2024 was third warmest year on record for Gillette

GILLETTE (WNE) — If the weather in Gillette felt nicer than normal in 2024, that’s because it was. Last year was the third warmest year in Gillette on record.

Keith Sherburn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said Gillette’s average temperature in 2024 was 49.4 degrees, the warmest since 2012 and third warmest since records started being kept in 1902.

2024 also set the record for the warmest September and warmest December, Sherburn said, with average temperatures of 67.7 degrees and 49.3 degrees, respectively.

The year got off to a very cold start, however. Jan. 13 was the coldest day Gillette had experienced since December 1990, getting to 35 degrees below zero. It was in the middle of a six-day stretch where temperatures reached the negatives. From Jan. 13-15, temperatures stayed below zero.

But things warmed up from there. Eleven months out of the year reached temperatures of at least 60 degrees, with November being the only exception with a high of 58 degrees.

For the year, Gillette received 12.71 inches of precipitation, down about 5 inches from what is normally seen. And since July 1, it’s received 11 inches of snow, as opposed to the typical 19 inches.

July 25 and Aug. 21 tied for the hottest days of 2024, both reaching a high of 102 degrees. The wettest day of the year was May 6, with 2.39 inches of rain. The first two days of the International Pathfinder Camporee, Aug. 6 and 7, received 0.36 and 0.76 inches of rain, respectively.

The snowiest day was April 7, when 12 inches of snow fell on Gillette.

This story was published on January 3, 2025.