FORECAST CITY
Sign in
Shaded-relief map of Carrington, North Dakota: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NORTH DAKOTA · FOSTER COUNTY

Carrington

2,019 people, 1,590 ft above sea level in Foster County.

1,590 ftElevation, city center
2,019People, 2024 estimate
2 sq miLand area
Sunny 46°
Sunny now Dew point 32° · SSE 23 mph · high 41°
City of Carrington River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Carrington plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Carrington

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 3:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW CARRINGTON (K46D) · 3:35 PM
Sunny
46° Sunny Feels like 38° · high of 41° near 3 PM
WindSSE 23 mphgusts 32
Humidity57%rising to 82% by morning
Pressure30.01 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 32° · Dry43° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday40% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 110.02 in · 3 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Foster County
NWS Bismarck and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:39 AM5:02 PM ↓
9 h 22 m of daylight, 3 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
—
Air quality index ·
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
windy
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
41°
34°
50°
38°
56°
38°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
21
18
17
15
15
16
17
20
16
12
11
9
8
8
9
9
7
6
7
5
5
6
8
10
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 26 to 29° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 43° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
41° 32°
0% rain — SSE 21, gusts 33 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
52° 37°
0% rain — S 17, gusts 29 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 37°
0% rain — SSW 9 C
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
51° 35°
0% rain — SE 8 C
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers Chance of showers
45° 33°
40% rain up to 0.1″ WNW 10 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
40° 30°
10% rain — ENE 5 B
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
40° 30°
40% rain up to 0.3″ E 10 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Carrington about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Canadian Prairies three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 1,090 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the Pacific north of Hawaii. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, TEN YEARS AGO Nov. 11, 2016

The hottest this week has been

68° on Nov. 11, 2016, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1967. Next is 68° in 2025.

68°
68°
20252016
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Carrington 4 N record since 1967.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Carrington stands on

Carrington’s center stands about 1,590 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,550 ft to 1,610 ft, a difference of 60 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Hawks Nest, about 2,110 ft, 11 miles southwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Pierre Formation (shale), from the Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old.

Carrington, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,600 ft1,800 ft2,000 ft CARRINGTON1,590 ftHawks Nest2,110 ftLow point1,480 ft ← SWNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 31×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Pierre Formation

Shale. Age: Late Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old. About 24 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Carrington’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Carrington reaches the Gulf of America by way of Kelly Creek, the James, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,620 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Carrington≈ 2,620 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF CARRINGTON ≈ 2,620 mi to the Gulf of America Kelly Creek → James → Missouri → Mississippi

Lakes on the way: Columbia Road Reservoir and Depuy Dam Lake.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Carrington; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Carrington’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1967 · Carrington 4 N, 4 mi north

Carrington has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about −2° in January. About 21 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

18°−2°23°2°36°15°53°29°67°42°76°53°82°57°81°54°72°45°55°32°37°18°23°5° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY CARRINGTON 20.8 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average82° / 57°high / low, the warmest month
January, average18° / −2°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year20.8 inwettest months: June and July
Hottest on record107°FAugust 7, 1983
Coldest on record−39°FFebruary 1, 1996
Wettest day on record4.08 inSeptember 21, 2019
Snowiest day on record27.0 inOctober 14, 2019
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Highs below freezingNov. 24 to March 10; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezingOct. 15 to April 25; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretchMay through July: 10.1 of the year’s 20.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Carrington normally reaches 38° and falls to 19°. The record high is 67°, in 2001; the record low −3°, in 2014. The most rain on this date, 0.19 in, fell in 1994.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high18°23°36°53°67°76°82°81°72°55°37°23°
Normal low−2°2°15°29°42°53°57°54°45°32°18°5°
Rain, inches0.530.420.751.252.763.783.602.331.971.900.670.81
Record high55° (2012)57° (2000)76° (2012)99° (1980)97° (1986)103° (2021)107° (1973)107° (1983)105° (1978)92° (1992)78° (1975)61° (1969)
Record low−38° (1968)−39° (1996)−26° (1980)−12° (1979)14° (1967)29° (1969)34° (1972)28° (1974)15° (1974)−3° (1991)−27° (1985)−37° (1967)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1967 at Carrington 4 N, 4 miles north. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Carrington on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Bismarck ND · 89 MI 89 miles southwest Grand Forks ND · 100 MI 100 miles east Minot ND · 113 MI 113 miles northwest Fargo ND · 116 MI 116 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Carrington, North Dakota. Explore the plate
NORTH DAKOTA · FOSTER

Carrington

2,019 people, 1,590 ft above sea level in Foster County.

1,590 ftElevation
2,019People
2 sq miLand
Sunny 46°
SunnyDew point 32°
1

Today in Carrington

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now windy 41° 0%
6p mostly clear night 38° 0%
9p mostly clear night 37° 0%
12a mostly clear night 36° 0%
3a mostly clear night 35° 0%
6a mostly clear night 34° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 40%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
41
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
37
52
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
37
57
C
Tue0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
35
51
C
Wed40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
33
45
C
Thu10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
30
40
B
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
30
40
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, TEN YEARS AGO · NOV. 11, 2016

68°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1967.

2

What Carrington stands on

Carrington’s center stands about 1,590 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,550 ft to 1,610 ft, a difference of 60 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Hawks Nest, about 2,110 ft, 11 miles southwest.

Carrington, southwest to northeast Carrington1,590 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 59×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,590 ft
Within 3 miles1,550 to 1,610 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (60 ft of relief)
High point nearbyHawks Nest, 2,110 ft, 11 mi southwest
Rock at the surfacePierre Formation
Its ageLate Cretaceous, 66 to 100 million years old
5

Carrington’s year

Carrington has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about −2° in January. About 21 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 20.8 in
July, average82° / 57° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average18° / −2° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year20.8 in · wettest months: June and July
Hottest on record107°F · August 7, 1983
Coldest on record−39°F · February 1, 1996
Wettest day on record4.08 in · September 21, 2019
Snowiest day on record27.0 in · October 14, 2019
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Highs below freezing · Nov. 24 to March 10; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezing · Oct. 15 to April 25; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretch · May through July: 10.1 of the year’s 20.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Carrington normally reaches 38° and falls to 19°. The record high is 67°, in 2001; the record low −3°, in 2014. The most rain on this date, 0.19 in, fell in 1994.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1967 at Carrington 4 N, 4 miles north. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 2,620 mito the Gulf of AmericaKelly Creek → James → Missouri → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Carrington reaches the Gulf of America by way of Kelly Creek, the James, the Missouri and the Mississippi: about 2,620 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Columbia Road Reservoir and Depuy Dam Lake.

1,170 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.