Williston is a city in and the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The 2020 census gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-most populous city in North Dakota.
It is near the southeast edge of the Williston Basin, named after the city. This huge subterranean geologic feature is known for its rich deposits of petroleum, coal, and potash, which contributed to the city's population nearly doubling between 2010 and 2020, due largely to the North Dakota oil boom.
Williston's newspaper is the weekly Williston Herald. Williston is the home of Williston State College and the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Pageant.
History
Founded in 1887, Williston was named for Daniel Willis James, a merchant and capitalist, by his friend, railroad magnate James J. Hill.
In 1907 Williston was the site of a rolling cyclone that killed two people.
Geography
Williston is located at the crossroads of U.S. Highways 2 and 85, near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, at the upper end of the Lake Sakakawea.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
Williston has a cold semi-arid climate; closely bordering upon a warm-summer humid continental climate. It is part of USDA Hardiness zone 4a. The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from in January to in July.
|collapsed =
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 58
|Feb record high F = 66
|Mar record high F = 84
|Apr record high F = 92
|May record high F = 106
|Jun record high F = 108
|Jul record high F = 110
|Aug record high F = 108
|Sep record high F = 104
|Oct record high F = 93
|Nov record high F = 76
|Dec record high F = 63
|year record high F =
|Jan avg record high F = 44.0
|Feb avg record high F = 46.7
|Mar avg record high F = 65.1
|Apr avg record high F = 79.0
|May avg record high F = 86.6
|Jun avg record high F = 93.5
|Jul avg record high F = 98.0
|Aug avg record high F = 98.9
|Sep avg record high F = 93.3
|Oct avg record high F = 80.3
|Nov avg record high F = 60.4
|Dec avg record high F = 46.1
|year avg record high F = 100.6
|Jan high F = 22.1
|Feb high F = 26.7
|Mar high F = 40.1
|Apr high F = 55.6
|May high F = 67.4
|Jun high F = 76.7
|Jul high F = 84.5
|Aug high F = 83.9
|Sep high F = 72.6
|Oct high F = 55.9
|Nov high F = 38.4
|Dec high F = 26.1
|year high F = 54.2
|Jan mean F = 11.6
|Feb mean F = 16.1
|Mar mean F = 28.8
|Apr mean F = 42.4
|May mean F = 53.8
|Jun mean F = 63.5
|Jul mean F = 70.4
|Aug mean F = 69.0
|Sep mean F = 58.0
|Oct mean F = 43.2
|Nov mean F = 27.8
|Dec mean F = 16.1
|year mean F = 41.7
|Jan low F = 1.0
|Feb low F = 5.5
|Mar low F = 17.5
|Apr low F = 29.2
|May low F = 40.2
|Jun low F = 50.2
|Jul low F = 56.3
|Aug low F = 54.0
|Sep low F = 43.5
|Oct low F = 30.4
|Nov low F = 17.1
|Dec low F = 6.1
|year low F = 29.3
|Jan avg record low F = -25.8
|Feb avg record low F = -19.5
|Mar avg record low F = -7.6
|Apr avg record low F = 12.6
|May avg record low F = 24.4
|Jun avg record low F = 37.5
|Jul avg record low F = 45.1
|Aug avg record low F = 40.9
|Sep avg record low F = 27.2
|Oct avg record low F = 12.0
|Nov avg record low F = -4.6
|Dec avg record low F = -19.8
|year avg record low F = -29.2
|Jan record low F = −42
|Feb record low F = −50
|Mar record low F = −35
|Apr record low F = −15
|May record low F = 10
|Jun record low F = 26
|Jul record low F = 34
|Aug record low F = 32
|Sep record low F = 13
|Oct record low F = −9
|Nov record low F = −27
|Dec record low F = −50
|year record low F = -50
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.56
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.48
|Mar precipitation inch = 0.63
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.05
|May precipitation inch = 2.10
|Jun precipitation inch = 2.64
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.48
|Aug precipitation inch = 1.57
|Sep precipitation inch = 1.36
|Oct precipitation inch = 0.94
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.67
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.63
|year precipitation inch = 15.11
|Jan snow inch = 11.2
|Feb snow inch = 6.7
|Mar snow inch = 6.4
|Apr snow inch = 3.7
|May snow inch = 0.9
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 2.6
|Nov snow inch = 6.3
|Dec snow inch = 10.4
|year snow inch = 48.2
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 7.6
|Feb precipitation days = 7.1
|Mar precipitation days = 7.4
|Apr precipitation days = 8.3
|May precipitation days = 9.9
|Jun precipitation days = 12.3
|Jul precipitation days = 9.2
|Aug precipitation days = 8.7
|Sep precipitation days = 7.5
|Oct precipitation days = 6.9
|Nov precipitation days = 6.8
|Dec precipitation days = 8.5
|year precipitation days = 100.2
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 9.8
|Feb snow days = 6.9
|Mar snow days = 6.0
|Apr snow days = 2.7
|May snow days = 0.9
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 1.9
|Nov snow days = 5.8
|Dec snow days = 8.8
|year snow days = 42.8
|Jan humidity = 71.3
|Feb humidity = 75.6
|Mar humidity = 72.5
|Apr humidity = 61.4
|May humidity = 58.5
|Jun humidity = 59.6
|Jul humidity = 56.1
|Aug humidity = 54.9
|Sep humidity = 61.1
|Oct humidity = 65.2
|Nov humidity = 74.9
|Dec humidity = 77.1
|year humidity = 66.1
|Jan sun = 144.5
|Feb sun = 169.7
|Mar sun = 227.3
|Apr sun = 250.3
|May sun = 297.9
|Jun sun = 326.0
|Jul sun = 366.3
|Aug sun = 331.5
|Sep sun = 249.5
|Oct sun = 197.1
|Nov sun = 122.2
|Dec sun = 125.5
|year sun = 2807.8
|Jan percentsun = 53
|Feb percentsun = 59
|Mar percentsun = 62
|Apr percentsun = 61
|May percentsun = 63
|Jun percentsun = 68
|Jul percentsun = 76
|Aug percentsun = 75
|Sep percentsun = 66
|Oct percentsun = 59
|Nov percentsun = 44
|Dec percentsun = 48
|year percentsun = 63
| Jan dew point C = −15.9
| Feb dew point C = −12.2
| Mar dew point C = −6.7
| Apr dew point C = −1.9
| May dew point C = 3.8
| Jun dew point C = 9.2
| Jul dew point C = 11.2
| Aug dew point C = 9.7
| Sep dew point C = 5.1
| Oct dew point C = −0.5
| Nov dew point C = −6.9
| Dec dew point C = −13.6
|source 1 = NOAA (relative humidity and dew point 1962–1990, sun 1961–1990)
<section end="weather box" />
;Notes: