Rapid City enjoys about 45 more sunny days a year than Watertown.
Rapid City picks up around 12 more inches of snow each winter.
The year at a glance
Averages from 30 years of climate history, 1991-2020
| Rapid City | Metric | Watertown |
|---|---|---|
| 245 days | Sunny daysclear or partly cloudy skies | 200 days |
| 25 in | Precipitationper year | 26 in |
| 119 days | Wet daysrain or snow per year | 106 days |
| 53 in | Snowfallper year | 41 in |
| 23 days | Hot daysabove 90 °F | 9 days |
| 145 days | Freezing nightsat or below 32 °F | 173 days |
| 59% | Humidityaverage relative | 72% |
| 48 °F | Average temperatureyear round | 43 °F |
Monthly temperatures
Average daily high and low for each month, in °F. The gap between the two lines is what an ordinary day feels like across the year.
Daily highs
Daily lows
View monthly temperatures as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City high | 37 | 38 | 47 | 55 | 65 | 76 | 84 | 83 | 74 | 59 | 47 | 38 |
| Watertown high | 22 | 26 | 39 | 54 | 67 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 72 | 56 | 40 | 26 |
| Rapid City low | 16 | 17 | 26 | 34 | 45 | 55 | 62 | 60 | 51 | 38 | 27 | 19 |
| Watertown low | 3 | 7 | 20 | 32 | 45 | 55 | 60 | 58 | 49 | 35 | 21 | 9 |
Monthly precipitation
Total rain plus melted snow for each month, in inches. Taller bars mean wetter months.
View monthly precipitation as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Watertown | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
Monthly sunny days
Days each month with clear or partly cloudy skies, so compare the same month between cities.
View monthly sunny days as a table
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City | 20 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 21 |
| Watertown | 13 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 11 |
Keep comparing
Nearby cities and popular picks for each side of this matchup. Any two cities can be compared from the home page.
Rapid City vs another city
- Rapid City vs Rapid Valley, SD
- Rapid City vs Box Elder, SD
- Rapid City vs Sturgis, SD
- Rapid City vs Spearfish, SD
- Rapid City vs Belle Fourche, SD
- Rapid City vs Chadron, NE
- Rapid City vs New York, NY
- Rapid City vs Los Angeles, CA
- Rapid City vs Chicago, IL
- Rapid City vs Houston, TX
- Rapid City vs Phoenix, AZ
- Rapid City vs Philadelphia, PA
Watertown vs another city
- Watertown vs Brookings, SD
- Watertown vs Madison, SD
- Watertown vs Huron, SD
- Watertown vs Montevideo, MN
- Watertown vs Marshall, MN
- Watertown vs Aberdeen, SD
- Watertown vs New York, NY
- Watertown vs Los Angeles, CA
- Watertown vs Chicago, IL
- Watertown vs Houston, TX
- Watertown vs Phoenix, AZ
- Watertown vs Philadelphia, PA
About this data
Every figure on this page is a 30 year average computed from daily climate history for 1991-2020, using each city's own coordinates. Wet days count days with measurable precipitation, calibrated against the wet day counts in NOAA's published climate normals. Sunny days count clear plus partly cloudy days, defined as average cloud cover of 63 percent or less and calibrated against NOAA's published sky cover tables. Snowfall figures are model estimates anchored to NOAA station measurements near each city.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5, ERA5-Land).