When to paint a house exterior in Fargo, ND
When to paint in Fargo, ND
A short season: book early and expect weather delays. The painting window is July to August, with 2 good months a year. The best month is July, at about 16 painting days. Book a painter by May.
If you want the house done in July to August, call for quotes in May or earlier; a job pushed past August is likely to wait until next year. For a deck, the months with enough staining days to spare are Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- under 1Jan
- under 1Feb
- under 1Mar
- 1Apr
- 3May
- 11Jun
- 16Jul
- 15Aug
- 10Sep
- 2Oct
- under 1Nov
- under 1Dec
Month by month
| Month | Painting days | Staining days | With low-temp paint | Avg low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 4° / 23°F |
| February | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 3° / 26°F |
| March | under 1 | under 1 | 1 | 18° / 41°F |
| April | 1 | under 1 | 4 | 30° / 55°F |
| May | 3 | 3 | 13 | 44° / 73°F |
| June | 11 | 6 | 15 | 56° / 84°F |
| July | 16 | 11 | 17 | 60° / 86°F |
| August | 15 | 13 | 18 | 56° / 83°F |
| September | 10 | 9 | 19 | 51° / 77°F |
| October | 2 | 2 | 11 | 36° / 60°F |
| November | under 1 | under 1 | 2 | 23° / 43°F |
| December | under 1 | under 1 | under 1 | 10° / 29°F |
Deck stain does best in August. Low-temperature paint adds about 43 days a year here.
Towns near Fargo compared
2 of the 6 nearest places get more painting days, the most in Fergus Falls (72 a year, 54 miles southeast). A gap like that between towns is usually elevation, a coast or a lake, which is why a painter from a few towns over can be on a different schedule. West Fargo, Moorhead are read from the same station as Fargo, so their numbers match; the real difference is the distance from that station.
| Place | From Fargo | Painting days a year | Window | Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Fargo, ND | 4 mi west | 57 | July to August | same station |
| Moorhead, MN | 4 mi east | 57 | July to August | same station |
| Detroit Lakes, MN | 47 mi east | 58 | July to August | Pk Rpds Municipal-Konshok Fd Airport |
| Fergus Falls, MN | 54 mi southeast | 72 | June to September | Chandler Field Airport |
| Grand Forks, ND | 74 mi north | 59 | July to August | Grand Forks International Air |
| Jamestown, ND | 88 mi west | 60 | June to August | Jamestown Regional Airport |
How Fargo ranks in ND
Of 9 ND places with 10,000 people or more, Fargo (population 136,285, 1st largest) ranks 3rd for painting days, 1 day above the state median of 56. The longest season in the state is Jamestown, 60 days, 88 miles west. The shortest is Dickinson at 29. Switching to low-temperature paint here is worth 43 extra days, more than most of the summer months on their own.
Where these numbers come from
Daily records from Hector International Airport (4.3 miles away), 2015 to 2024, NOAA Global Summary of the Day. A month is good at 12+ painting days and possible at 6+.