Fargo climate
Fargo (North Dakota, United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). The average temperature over the year is 6 °C43 °F, and about 608 mm24 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Fargo climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −719 | −171 | −1210 | 140.6 | 31 |
| Feb | −523 | −164 | −1013 | 160.6 | 28 |
| Mar | 440 | −719 | −130 | 291.2 | 28 |
| Apr | 1356 | 032 | 744 | 451.8 | 15 |
| May | 2069 | 745 | 1457 | 843.3 | 2 |
| Jun | 2679 | 1356 | 2067 | 1044.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 3085 | 1762 | 2373 | 803.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 2882 | 1558 | 2170 | 692.7 | 0 |
| Sep | 2373 | 1049 | 1661 | 692.7 | 0 |
| Oct | 1355 | 134 | 745 | 572.2 | 11 |
| Nov | 439 | −523 | −131 | 170.7 | 25 |
| Dec | −524 | −139 | −916 | 240.9 | 31 |
| Year | 3085 | −171 | 643 | 60824 | 171 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 89% | 62% | 1.8 | 8:55 |
| Feb | 85% | 60% | 3.0 | 10:14 |
| Mar | 74% | 66% | 3.9 | 11:46 |
| Apr | 64% | 61% | 4.9 | 13:32 |
| May | 64% | 61% | 5.6 | 15:01 |
| Jun | 67% | 57% | 6.2 | 15:51 |
| Jul | 63% | 48% | 6.5 | 15:31 |
| Aug | 63% | 49% | 5.4 | 14:12 |
| Sep | 66% | 50% | 4.1 | 12:29 |
| Oct | 71% | 60% | 2.6 | 10:47 |
| Nov | 77% | 64% | 1.6 | 9:17 |
| Dec | 87% | 68% | 1.2 | 8:33 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Fargo is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 30 °C85 °F and a low of 17 °C62 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average −7 °C19 °F and lows −17 °C1 °F. The climate is extremely continental — the average temperature swings by 35.4 °C63.7 °F between the coldest and the warmest month.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 608 mm24 in. The wettest three-month stretch is May–July, which brings 44% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: January and February and November. The wettest month is June (104 mm4.1 in), the driest is January (14 mm0.6 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 63% in July to 89% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 48%) are typical of July. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 10 km/h (6 mph) in July to 14 km/h (9 mph) in March. Daylight lasts from about 8.5 hours in December to 15.9 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in November–March, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in January, about 19 cm).
Best time to visit Fargo
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are May and August and September: average highs of 20 °C69 °F to 28 °C82 °F with 69 mm2.7 in to 84 mm3.3 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of −7 °C19 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Fargo
- Winter (December–February) — highs −719 to −5 °C24 °F, lows −171 to −13 °C9 °F, about 18 mm0.7 in of precipitation a month. Pack heavy insulated clothing, thermal base layers, a warm hat, mittens and insulated boots.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 440 to 20 °C69 °F, lows −719 to 7 °C45 °F, about 53 mm2.1 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket, an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2679 to 30 °C85 °F, lows 1356 to 17 °C62 °F, about 84 mm3.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 439 to 23 °C73 °F, lows −523 to 10 °C49 °F, about 48 mm1.9 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
How Fargo compares
Compared with Winnipeg, about 335 km to the north, Fargo is on average 3 °C5.4 °F warmer and receives 6% more precipitation (608 mm24 in vs 573 mm23 in). The difference is largest in February (5 °C9 °F warmer).
Of the 222 places in the United States covered by World Climates, Fargo is the 221st warmest by annual mean temperature and the 154th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the United States climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Nakhodka (Russia, Dwa), Tonghua (China, Dwa) and Artëm (Russia, Dwa).
Nearby places
- Winnipeg 335 km · 3 °C38 °F · 573 mm23 in
- Minneapolis 345 km · 7 °C45 °F · 839 mm33 in
- Sioux Falls 371 km · 9 °C47 °F · 669 mm26 in
- Rochester 463 km · 7 °C45 °F · 886 mm35 in
- Thunder Bay 589 km · 4 °C40 °F · 632 mm25 in
- Omaha 629 km · 11 °C51 °F · 786 mm31 in
- Des Moines 639 km · 10 °C51 °F · 884 mm35 in
- Lincoln 676 km · 11 °C52 °F · 752 mm30 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Fargo?
July is the warmest month in Fargo, with an average high of 30 °C (85 °F) and an average low of 17 °C (62 °F).
What is the coldest month in Fargo?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of -7 °C (19 °F) and an average low of -17 °C (1 °F).
When does it rain the most in Fargo?
June is the wettest month with about 104 mm (4.1 in) of precipitation; January is the driest with about 14 mm (0.6 in).
What is the best time to visit Fargo?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are May and August and September.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.