Black Hills weather

[leroys73]

How is the usual weather as in temperature, rain, or snow in the Black Hills the first of October? 

I have been up there a few times but in June, July, and August.  One July it was as hot as Texas. 

I am wanting to head up there by motorcycle.  I'm used to riding in all sorts of weather but I don't do snow, ice, or freezing rain.

Thank you for your input. 

[J N Winkler]

I have only visited in the summer myself (late July/early August), but Wunderground reports highs in the seventies/lows in the forties on October 10 for 2014-2017 with the exception of 2017, with a high of 47° F and low of 23° F.  Precipitation in the first third of October averages about two-thirds of an inch.

[SD Mapman]

How is the usual weather as in temperature, rain, or snow in the Black Hills the first of October? 

I have been up there a few times but in June, July, and August.  One July it was as hot as Texas. 

I am wanting to head up there by motorcycle.  I'm used to riding in all sorts of weather but I don't do snow, ice, or freezing rain.

Thank you for your input.

There is no usual weather. We have the most unpredictable weather in the entire country...

If I had to make a prediction, I would say there probably won't be much snow (it did dump 4 feet in the beginning of October one year though) and the temp probably will be around 60 F.

I will say early October is my favorite time of year round here; if you time it right all the deciduous trees will be in fall color.

[SD Mapman]

I have only visited in the summer myself (late July/early August), but Wunderground reports highs in the seventies/lows in the forties on October 10 for 2014-2017 with the exception of 2017, with a high of 47° F and low of 23° F.  Precipitation in the first third of October averages about two-thirds of an inch.

That leaves out October 2013, when we got 4 feet of snow on Oct. 6th and winter came early.

[J N Winkler]

That leaves out October 2013, when we got 4 feet of snow on Oct. 6th and winter came early.

Yup.  That late in the year and that far north is dicey in terms of exposure to the elements.  I live in Wichita and in October I am beginning to look at going south for trips, just to avoid running into winter before I am fully prepared for it.  I did go to far northwestern Kansas/southwestern Nebraska in late October 2015 and although it was dry the whole trip and shirtsleeves warm during the day, my windshield was covered with frost in the first morning out, and I didn't have a scraper.

BTW, in my last post I forgot to specify the weather station.  It is Custer, SD.

[leroys73]

Thanks

I lived in SW Oklahoma for years.  The only weather you could predict correctly that it would be hot in the summer and probably dry but not always dry.

[SD Mapman]

BTW, in my last post I forgot to specify the weather station.  It is Custer, SD.

Generally, Custer, Lead/Deadwood, and Hill City are cooler and may get snow (due to the elevation), while Rapid City and Hot Spring are much warmer (granted, West Rapid can be 10 degrees colder than East Rapid at times). Spearfish (and to a lesser extent Sturgis) are colder and wetter than Rapid due to their position on the north slope of the Hills (this is also why Lead gets hammered so bad with snow).

There can be two feet of snow on the ground in 40 degree overcast weather in Spearfish and Hot Springs is sunny with no snow at 60 degrees.

[sparker]

Last time I was in the area not during the summer months was back in mid-October '99; on a trip taking me from visiting friends in Spokane across to I-29 then down to KC on business.  Tried to time the trip to avoid predictions of storms coming down from the north by simply getting to Sioux Falls the day before they hit and then simply outrunning them.  However, fate intervened and I spent 2 extra days in Billings, MT dealing with electrical problems with my truck, which threw my schedule off accordingly.  The day I had planned for Billings-Sioux Falls, all on I-90, the weather started out a bit overcast but got sunny around Sheridan; I hoped for the best.  By the time I got to the WY/SD state line, looking to the north I saw nothing but clouds and what looked like sheeting rain coming down from them.  At that point I decided to hell with the speed limit (75) and essentially did 80-85 once out of Rapid City.  Fortunately the storm crossed behind me; it was almost totally gray-black in the rear-view mirror by the time I got to US 83.  The rest of the day's trip was in partial sunlight, although it was sprinkling when I got into Sioux Falls.  That night on the news there were reports of a couple of tornadoes touching down a dozen or so miles north of Belle Fourche.  What all this indicates to me is that if you're planning on being in that area after the first week of October, pay attention to the weather forecasts and plan your days' activities accordingly!     

[SD Mapman]

That night on the news there were reports of a couple of tornadoes touching down a dozen or so miles north of Belle Fourche.  What all this indicates to me is that if you're planning on being in that area after the first week of October, pay attention to the weather forecasts and plan your days' activities accordingly!   

Or just don't go to Belle Fourche; that usually gets hit the hardest with severe weather.

[sparker]

That night on the news there were reports of a couple of tornadoes touching down a dozen or so miles north of Belle Fourche.  What all this indicates to me is that if you're planning on being in that area after the first week of October, pay attention to the weather forecasts and plan your days' activities accordingly!   

Or just don't go to Belle Fourche; that usually gets hit the hardest with severe weather.

Unless one is "cutting the corner" via US 212, there's no reason for a through-put traveler to go through Belle Fourche.  Closest I've come is right along I-90; don't have any plans to change that status!

[froggie]

leroys, you could always dig through the NWS Rapid City website and see what they say for local climate.

[hotdogPi]

leroys, you could always dig through the NWS Rapid City website and see what they say for local climate.

Does that website give both averages and possible variation, or just averages? There's a big difference between 55°-65° and 40°-80°, but they'll both display as the same average.

[froggie]

You could always look at the website yourself and learn...

[Max Rockatansky]

That night on the news there were reports of a couple of tornadoes touching down a dozen or so miles north of Belle Fourche.  What all this indicates to me is that if you're planning on being in that area after the first week of October, pay attention to the weather forecasts and plan your days' activities accordingly!   

Or just don't go to Belle Fourche; that usually gets hit the hardest with severe weather.

Unless one is "cutting the corner" via US 212, there's no reason for a through-put traveler to go through Belle Fourche.  Closest I've come is right along I-90; don't have any plans to change that status!

Went through there on US 85 heading north from Deadwood to Theodore Roosevelt National Park two years ago.  Belle Fourche was the closest town I could pad my reward points at. 

Surprisingly I found the running trails along the Belle Fourche River to be quite nice.  There was some vintage gas station I spotted but I'm not sure if I got a photo or not.

[leroys73]

You could always look at the website yourself and learn...

I just love the smart a$$es on this site. 

I  have learned from those weather sites.  It is raw data.  If I wanted only raw data I would have never signed into this site.   

I ask a real question that I would like to receive real personal accounts from the people who live there or have traveled there during the times I have asked for.

Excuse me but I thought the idea of AARoads was for real input from people.

I KNOW I can look up the info on various sites but I want personal input. 

Oh, I guess I should have explained all of that in a two page write up explaining everything I found then ask for input.

Sorry for the inconvenience I caused you.

[froggie]

Wasn't trying to be a smart ass (except perhaps to "1" given the nature of his question).  Was providing the local weather service website in case you hadn't looked at it yet.

Unfortunately, regarding your question, there's very few people on this forum who have likely lived in that area.  SD Mapman is probably the closest of those who are regulars on the forum.  And even he's a number of hours away from the Black Hills.

[SD Mapman]

That night on the news there were reports of a couple of tornadoes touching down a dozen or so miles north of Belle Fourche.  What all this indicates to me is that if you're planning on being in that area after the first week of October, pay attention to the weather forecasts and plan your days' activities accordingly!   

Or just don't go to Belle Fourche; that usually gets hit the hardest with severe weather.

Unless one is "cutting the corner" via US 212, there's no reason for a through-put traveler to go through Belle Fourche.  Closest I've come is right along I-90; don't have any plans to change that status!

Exactly Belle Fourche sucks

SD Mapman is probably the closest of those who are regulars on the forum.  And even he's a number of hours away from the Black Hills.

I can see them from my house (okay from the hill behind my house, I live in a valley). I ran cross country for Spearfish in high school and have been everywhere in October (over four years I had meets up and down the Hills in October).

[froggie]

My apologies...given some of your past posts, I thought you were eastern SD and not western.

[SD Mapman]

My apologies...given some of your past posts, I thought you were eastern SD and not western.

NBD, I try not to give too much away on the Interwebs anyway (guess it worked!).

[leroys73]

froggie and I are OK. 
   
I am sorry I popped off so quickly.

Thank you for the input.     

[GreenLanternCorps]

froggie and I are OK. 
   
I am sorry I popped off so quickly.

Thank you for the input.   

Cannot resist urge...

[froggie]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[WestDakota]

I know this probably doesn't help since you were asking about early October, but I've been there a couple times around the third weekend of October (this is North Dakota Teacher's Convention weekend, so a long 4 day weekend for the kids), visiting my sister-in-law and going to a football game where SD Mines hosted the college I went to.  Both times the temps were in the 40s, no snow at all.  The one Sunday coming back, it was VERY windy - constant 40-50 mph winds. 

We were at IHOP eating before leaving, and a trampoline came blowing into the parking lot from a neighboring house and crashed into the back window of a vehicle of one of the employees.  It then freed itself and was going to blow out towards the main road before a few guys ran out to try to secure it somewhere to not cause more damage.  One of the strangest things to see in person.

Driving from Rapid City to Sturgis was terrible, drove way below the speed limit as it felt like the wind was going to blow us into the next lane (was driving a Chevy Blazer).  When we got to Sturgis and could go North, it was much better going into the wind.  Used a lot of gas, but at least the vehicle felt stable.

[Road Hog]

Sounds a lot like guessing the weather in Texas at Thanksgiving: could be 80s, could be an ice storm with Leon Lett showing his butt.