The climate of Rapid City (South Dakota
- United States of America)
Rapid City is a large city located in the southeastern part of the
state of South Dakota. Rapid City is located in Pennington County on
the east slopes of the Black Hills. The city was named after Rapid
Creek which forms the center of the city. The city was founded at the
end of the 19th century. When gold was found here its population
figures rapidly increased. In 1972 Rapid Creek flooded due to heavy
rainfall. This flood caused the death of 200 inhabitants. Rapid City
is the largest city in the vicinity of Mount Rushmore National
Memorial. This monument symbolizes the first 150 years of the United
States. Mount Rushmore features the sculptures of George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The
sculptures are about 18 meters high. Rapid City has a warm continental
climate characterized by long and cold winters and short, but warm to
even hot summers. Precipitation figures are highest during the summer.
This causes humidity figures to rise as well. Rapid City is located in
Tornado Alley. During Tornado season there is a risk of tornadoes.
Climate information
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate records.
They are an average for Rapid City:
average maximum
temperature (°C)
average
minimum
temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine
per day
average days with
precipitation
per month
average
mm precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January
2
-12
5
7
n/a
February
4
-10
6
7
n/a
March
8
-6
8
8
n/a
April
14
0
8
10
n/a
May
20
6
9
11
n/a
June
25
11
10
11
n/a
July
30
15
11
9
n/a
August
29
13
10
7
n/a
September
23
7
9
7
n/a
October
17
2
7
5
n/a
November
8
-5
5
6
n/a
December
3
-11
5
7
n/a
= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm = 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches
More climate information
Climate figures are very useful but don’t present a general impression
of the climate and the eventual weather circumstances within a certain
period. The figures don’t always reflect the chance of wintry weather,
extreme heat or hurricanes. That is why we offer useful extra climate
information for each month of the year:
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
this site in Dutch
= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
= 0-0.2 inches ● 
= 0.2-1.2 inches ● 
= 1.2-2.4 inches ● 
= 2.5-4 inches ● 
= 4.1-8 inches ● 
= over 8 inches
