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Map Selection Monthly Temperature & Precipitation
 30-Year Monthly Averages
Maps of temperature and precipitation for the northern Great Plains and northern Rocky Mountains (MN, ND,SD, WY, MT, and ID) have been created using 30-year monthly averaged values acquired from the National Climate Data Center (www.ncdc.noaa.gov).Data Source & Calculations
The elevation profile for the six state region is shown in the figure at left. Climatological data are collected as part of the Cooperative Network, National Weather Service offices, which maintain principal stations in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Pacific Island locations. Mapped values are calculated by averaging the monthly recorded weather over a standard 30-year period, from 1971 through 2000, at each of the 850 National Climatic Data Center Co-Op reporting sites in the region.Because these are average values, small-scale features, such as "bull's eye" patterns, do not necessarily represent persistent climatological phenomena. However, the general trends and magnitudes in temperature and precipitation displays in the maps are characteristic of the region for any given month and provide a useful baseline with which to compare current conditions. |