McLaughlin, South Dakota Weather
North wind strips the oak. Day 50 of autumn. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
McLaughlin weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 12:46 PM MST · Open-Meteo
- TodayNov 10Light Drizzle later13%—55°29°—
- WednesdayNov 11Clear——48°33°-7°
- ThursdayNov 12Foggy——42°30°-6°
- FridayNov 13Overcast——42°25°0°
- SaturdayNov 14Overcast——43°26°+1°
- SundayNov 15Light Drizzle—0.05″37°34°-6°
- MondayNov 16Overcast——45°36°+8°
Air quality now AQI 12 · Good
AQI 12 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±4 points).
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 9 PM.
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
When the wind is in the west, the weather is at its best.
- Moonrise
- 8:30 AM
- Moonset
- 4:45 PM
- In sign
- ♐︎ Sagittarius
North wind strips the oak
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
McLaughlin at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 42°F (high 55°F, low 29°F), 10°F above the 32°F normal for Nov 10
- Last frost: May 12 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 0 km away)
- Microseason: Nov 6–10
16-Day Forecast — McLaughlin
- Tue54°29°13%
- Wed48°33°0%
- Thu42°30°0%
- Fri42°25°0%
- Sat43°26°0%
- Sun37°34°3%
- Mon45°36°3%
- Tue49°37°6%
- Wed47°44°34%
- Thu45°38°29%
- Fri38°29°25%
- Sat32°19°32%
- Sun19°8°23%
- Mon21°6°13%
- Tue46°17°10%
- Wed42°32°10%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Post-frost dormancy
As of November 10, the season's first frost (typically September 28) is due or past. Bring frost-tender plants indoors, mulch overwintering beds, and turn spent plantings under. This city's planting calendar lists nothing to plant or harvest in November.
Sun & seasons in McLaughlin
McLaughlin sits in Corson County, where the year’s longest day runs 15h 44m of daylight and its shortest just 8h 40m — a swing of +7h 4m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city, lies about 255 miles to the SE. The nearest town McLaughlin tracks is Blumengard Colony, roughly 89 miles to the ESE.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | spinach, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | lettuce, peas, spinach, beans, summer squash |
| August | garlic (overwinter) | peas, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| October | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
July is McLaughlin's warmest stretch (~72°F) and January its coldest (~14°F); precipitation crests in June at 3.3 inches and ebbs in February to 0.5 inches.
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14° | 0.5″ | 3 |
| February | 18° | 0.5″ | 4 |
| March | 30° | 0.9″ | 4 |
| April | 43° | 1.7″ | 6 |
| May | 55° | 3.2″ | 9 |
| June | 66° | 3.3″ | 10 |
| July | 72° | 3.0″ | 8 |
| August | 70° | 2.5″ | 6 |
| September | 60° | 1.4″ | 5 |
| October | 45° | 1.8″ | 4 |
| November | 30° | 0.7″ | 3 |
| December | 19° | 0.6″ | 4 |
Regional context
Similar climates Little Eagle, SD, Bullhead, SD, Wakpala, SD
Per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, McLaughlin runs from a 14°F January mean to 72°F in July, a 58°F seasonal spread, with near 20.1 inches of precipitation across about 65 wet days.
Summer convection drives McLaughlin's precipitation: June logs 3.3 inches on 9.5 rainy days, against February's 0.5 inches on 4.1 — warm-season storms carry McLaughlin's moisture. That puts McLaughlin in a summer-convective cohort with places like Little Eagle, SD, Bullhead, SD and Wakpala, SD.
McLaughlin reaches its last hard frost near May 12; that is the cue for kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips. McLaughlin's heat-lovers — tomatoes, peppers, squash — hold off until McLaughlin's frost risk clears, 10-14 days on. The season ends by September 28 in McLaughlin, once hard frosts set back in. That date is a median: McLaughlin freezes sooner in half of years.
Similar climates: Little Eagle, SD, Bullhead, SD, Wakpala, SD, Kenel, SD, Pollock, SD.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in McLaughlin?
- In McLaughlin, expect the last spring frost near May 12; McLaughlin's first autumn frost comes around September 28.
- What is the rainy season in McLaughlin?
- McLaughlin sees its heaviest rain in June (around 3.3 inches), part of roughly 20 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in McLaughlin?
- On average July tops the year in McLaughlin at about 72°F.
- What is the coldest month in McLaughlin?
- The coldest stretch in McLaughlin falls in January, around 14°F on average.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in McLaughlin?
- Around May 12, start frost-hardy crops in McLaughlin; tomatoes and basil belong a fortnight later.
- How many rainy days does McLaughlin get?
- McLaughlin records around 65 days of measurable precipitation annually.
- What hardiness zone is McLaughlin?
- Because McLaughlin bottoms near 14°F in January, that winter low sets McLaughlin's USDA zone — verify by ZIP.
- What is the 10-day forecast for McLaughlin?
- McLaughlin's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in McLaughlin?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for McLaughlin in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in McLaughlin?
- Current conditions for McLaughlin and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the McLaughlin forecast updated?
- The McLaughlin forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in McLaughlin?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for McLaughlin are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for McLaughlin?
- The next few days in McLaughlin's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
McLaughlin sits at 45.8°N; its climate zone is warm-summer humid continental (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in McLaughlin
- 57642