Rapid City weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · small town · semi-arid climate
The best time to visit Rapid City is September — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 88/100), with August and June close behind. Rapid City averages about 2,793 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 26°C / 79°F and roughly 38 mm of rain in September.
Jump to: month-by-month table · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 2,793
- Sunniest month
- September
- Peak score
- 88/100
- Rain / year
- 451 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈96 cm
- Midday UV at peak
- 8 (very high)
- Population
- 74k
- Elevation
- 963 m
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When is the best time to visit Rapid City?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Rapid City is September, then August and June. The dullest month is January (0/100, 9 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Rapid City?
Rapid City gets a lot of sun: around 2,793 hours a year. 88 Sunshine Score points separate September (88) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #118 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,279 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around June, carries about 47% of the annual 451 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 4° / 39°F | -7° / 19°F | 9 mm | 1 |
| February | 0 | 4° / 39°F | -8° / 18°F | 14 mm | 2 |
| March | 23 | 11° / 52°F | -3° / 27°F | 24 mm | 3 |
| April | 57 | 16° / 61°F | 1° / 34°F | 52 mm | 5 |
| May | 80 | 21° / 70°F | 7° / 45°F | 87 mm | 6 |
| June | 83 | 29° / 84°F | 13° / 55°F | 68 mm | 8 |
| July | 77 | 33° / 91°F | 18° / 64°F | 55 mm | 8 |
| August | 87 | 31° / 88°F | 16° / 61°F | 48 mm | 7 |
| September | 88 | 26° / 79°F | 10° / 50°F | 38 mm | 5 |
| October | 60 | 16° / 61°F | 3° / 37°F | 33 mm | 3 |
| November | 8 | 9° / 48°F | -2° / 28°F | 12 mm | 2 |
| December | 0 | 3° / 37°F | -6° / 21°F | 11 mm | 1 |
See Rapid City on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Bismarck United States · 353 km · best in Sep · 2,676 h sun/yr
- Billings United States · 474 km · best in Jul · 2,701 h sun/yr
- Denver United States · 484 km · best in Sep · 3,169 h sun/yr
- Minot United States · 488 km · best in Sep · 2,684 h sun/yr
- Sioux Falls United States · 509 km · best in Jul · 2,583 h sun/yr
- Hayden United States · 524 km · best in Jun · 3,058 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Chadron United States · 134 km · 2,956 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Gillette United States · 201 km · 2,808 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Alliance United States · 223 km · 2,960 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Pierre United States · 224 km · 2,713 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Scottsbluff United States · 245 km · 3,037 h sun/yr · best in Sep
Head-to-head
How Rapid City compares month by month: Rapid City vs Denver · Rapid City vs Billings · Rapid City vs Bismarck · all comparisons
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