Rapid City, SD Weather

Pennington County1:31 PM MDT44.08°N, 103.23°WElevation 3,241 ft

Current conditions

Sunny
72°
Sunny
Feels like 72°
High 75°·Low 47°
WindSE 5 mph gusts 15 mph
Humidity37%
Dew point44°
Cloud cover3%
UV index4 Moderate
Sunrise7:14 AM
Sunset6:02 PM

Forecast for this hour (no station report in the last two hours)

Forecast

10-day

  • Today

    Sunny. High near 75, with temperatures falling to around 70 in the afternoon. Southeast wind around 5 mph.

  • Tonight

    Clear. Low around 47, with temperatures rising to around 49 overnight. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

  • Wednesday

    Sunny. High near 68, with temperatures falling to around 66 in the afternoon. East wind 3 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

National Weather Service forecast updated 7 hrs ago.

Hourly

Hourly forecast
  1. Now Sunny 72°
  2. 2 PM Sunny 74°
  3. 3 PM Sunny 75°
  4. 4 PM Sunny 74°
  5. 5 PM Sunny 70°
  6. 6 PM Mostly Clear 67°
  7. 7 PM Clear 64°
  8. 8 PM Mostly Clear 59°
  9. 9 PM Mostly Clear 57°
  10. 10 PM Mostly Clear 56°
  11. 11 PM Clear 55°
  12. Wed12 AM Clear 54°
  13. 1 AM Clear 53°
  14. 2 AM Clear 52°
  15. 3 AM Clear 50°
  16. 4 AM Clear 50°
  17. 5 AM Clear 49°
  18. 6 AM Sunny 47°
  19. 7 AM Sunny 47°
  20. 8 AM Sunny 49°
  21. 9 AM Sunny 53°
  22. 10 AM Sunny 57°
  23. 11 AM Sunny 60°
  24. 12 PM Mostly Sunny 63°

10-day forecast

Details
  1. TodayOct 20 Sunny Sunny47°75°
  2. WedOct 21 Sunny Sunny50°68°
  3. ThuOct 22 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny56°79°
  4. FriOct 23 Partly Sunny Partly Sunny18%45°77°
  5. SatOct 24 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny37°57°
  6. SunOct 25 Sunny Sunny38°61°
  7. MonOct 26 Sunny Sunny39°58°
  8. TueOct 27 Sunny Sunny34°54°
  9. WedOct 28 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny32°50°
  10. ThuOct 29 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy30°45°

Days after the National Weather Service's seven are MET Norway's outlook, a computer model with no forecaster's review.

Radar

Full map
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Weather news near Rapid City

More weather news

Air quality

73
Moderate
Fine particles (PM2.5)

Acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.

Rapid City, SD reporting area · 1 hr ago. Data from AirNow (EPA and its state, local and tribal partners); preliminary and subject to change.

Sun & moon

Sunrise 7:14 AM
Sunset 6:02 PM
Daylight 10 h 47 min (−2 min 53 s tomorrow)
Waxing Gibbous · 71% lit
Moonrise 3:30 PM Moonset 1:03 AM
Full moon Oct 26 New moon Nov 9

Almanac

Monthly
Normal high / low58° / 32°
Record high88° (1947)
Record low19° (1987)
Wettest0.56 in (2019)
Yesterday65° / 32°
Month to date0.12 in (normal 1.00 in)

Rapid City Area, records since 1942. Normals 1991–2020. Data from NOAA's Regional Climate Centers (ACIS).

Nearby

Forecasters' discussion

From the National Weather Service office in UNR, issued 14 hrs ago

Key Messages

- Warm and dry weather through much of this week.

Update

Issued at 1101 PM MDT Mon Oct 19 2026

No major forecast changes were needed with this evening's update. Fairly quiet/low-impact weather continues this week, with diurnally breezy conditions for some areas. Next chance of precip still looks to hold off until at least Friday.

Discussion

(This Evening Through Monday) Issued at 1244 PM MDT Mon Oct 19 2026

Current upper air analysis shows southwest flow over the US as trof deepens off the coast of the PNW. The CWA sits under mostly clear skies with sfc stations reporting temps in the upper 50s to low 60s.

Broad ridging will dominate the pattern through this week, keeping conditions warm and dry. Weak shortwave and attendant cool front will cross the region late Tuesday. Not expecting any precip with this system but highs will be slightly cooler on Wednesday.

Amplifying upper ridge and breezy southerly flow will support much warmer temps on Thursday with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s across much of the region.

Our next chance at precip comes this weekend as trof pushes onshore over the western US. Deterministic and ensemble model solutions diverge on the evolution of this trof as it pushes eastward into the central US, leading to low forecast certainty on timing and specific impacts from this system.

Aviation

(For the 06Z TAFS Through 06Z Tuesday Night) Issued At 933 PM MDT Mon Oct 19 2026

VFR conditions through the forecast period. Breezy winds will continue to slowly diminish across the northeast Wyoming and northwest South Dakota plains before shifting to the north around 20/19-22z.

Forecasts, observations and alerts in the United States come from the National Weather Service (NOAA); radar from NOAA's Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor system; satellite imagery from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) and NOAA's GOES satellites; the map from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Map; air quality from AirNow (EPA and its partners); hurricane information from the National Hurricane Center; climate normals and records from NOAA's Regional Climate Centers (ACIS). Forecasts outside the United States and the UV index: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0); observations outside the U.S.: airport reports via NOAA's Aviation Weather Center. Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Data are copied on a schedule and may lag the sources; for warnings that affect your safety, follow your local National Weather Service office and emergency officials. Weather news is drawn from the 4Conservative index and reflects what the press published. Terms of use.