	36	13
30	51	36	13
31	50	37	13

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	80	56
2	80	57
3	80	57
4	80	57
5	81	57
6	81	58
7	81	58
8	82	58
9	82	58
10	82	58
11	82	58
12	82	59
13	82	59
14	83	59
15	83	59
16	83	59
17	83	59
18	83	59
19	83	59
20	83	59
21	83	59
22	83	59
23	83	59
24	83	59
25	83	59
26	83	59
27	82	59
28	82	59
29	82	59
30	82	58
31	82	58

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	70	30
2	70	30
3	71	29
4	71	29
5	71	29
6	71	29
7	72	28
8	72	28
9	72	28
10	74	26
11	74	26
12	75	25
13	75	25
14	75	25
15	75	25
16	75	25
17	75	25
18	75	25
19	75	25
20	75	25
21	74	26
22	73	27
23	73	27
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	70	30
28	70	30
29	70	30
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	44
9	44
10	44
11	43
12	43
13	42
14	42
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	41
19	41
20	41
21	42
22	42
23	42
24	42
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	43
29	44
30	44
31	44

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	62	28	10
2	62	28	10
3	60	29	11
4	60	29	11
5	59	29	12
6	59	29	12
7	58	29	13
8	58	29	13
9	58	29	13
10	57	29	14
11	57	29	14
12	57	29	14
13	55	30	15
14	55	30	15
15	55	30	15
16	55	30	15
17	54	31	15
18	54	31	15
19	53	32	15
20	53	32	15
21	53	33	14
22	53	33	14
23	52	34	14
24	52	34	14
25	51	35	14
26	51	35	14
27	51	35	14
28	50	36	14
29	51	36	13
30	51	36	13
31	50	37	13