Kansas has chilly winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 89°, a January night drops to 20°, and about 11 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
89°
427th hottest of 1,353 Missouri towns
❄️
January low
20°
484th coldest of 1,353 Missouri towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
39 in
213th driest of 1,353 Missouri towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
11 in
628th least snowy of 1,335 Missouri towns
A normal year
What a year in Kansas feels like
❄️
Winter
42° / 23°
Typical high / low · 4 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
66° / 44°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 4
☀️
Summer
87° / 66°
Typical high / low · 47 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
67° / 46°
Typical high / low · First frost around Nov 2
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
39°
20°
45°
24°
56°
34°
66°
44°
76°
55°
85°
65°
89°
68°
88°
67°
80°
58°
68°
45°
54°
34°
43°
24°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideAprMaySepOctHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Kansas weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
Month
High
Low
Rain + melt
Snow
Wet days
30-yr range
January
39°
20°
1.1"
3.4"
5
23° – 41°
February
45°
24°
1.5"
3.2"
5
26° – 45°
March
56°
34°
2.3"
0.4"
7
38° – 59°
April
66°
44°
4.0"
0.1"
9
48° – 61°
May
76°
55°
5.4"
0
11
59° – 74°
June
85°
65°
5.2"
0
10
71° – 79°
July
89°
68°
4.7"
0
8
74° – 85°
August
88°
67°
4.4"
0
8
71° – 83°
September
80°
58°
3.8"
0
8
63° – 76°
October
68°
45°
3.3"
0.3"
7
50° – 62°
November
54°
34°
2.1"
0.1"
5
37° – 52°
December
43°
24°
1.6"
3.5"
5
20° – 41°
Year
66°
45°
39.3"
11.0"
86
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.
Rain & snow
Rain and snow in Kansas
Kansas gets 39 inches of rain and melted snow a year. May is the wettest month and January the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 86 days a year.
💧
39 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 51% of U.S. towns
❄️
11 in
Snow in a normal winter
Less snow than 71% of U.S. towns
☔
86 days
With rain or snow (0.01"+)
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
5.4"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
3.5"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 211 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 4 and the first one by November 2. That leaves about 211 frost-free days for gardens, longer than 79% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Apr 4
🍂 Nov 2
211 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
93
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
1
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
47
days that reach 90° in a normal year
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
JFMAMJJASOND
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling a home in Kansas
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Kansas, 73% of that work is heating and 27% is cooling.
🔥
4,613 heating degree daysLess heating than 72% of U.S. towns
❄️
1,708 cooling degree daysMore cooling than 83% of U.S. towns
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Around Kansas
Kansas and its neighbors
Kansas borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 0.8°. Liberty has the coldest January nights (20°) and Kansas City the hottest July afternoons (89°). Kansas’s January low is 20° and its July high 89°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.1°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Kansas averaged 1.1° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in March (+2.5°). The shift is smaller than in 63% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+2.2°now 33°, was 30°
🌷 Spring+1.4°now 55°, was 54°
☀️ Summer+0.4°now 77°, was 76°
🍂 Fall+0.3°now 57°, was 56°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Kansas’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+2.5°
−0.6°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. December swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 20° to 41°. June is the most reliable, staying within 8°.
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Kansas’s climate
What is the coldest month in Kansas?
January, with a typical high of 39° and a low of 20°.
What is the hottest month in Kansas?
July, with a typical high of 89° and a low of 68°. About 47 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Kansas get?
About 11 inches in a normal winter, most of it in December.
When is the first frost in Kansas?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by November 2, and the last spring frost by April 4.
What is the rainiest month in Kansas?
May, with 5.4 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 39 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Kansas itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Kansas City Downtown Airport, MO (2 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.