Climate and average weather in Williston

In Williston, the summers are warm, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are frigid, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Williston typically varies from 4°F to 80°F, and is rarely below -21°F or above 92°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

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

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Jun
3.1 in
Driest
Feb
0.5 in
Rain / yr
17.6 in
78 wet days
Daylight
8.1–15.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,877 ft
48.1°N
Clearest
Aug
42% cloud

Williston is city in and seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States of America.

Density
1,377/km²
people per km²
Founded
1887

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

Williston 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 May to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from May 19 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 66°F. The hottest month of the year in Williston is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 58°F.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from November 26 to March 6, with daily high temperatures below 31°F. The coldest month of the year in Williston is January, with an average low of 4°F and high of 20°F.

Days typically run about 20°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 25°F) in August.

-20°20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan204
Feb258
Mar3719
Apr5331
May6542
Jun7353
Jul8058
Aug8055
Sep7046
Oct5433
Nov3720
Dec249

How hot and cold Williston 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 -13°F (around January 10), with roughly 215 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 142 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan2020-114
Feb2525-68
Mar3737719
Apr53532231
May65653742
Jun73735253
Jul80805858
Aug80805555
Sep70704246
Oct54542533
Nov3737920
Dec2424-59

Average hourly temperature in Williston

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 80°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near F.

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

Williston 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
Jan20° / 0.64.24.58.60.0
Feb25° / 0.53.73.89.90.0
Mar37° / 19°0.95.3411.60.2
Apr53° / 31°1.57.12.813.43.1
May65° / 42°2.69.30.714.95.8
Jun73° / 53°3.110.7015.86.7
Jul80° / 58°2.38.2015.47.1
Aug80° / 55°1.77.7014.17.3
Sep70° / 46°1.75.8012.47.2
Oct54° / 33°1.35.91.510.63.6
Nov37° / 20°0.84.93.890.1
Dec24° / 0.64.74.98.20.0

Chance of rain

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

Williston gets about 17.6 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from around Apr 5 to Aug 28, peaking in June at about 37% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 31.

June is the wettest month by volume, with 3.1 in over about 11 wet days; February is the driest, with 0.5 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 10 · 37%Jan 31 · 11%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan144
Feb134
Mar175
Apr247
May319
Jun3611
Jul278
Aug238
Sep206
Oct196
Nov165
Dec155

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Williston collects about 17.6 in of rain across 78 wet days — roughly 1.5 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 3.1 in, while February is the driest at just 0.5 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 46% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.533.54JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0.60.50.91.52.63.12.31.71.71.30.80.6
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan0.645
Feb0.544
Mar0.954
Apr1.573
May2.691
Jun3.1110
Jul2.380
Aug1.780
Sep1.760
Oct1.362
Nov0.854
Dec0.655

Snow in Williston

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.

Williston averages about 26 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 30 to May 19 — about 7.6 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 6 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 38 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 29
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan56
Feb45
Mar46
Apr35
May12
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct22
Nov45
Dec56

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Williston, 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 8 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around October 21. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 70% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 22 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around June 7. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 65% 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 26 · 73%Mar 1 · 33%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3664
Feb3565
Mar3862
Apr4159
May4357
Jun5347
Jul7030
Aug7030
Sep6040
Oct5050
Nov4258
Dec3961

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 19, brings about 15 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around December 19, only 8 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.68:475:21
Feb9.98:126:06
Mar11.67:176:51
Apr13.46:127:37
May14.95:228:20
Jun15.85:008:50
Jul15.45:158:45
Aug14.15:558:03
Sep12.46:386:59
Oct10.67:235:56
Nov9.08:115:09
Dec8.28:464:56

Sunny days

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

Williston averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 16 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.3 months, from around Jun 21 to Oct 28. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 15 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is March, down near 7 sunny days — about 51% fewer than the July peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightJul 2916 daysMar 17 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan7Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr8Gloomy
May8Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul15Mixed
Aug16Bright
Sep13Mixed
Oct11Mixed
Nov8Mixed
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 Williston, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 2.8 months, from around June 13 to September 5. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 20% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 6 to June 12, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 8 · 100%Jul 14 · 77%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May98200
Jun801451
Jul5426173
Aug692191
Sep94520
Oct100000
Nov100000
Dec100000

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 Williston is steady company: average speeds sit near 9 mphlight breeze — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezebreezyMay 20 · 10 mphJul 26 · 8 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan10light breeze
Feb10light breeze
Mar10light breeze
Apr10light breeze
May10light breeze
Jun9light breeze
Jul9light breeze
Aug9light breeze
Sep9light breeze
Oct10light breeze
Nov9light breeze
Dec9light breeze

Best time to visit Williston

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Williston 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 Williston for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 2 · 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
Mar0.2poor
Apr3.0poor
May5.8good
Jun6.6good
Jul7.1good
Aug7.3good
Sep7.1good
Oct3.5fair
Nov0.2poor
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 Williston for hot-weather activities is from late June to early September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 26 · 7.5

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 Williston, 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 80°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 20°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Williston sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 58°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Williston 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 Williston peaks around June 21 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 21UV 8Dec 20UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Williston

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 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
Mar20
Apr50
May6.50
Jun8.54.5
Jul84
Aug6.50
Sep50
Oct20
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Williston 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 Williston is worst in August — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (October, 5 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1216 µg/m³Oct 226 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar12Good
Apr11Good
May11Good
Jun9Good
Jul14Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep10Good
Oct5Good
Nov6Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Williston typically lasts about 184 days, from around April 19 to October 19 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 15 to September 26.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 610%Apr 1950%May 1590%Sep 2690%Oct 1950%Nov 2010%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan431
Feb528
Mar1431
Apr4630
May9014
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep963
Oct5731
Nov1430
Dec531

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. Williston banks about 1,882 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,5002,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May117
Jun388
Jul591
Aug553
Sep231
Oct1
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.

Williston receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.3 and 6.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 16 to Sep 18. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.7 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.3 kWh/m² — roughly 81% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 126.8 kWhDec 171.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.6Dim
Feb2.7Moderate
Mar4.1Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May6.1Intense
Jun6.5Intense
Jul6.8Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct2.7Moderate
Nov1.7Dim
Dec1.3Dim

Where is Williston?

Williston sits at 48.1°N, 103.6°W, 1,877 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Dickinson, 96 mi away.

Topography around Williston

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Williston has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 243 ft around an average of 1,867 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 650 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 912 ft.

The land around Williston is covered by grassland (42%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 2 miles, grassland (61%) and cropland (25%) within 10 miles, and grassland (56%) and cropland (38%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
243 ft
10 miles
650 ft
50 miles
912 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Dickinson 96 mi · Minot 107 mi · Mandan 157 mi · Bismarck 162 mi · Arcola East 163 mi · Dewdney East 165 mi · Regina 165 mi · Moose Jaw 178 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 Williston (48.147°, -103.618°, elevation 1,877 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).