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Weather in Lead, SD · National Weather Service + NOAA

Lead is snow country

Lead has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 81°, a January night drops to 14°, and about 184 inches of snow falls in a normal winter. In November, a normal day reaches 45° and a normal night drops to 21°.

Winter 37°/14°Spring 53°/29°Summer 78°/51°Fall 57°/32°
Right now
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Sunrise 6:32 am · sunset 4:44 pm

Getting the latest forecast from the National Weather Service…

What stands out about Lead’s weather

Read from 30 years of NOAA records. Each one opens the full story on the Climate page.

Climate →
Snow countryAbout 184 inches a winter, more than 1,366 of 1,367 South Dakota towns.Milder winters than most of South DakotaJanuary nights average 14°, milder than 1,352 of 1,384 South Dakota towns.Cool summersJuly afternoons average 81°, cooler than 1,309 of 1,384 South Dakota towns.A short growing season133 frost-free days, from May 18 to Sep 29.
A normal year

Where today sits in Lead’s year

Typical highs and lows month by month, from 30 years of NOAA records.

Full climate →
Winter
37° / 14°
40 days with an inch or more of snow
Spring
53° / 29°
Last frost around May 18
Summer
78° / 51°
6 days reach 90° in a normal year
Fall now
57° / 32°
First frost around Sep 29
Pastthe usual first frost (Sep 29). Last frost next spring: May 18
Best months to be outside
JunJulAugSep
Highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
How much snow does Lead get?About 184 inches a winter.When is it wettest?May, with 5.0 inches.Is it warmer than it used to be?+1.3° vs. the 20th century.

Weather talk

Road reports, first frosts and storm memories from neighbors in Lead.

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Forecast, conditions and alerts: National Weather Service. Climate: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000. Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded normals for Lead itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts: the NOAA station at Lead, SD (1 mi). Sunrise and sunset are calculated from the town’s position. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast.