Rapid City, South Dakota Weather
Prairie lightning bugs rise. Day 78 of spring. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Rapid City weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJun 4Heavy Drizzle53%0.05″76°55°—
- FridayJun 5Overcast15%—83°56°+7°
- SaturdayJun 6Overcast——95°62°+12°
- SundayJun 7Overcast30%—97°71°+2°
- MondayJun 8Light Drizzle30%—85°57°-12°
- TuesdayJun 9Overcast15%—96°63°+11°
- WednesdayJun 10Light Drizzle24%0.02″93°67°-3°
AQI 55 (Moderate), driven by PM2.5. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points). PM2.5 at 7.9 µg/m³, PM10 at 10.0 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 33 now. With UV 0.0 peaking around 1 PM under partly cloudy skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 6 by mid-afternoon.
- Present
- AQI 33
- UV peak
- 0.0 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- partly cloudy
- Projected peak
- AQI 6
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 7.9 µg/m³, PM10 at 10.0 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.79
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- background
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
The higher the clouds, the finer the weather.
- Moonrise
- 6:05 AM
- Moonset
- 3:52 PM
- In sign
- ♒︎ Aquarius
Prairie lightning bugs rise
Rapid City at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 10°F below the seasonal normal for this latitude
- Last frost: May 10 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Jun 1–5
- Planting window: Harvest spring lettuce before it bolts. Sow heat-tolerant greens.
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of June 5, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Rapid City
SPC has placed Rapid City in the Slight Risk category for severe thunderstorms today.
- TODAYSLGTSlight Risk
- TOMORROWNONENo severe risk
- DAY 3TSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
Scattered severe storms possible. A few tornadoes, hail, and damaging wind gusts possible.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook. Outlooks are re-issued multiple times per day; this page reflects the most recent SPC polygons covering the city’s coordinates.