I was raised in California where the average temperatures tended to only fluctuate about 25 degrees in either direction of 75 degrees in any given season.  In California a 50 degree day is considered coat weather.  My now North Dakota acclimated self laughs at the silliness of such a notion.  But let’s face it – temperature is relative to where you are.

California’s climate is viewed by many as one of its main draws.  Conversely, North Dakota’s climate is viewed by many as one of its main drawbacks.  Yet, North Dakota has so much more to offer than just its acclaimed status as a frigid winter tundra.  The folks that live here know that.  But there are some days when it is difficult for even the diehard locals not to bemoan the weather – some years the winter weather stays long after its welcome has worn out.

I really like that North Dakota is not a scorcher state.  Our summers are on the whole quite tolerable.  I think that is the least that is owed us after six months of winter temperatures.  There must be some fairness in the ratio of “pleasant” days to “freeze your fanny off” days to keep folks in the state.

This summer has seemed a bit off at times though – there were a couple days there that I thought we might be having an early fall.  But never fear, the August heat has arrived in earnest now and we will be getting those hot, dry 90+ degree days that we expect this next week.  The 90+ degree days will soon cause us to forget the cooler 70-ish degree days we had in the earlier days of August.

But lest you think that this is a fairly odd August, I share with you from Intellicast the historical weather data for my little community of West Fargo.

Date	Average Low	Average High	Record Low	Record High	Average Precipitation	Average Snow
January	-2°	16°	-48° (1887)	54° (1908)	0.76″	12.5″
February	6°	23°	-47° (1888)	66° (1958)	0.59″	7″
March	19°	35°	-34° (1948)	80° (1910)	1.17″	8.7″
April	32°	55°	-13° (1881)	100° (1980)	1.37″	2.3″
May	45°	70°	14° (1890)	104° (1934)	2.61″	0″
June	55°	77°	11° (1942)	104° (1933)	3.51″	0″
July	59°	82°	36° (1967)	114° (1936)	2.88″	0″
August	57°	81°	32° (1886)	106° (1976)	2.52″	0″
September	46°	70°	17° (1883)	102° (1959)	2.18″	0″
October	34°	56°	-4° (1919)	93° (1963)	1.97″	0.6″
November	19°	35°	-27° (1905)	74° (1990)	1.06″	7.7″