Rapid City, SD 57709 Weather

Pennington County11:37 AM MDT44.08°N, 103.32°W

Current conditions

Partly Cloudy
58°
Partly Cloudy
Feels like 58°
High 67°·Low 51°
WindCalm
Humidity55%
Dew point42°
Pressure30.22 inHg
Visibility10.0 mi
Cloud cover32%
UV index3 Moderate
Sunrise7:16 AM
Sunset6:01 PM

Observed at Ellsworth Air Force Base · 1 hr ago

Forecast

10-day

  • Today

    Sunny. High near 67, with temperatures falling to around 63 in the afternoon. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

  • Tonight

    Mostly clear. Low around 51, with temperatures rising to around 56 overnight. South wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

  • Thursday

    Mostly sunny. High near 79, with temperatures falling to around 75 in the afternoon. South wind 6 to 12 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

National Weather Service forecast updated 3 hrs ago.

Hourly

Hourly forecast
  1. Now Mostly Sunny 60°
  2. 12 PM Sunny 64°
  3. 1 PM Sunny 66°
  4. 2 PM Sunny 67°
  5. 3 PM Sunny 66°
  6. 4 PM Sunny 66°
  7. 5 PM Sunny 63°
  8. 6 PM Clear 60°
  9. 7 PM Clear 57°
  10. 8 PM Mostly Clear 55°
  11. 9 PM Mostly Clear 54°
  12. 10 PM Clear 54°
  13. 11 PM Mostly Clear 54°
  14. Thu12 AM Partly Cloudy 54°
  15. 1 AM Mostly Clear 54°
  16. 2 AM Mostly Clear 54°
  17. 3 AM Mostly Clear 54°
  18. 4 AM Partly Cloudy 54°
  19. 5 AM Partly Cloudy 56°
  20. 6 AM Mostly Sunny 57°
  21. 7 AM Partly Sunny 56°
  22. 8 AM Partly Sunny 57°
  23. 9 AM Mostly Sunny 61°
  24. 10 AM Sunny 67°

10-day forecast

Details
  1. TodayOct 21 Sunny Sunny51°67°
  2. ThuOct 22 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny56°79°
  3. FriOct 23 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny21%44°80°
  4. SatOct 24 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny35°52°
  5. SunOct 25 Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Light Snow Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Light Snow28%35°51°
  6. MonOct 26 Slight Chance Rain And Snow then Partly Sunny Slight Chance Rain And Snow then Partly Sunny19%34°47°
  7. TueOct 27 Mostly Sunny Mostly Sunny10%37°56°
  8. WedOct 28 Showers Showers0.07 in29°52°
  9. ThuOct 29 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny27°52°
  10. FriOct 30 Sunny Sunny32°57°

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

31
Good
Fine particles (PM2.5)

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 7:16 AM
Sunset 6:01 PM
Daylight 10 h 44 min (−2 min 52 s tomorrow)
Waxing Gibbous · 79% lit
Moonrise 3:51 PM Moonset 2:09 AM
Full moon Oct 26 New moon Nov 9

Almanac

Monthly
Record high79° (1967)
Record low22° (1949)
Wettest0.33 in (1958)
Month to date0.32 in (normal 0.00 in)

Ellsworth Afb, records since 1949. Normals 1991–2020. Data from NOAA's Regional Climate Centers (ACIS).

Nearby

Forecasters' discussion

From the National Weather Service office in UNR, issued 6 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 12Z TAFS Through 12Z Thursday Morning) Issued At 511 AM MDT Wed Oct 21 2026

VFR conditions are expected through the forecast period.

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.