Situated in the middle of the Great Plains, between the geographic centers of the United States and Canada, Bismarck displays a highly variable four-season humid continental climate . Bismarck’s climate is characterized by cold, somewhat dry, snowy, and windy winters, and hot, humid summers. Thunderstorms occur in spring and summer, but much of the rest of the year is dry.
The warmest month in Bismarck is July, with a daily mean of 71 °F (21.7 °C), with typically wide variations between day and night. The coldest month is January, with a 24-hour average of 13 °F (−10.6 °C). Precipitation peaks from May to September and is rather sparse in the winter months. Winter snowfall is typically light to moderate, occurring with the passage of frontal systems; major storms are rare.