page_title: Climate of North Dakota
hierarchical_section_title: Climate of North Dakota
caption_attribution_description: English: North Dakota Wilderness off Interstate 94.
context_page_description: North Dakota's climate is typical of a continental climate with cold winters and warm-hot summers. The state's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States, and each of the four seasons has its own distinct characteristics. The eastern half of the state has a humid continental climate with warm to hot, somewhat humid summers and cold, windy winters, while the western half has a semi-arid climate with less precipitation and less humidity but similar temperature profiles. The areas east of the Missouri River get slightly colder winters, while those west of the stream get higher summer daytime temperatures. In general, the diurnal temperature difference is prone to be more significant in the west due to higher elevation and less humidity.
context_section_description: North Dakota's climate is typical of a continental climate with cold winters and warm-hot summers. The state's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States, and each of the four seasons has its own distinct characteristics. The eastern half of the state has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm to hot, somewhat humid summers and cold, windy winters, while the western half has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with less precipitation and less humidity but similar temperature profiles. The areas east of the Missouri River get slightly colder winters, while those west of the stream get higher summer daytime temperatures. In general, the diurnal temperature difference is prone to be more significant in the west due to higher elevation and less humidity.
caption: Western North Dakota lands along Interstate 94 in North Dakota. With an average 17 inches of precipitation a year, North Dakota is one of the driest states in the United States.[1]
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot S45", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 6.5", "Image DateTime": "2004:05:04 19:49:17", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.3.3", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "250", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1720", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3890", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2004:05:01 15:06:04", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2004:05:01 15:06:04", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "149/16", "EXIF ApertureValue": "159/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "227/32", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1024", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "768", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "25600/7", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "25600/7", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Landscape"}