Helena, MT

Montana · Records since 1880–2026

☁️ 61°F Feels like 52°
Currently in Helena
As of 8:15 PM MDT

Records for September 26

🔥 Record High

88°F

September 26, 1952

+19° from 69° normal

❄ Record Low

20°F

September 26, 1900

-22° from 42° normal
🌞 Normal high: 69°F 🌑 Normal low: 42°F 1991–2020 normals

All-Time Records — Helena

🔥
105°F
Hottest Day Ever
Jul 12, 2002
❄
-42°F
Coldest Day Ever
Feb 2, 1996
🌧
2.23"
Wettest Day Ever
Oct 12, 1891
☃
18.8"
Most Snow in One Day
Nov 11, 1959

First & Last Dates — Helena

How early and how late each seasonal turning point has ever arrived, across the full period of record

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Range ever recorded Normal date (1991–2020)
178 days
Longest growing season
1881
82 days
Shortest growing season
1910
136 days
Normal growing season
1991–2020 average

Top 10 Record Highs — September 26

# Temp Date
🏆 88°F September 26, 1952
2 87°F September 26, 2021
3 87°F September 26, 2009
4 86°F September 26, 2010
5 86°F September 26, 1956
6 85°F September 26, 1963
7 85°F September 26, 1943
8 85°F September 26, 1899
9 84°F September 26, 1994
10 84°F September 26, 1978

Top 5 Record Lows — September 26

# Temp Date
🥶 20°F September 26, 1900
2 23°F September 26, 1972
3 26°F September 26, 1926
4 27°F September 26, 1951
5 28°F September 26, 1970
About this data — Records are sourced from the NOAA Threadex dataset via RCC ACIS, a quality-controlled record for long-term climate stations. Threadex adjusts for station relocations and observation-time changes, making records comparable across all years since 1880–2026. Climate normals represent the 1991–2020 average.

Heat Wave Summary — Helena

threshold: 92°F (90th percentile of historical Jun–Aug highs)
4.5
Avg heat wave length
days (historical)
98°
Avg peak temp
during heat waves
0
Dangerous nights 2026
Overnights ≥ 70°F
2
Heat waves 2026
so far

Days ≥ 90°F Per Year

1880–2026
28
2026 so far
17
Avg/year 1970–2025
35
Avg/year (last 10 complete)
54
Most in a year (2022)

Average Daily High by Decade

Full year · complete decades only

Longest Heat Waves — Helena

# Dates Days Peak Avg High Avg Overnight Low
🏆 Jul 8, 2024 – Jul 25, 2024 18 102°F (Jul 23) 97°F 62°F
2 Jul 11, 2007 – Jul 23, 2007 13 102°F (Jul 14) 98°F 63°F
3 Jun 30, 1985 – Jul 12, 1985 13 101°F (Jul 9) 96°F 61°F
4 Aug 8, 2022 – Aug 20, 2022 13 99°F (Aug 16) 95°F 60°F
5 Aug 10, 1967 – Aug 20, 1967 11 97°F (Aug 19) 95°F 54°F
6 Jul 15, 2003 – Jul 24, 2003 10 104°F (Jul 23) 99°F 63°F
7 Jul 20, 2006 – Jul 29, 2006 10 102°F (Jul 23) 98°F 61°F
8 Jun 26, 2015 – Jul 4, 2015 9 103°F (Jun 27) 98°F 62°F
9 Jul 24, 2026 – Aug 1, 2026 9 103°F (Aug 1) 96°F 59°F
10 Jul 27, 2022 – Aug 4, 2022 9 102°F (Aug 1) 98°F 62°F

Heat Waves Per Year

Warm Summer Nights (Jun–Aug)

Nights where the overnight low exceeded the 1991–2020 normal low

57
2026 total
above-normal nights
37.2
Avg / summer
1970–2020
71
Most in a summer
2021

Above-Normal Summer Nights Per Year

Average June–August Low by Decade

Overnight lows · complete decades only

Precipitation

Annual totals and trend across the full period of record · see this year's standing →

Monthly Precipitation — Last 24 Months

Blue = actual · dashed line = monthly normal

Annual Precipitation Per Year (1880–2026)

Blue = above average · tan = below average · gold = 2026 (partial)
Since 1880, annual totals have trended -0.16" per decade, about -2.4" across the record.

Heavy Rain Days Per Year (≥ 1.0")

Compare year-to-year changes in days with heavy rainfall (≥ 1.0")

This Year — 2026

How Helena is tracking against normal, year to date

Daily High Temperature vs Normal

Above normal Below normal

173 of 267 days with data were above the 1991–2020 normal high for their date.

Precipitation, Year to Date

11.19"
2026 YTD
Normal: 9.40"
+1.79"
1.38"
September so far
September normal: 0.96"
+0.42"
0
2026 heavy rain days
Days with ≥ 1.0"

Accumulation vs. Normal

Running total since Jan 1 against the normal pace for the same date · Helena is 1.79" ahead of the normal pace

Period Review — Jun 27 – Sep 25, 2026

Any window, evaluated against every other year on record — 91 days

Quick picks: Last 7 days Last 30 days Last 90 days This month
Seasons: Spring (Mar–May) Summer (Jun–Aug) Fall (Sep–Nov)
68.0°F
Average temperature
15th-warmest of 147
+1.4°
vs. average
Normal: 66.6°F (1991–2020)

Average Temperature by Year — Jun 27 – Sep 25

1880–2026 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.28° per decade (warming since 1880)

Precipitation by Year — Jun 27 – Sep 25

1880–2025 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.01" per decade (wetter since 1880)

Warmest Jun 27 – Sep 25 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 2022 71.6°F
2 2001 70.9°F
3 2003 70.6°F
4 2021 70.6°F
5 2007 70.1°F
6 2013 70.0°F
7 2023 69.9°F
8 2024 69.6°F
9 2017 69.3°F
10 2012 68.8°F

Coolest Jun 27 – Sep 25 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 1993 58.7°F
2 1911 59.3°F
3 1912 59.4°F
4 1972 60.7°F
5 1907 60.9°F
6 1965 60.9°F
7 1951 61.2°F
8 1971 61.3°F
9 1926 61.5°F
10 1915 61.5°F
About this data. Pick any start and end date and this becomes the same kind of review as the Month and Fall tabs, just for exactly the window you asked for — the generalized version of the same engine, evaluated across every year on record. Average temperature is the mean of each day's (high + low) / 2; precipitation is the sum of daily totals. A year missing more than about a fifth of the window's days is excluded from the temperature ranking; any missing day excludes a year from the precipitation ranking, since an unreported day is unreported rain. Ranges that cross from December into January aren't supported yet. Normals are the 1991–2020 mean for the same window.
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