Frost Dates for 59313 — Baker, Montana

Half of springs at Baker Municipal Airport, MT see their last 32°F night by May 16; only one in ten is past it by May 4, and one in ten still has one after May 29. Planting tender crops after May 22 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after May 25 20%, and after May 29 10%. The 13 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is narrower than at 74% of the 68 Montana stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by September 26 in half of years, as early as September 11 one year in ten, and holds off past October 7 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 8 days later, around October 4; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is May 19, 10 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 132 days in a typical year, longer than at 60% of the 68 Montana stations; it reaches 149 days one year in ten and falls short of 111 one year in ten. On average 187 nights a year drop to 32°F or below. Nights of 36°F, when frost can still settle on leaves in low, open spots, continue 11 days longer, to about May 27, and return around September 16. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between October 30 and April 4.

July is the warmest month at Baker Municipal Airport, MT, averaging 85°F by day and 56°F at night; January is the coldest at 28°F and 7°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from October to May (a 90% chance or more). From June to August the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month.

Warmth for growing adds up to 2,146 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), more than at 75% of the 68 Montana stations. 27% of them (570) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 643. Precipitation totals 14.6 inches a year, most in June (2.8") and least in January (0.2"); May to September bring 72% of it.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Baker usually arrives around November 1, and the last of the season around April 10. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Baker, MT, 1.5 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 83% of those winters. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 36 days after the last snow.

ZIP 59313 is under a mile from Baker Municipal Airport, MT, which stands at 2,971 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 59313 in zone 4b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged -25 to -20°F (-31.7 to -28.9°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.