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South Dakota · THREADEX · 1942–2026

Rapid City, SD

44.046°N, 103.054°W · station RAPthr · 85 years of record
78°F
forecast high · Oct 17

7-Day Forecast

NWS NDFD forecast high temperature for Rapid City.
78°SAT10/1765°SUN10/1863°MON10/1973°TUE10/2071°WED10/2173°THU10/2269°FRI10/23

This Day in History

Every year's high on each of the next 7 forecast dates at Rapid City — toggle a day below. The forecast line shows where it lands; the ringed bar is the hottest on record.

Ranks

#12 / 84
warmest Oct 17 in 84 yrs of record

Warmest Oct 17 ever

88°F
set in 2024

Coolest Oct 17 ever

38°F
set in 1980
Forecast high 78°F — 12th warmest Oct 17 of 84 years · record 88°F (2024) · warmest since 2024.
1942: 65°F1943: 70°F1944: 70°F1945: 76°F1946: 50°F1947: 67°F1948: 42°F1949: 57°F1950: 85°F1951: 42°F1952: 58°F1953: 79°F1954: 69°F1955: 68°F1956: 86°F1957: 63°F1958: 69°F1959: 67°F1960: 69°F1961: 63°F1962: 64°F1963: 77°F1964: 64°F1965: 66°F1966: 60°F1967: 60°F1968: 55°F1969: 46°F1970: 69°F1971: 47°F1972: 63°F1973: 73°F1974: 83°F1975: 66°F1976: 49°F1977: 65°F1978: 63°F1979: 65°F1980: 38°F1981: 55°F1982: 75°F1983: 61°F1984: 51°F1985: 63°F1986: 75°F1987: 72°F1988: 69°F1989: 44°F1990: 41°F1991: 80°F1992: 48°F1993: 62°F1994: 51°F1995: 65°F1996: 49°F1997: 83°F1998: 52°F1999: 57°F2000: 69°F2001: 81°F2002: 65°F2003: 85°F2004: 45°F2005: 76°F2006: 40°F2007: 52°F2008: 55°F2009: 72°F2010: 59°F2011: 55°F2012: 71°F2013: 45°F2014: 56°F2015: 61°F2016: 84°F2017: 77°F2018: 68°F2019: 73°F2020: 56°F2021: 78°F2022: 75°F2023: 80°F2024: 88°F2025: 70°F78° forecast35404550556065707580859019501960197019801990200020102020
📖 Rapid City's full Climate Almanac →

The Numbers

Forecast high · Oct 1778°F
Hottest this date since2024
This-date record88°F
This-date rank#12 of 84
Hottest at any time since2026
All-time record112°F (2026)
Odds to tie/break0.0% (daily)
Period of record1942–2026

Record Book

The hottest and coldest ever recorded at Rapid City in each calendar month, and for the whole 1942–2026 record — with the year each was set.
MonthRecord HighRecord Low
Jan76°FJan 12, 1987-27°FJan 18, 1943
Feb75°FFeb 27, 1988-31°FFeb 2, 1996
Mar87°FMar 21, 2026-21°FMar 8, 1996
Apr93°FApr 22, 1989-1°FApr 3, 2020
May98°FMay 27, 196918°FMay 1, 1950
Jun109°FJun 29, 200231°FJun 1, 1951
Jul112°FJul 25, 202639°FJul 1, 1959
Aug107°FAug 13, 200737°FAug 31, 2020
Sep104°FSep 2, 196018°FSep 26, 1942
Oct96°FOct 2, 2011-7°FOct 26, 2020
Nov83°FNov 7, 1999-19°FNov 14, 1959
Dec75°FDec 4, 1965-30°FDec 30, 1990
All-time112°FJul 25, 2026-31°FFeb 2, 1996

2026 Records So Far

Records set or tied at Rapid City so far this year — through Oct 15.
New all-time hottest on record — 112°F on Jul 25 broke the 111°F from 2006.

Record Highs in 2026

15 broke
plus 1 tied — daily record highs set this year
Monthly high records this year: Mar (87°F), Jul (112°F)

Record Lows in 2026

2 broke
plus 2 tied — daily record lows set this year

Record Warm Nights & Cold Days

Two more daily records, kept separate from the rankings: the warmest a night has ever stayed (record high minimum) and the coldest a day has ever gotten (record low maximum) — the flip side of the usual record high and low.

Warmest low ever

75°F
record high minimum — the night it never cooled · Jul 28, 1960

Coldest high ever

-18°F
record low maximum — the day it never warmed · Feb 2, 1989
MonthWarmest lowColdest high
Jan41°FJan 11, 1995-11°FJan 17, 1943
Feb43°FFeb 21, 2017-18°FFeb 2, 1989
Mar49°FMar 20, 20260°FMar 3, 1960
Apr59°FApr 22, 198916°FApr 2, 2020
May65°FMay 18, 194832°FMay 1, 1954
Jun74°FJun 21, 198837°FJun 1, 1951
Jul75°FJul 28, 196055°FJul 10, 1951
Aug73°FAug 1, 196051°FAug 24, 1992
Sep73°FSep 3, 196034°FSep 28, 1985
Oct60°FOct 2, 195714°FOct 26, 2020
Nov52°FNov 25, 1960-2°FNov 30, 1985
Dec46°FDec 22, 1964-15°FDec 29, 1990
All-time75°FJul 28, 1960-18°FFeb 2, 1989

Hot Streaks

Current run

0 days
consecutive days with a high ≥ 90°F

Longest ever

22 days
record run, ended Jul 25 1974

So far in 2026

57 days
days with a high ≥ 90°F this year

Climate Normals

Normal high & low by month, from Rapid City's own 1991–2020 record. Today's normal high: 62°F · forecast is +16° vs normal.
Jan: 36°FJan: 13°FFeb: 39°FFeb: 14°FMar: 49°FMar: 23°FApr: 57°FApr: 31°FMay: 67°FMay: 42°FJun: 78°FJun: 52°FJul: 87°FJul: 58°FAug: 86°FAug: 56°FSep: 77°FSep: 47°FOct: 61°FOct: 34°FNov: 48°FNov: 22°FDec: 38°FDec: 14°FJFMAMJJASOND

Sun & Location

Sun & Daylight Today

Sunrise6:08 AM
Sunset5:07 PM
Solar noon11:37 AM
Daylight10h 59m · losing 21 min/wk
Local standard time (no DST), level horizon.

Location

44.05°N, 103.05°W

Nearby Stations

Valentine, NE149 mi SEScottsbluff, NE152 mi SMobridge, SD166 mi NECasper, WY188 mi WSheridan, WY199 mi WCheyenne, WY218 mi SW

The Last 6 Weeks

Rapid City's observed daily high for the last six weeks — a white ring marks any day that broke or tied its daily record for that date.
Rapid City, SD — last six weeks of daily high

2026 So Far

Every day this year against Rapid City's own record — the record high, the normal, and the full span ever seen. A shareable look at where the year stands.
Rapid City, SD — 2026 daily high trace
Download year chart

Every Day Since 1942

Each cell is one day's high at Rapid City, coloured by temperature — 85 years of record, so heat waves read as warm streaks and cold snaps as blue.
Rapid City, SD daily high heat map 1942–2026

Days Above the Mark

How many days a year hit a given high at Rapid City — counted through Oct 17 each year, so you can see whether 2026 is running hot. Pick a threshold:
57 days ≥90°F so far in 2026 — the 4th most in 85 years. Normal for this point: 32. Record: 59 in 1988.

Share Card

A ready-to-share summary of Rapid City's outlook — post it, or link this page.
Rapid City, SD hot share card
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