Rapid City, SD 57703 Weather

Pennington County8:54 PM MDT44.05°N, 103.18°W

Current conditions

Mostly Clear
58°
Mostly Clear
Feels like 58°
High 81° Thursday·Low 51° tonight
WindS 8 mph gusts 18 mph
Humidity62%
Dew point45°
Cloud cover8%
UV index0 Low
Sunrise7:15 AM
Sunset6:00 PM

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

Forecast

10-day

  • Tonight

    Mostly clear, with a low around 51. South wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

  • Thursday

    Mostly sunny. High near 81, with temperatures falling to around 76 in the afternoon. South wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

  • Thursday Night

    Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. South wind around 7 mph, with gusts as high as 17 mph.

National Weather Service forecast updated 2 hrs ago.

Hourly

Hourly forecast
  1. Now Mostly Clear 58°
  2. 9 PM Clear 56°
  3. 10 PM Clear 56°
  4. 11 PM Mostly Clear 55°
  5. Thu12 AM Partly Cloudy 53°
  6. 1 AM Mostly Clear 52°
  7. 2 AM Mostly Clear 52°
  8. 3 AM Mostly Clear 52°
  9. 4 AM Mostly Clear 52°
  10. 5 AM Partly Cloudy 52°
  11. 6 AM Mostly Sunny 52°
  12. 7 AM Partly Sunny 51°
  13. 8 AM Mostly Sunny 54°
  14. 9 AM Partly Sunny 59°
  15. 10 AM Sunny 65°
  16. 11 AM Mostly Sunny 70°
  17. 12 PM Mostly Sunny 74°
  18. 1 PM Sunny 77°
  19. 2 PM Sunny 80°
  20. 3 PM Mostly Sunny 80°
  21. 4 PM Mostly Sunny 79°
  22. 5 PM Mostly Sunny 76°
  23. 6 PM Mostly Cloudy 72°
  24. 7 PM Mostly Cloudy 67°

10-day forecast

Details
  1. TonightOct 21 Mostly Clear Mostly Clear51°
  2. ThuOct 22 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny56°81°
  3. FriOct 23 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny31%44°83°
  4. SatOct 24 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny12%36°55°
  5. SunOct 25 Chance Light Rain Chance Light Rain44%33°48°
  6. MonOct 26 Slight Chance Rain And Snow Slight Chance Rain And Snow22%34°48°
  7. TueOct 27 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny37°60°
  8. WedOct 28 Sunny Sunny59°
  9. ThuOct 29 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny35°50°
  10. FriOct 30 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy34°53°

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

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Air quality

34
Good
Ozone

Air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

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 7:15 AM
Sunset 6:00 PM
Daylight 10 h 45 min (−2 min 52 s tomorrow)
Waxing Gibbous · 82% lit
Moonrise 3:50 PM Moonset 2:09 AM
Full moon Oct 26 New moon Nov 9

Almanac

Monthly
Normal high / low58° / 32°
Record high89° (1992)
Record low19° (1987)
Wettest0.30 in (2020)
Month to date0.12 in (normal 1.04 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 9 hrs ago

Key Messages

- Warm and dry weather through much of this week.

Update

Issued at 1058 PM MDT Tue Oct 20 2026

No major changes to the forecast this evening. Surface analysis shows a weak cold front crossing NW SD at this time. Across SW SD, temps are in the mid to upper 50s while over NW SD into portions of NE WY temps are dropping into the upper 40s. NW winds will continue overnight into Wed morning, then return flow sets up as the surface high pushes east of the CWA Wed afternoon. Max temps on Wed will be in the 60s to low 70s...but then a decent overnight LLJ/warm air advection will push highs on Thursday well above average (upper 70s to possibly mid 80s over the western SD plains).

Discussion

(This Evening Through Tuesday) Issued at 1254 PM MDT Tue Oct 20 2026

Current upper level analysis shows broad ridging over the central and western US with deepening trof off the west coast. The CWA sits under upper level southwest flow and clear skies. Sfc stations report light southerly winds across much of western SD with temperatures in the 60s to low 70s.

Weak front will cross the CWA overnight with the only impacts being a slight drop in tomorrow's highs and a brief period of breezy northwest winds overnight. Upper ridge builds over the region Wednesday into Thursday with southerly return flow supporting warming temps over the area.

Southerly winds pick up early Friday morning as upper level trof approaches with attendant sfc low and trailing cold front crossing the Northern Plains. WAA ahead of the front Friday afternoon will support highs in the upper 70s to low 80s over the western SD plains. As the front crosses the area later Friday evening, winds will shift to the northwest but remain breezy through the night, especially over northwestern SD. Much cooler conditions expected over the weekend with low chances for light precip.

Aviation

(For the 18Z TAFS Through 18Z Thursday) Issued At 1124 AM MDT Wed Oct 21 2026

VFR conditions are expected through the forecast period.

Main aviation changes will be centered around winds but overall concerns are low. Increased wind speeds, upwards of 10 to 20 kts, are likely through the tonight for NE WY and NW SD before a lull in speeds Thursday morning. Wind speeds increase again, up to 10 to 15 kts, for most of the area for Thursday afternoon.

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 4Search index and reflects what the press published. Terms of use.