Climate · Read

Read, NE climate

Read has cold winters and warm summers. A typical July afternoon reaches 86°, a January night drops to 14°, and about 24 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.

NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals Updated once a decade
July high
86°
257th coolest of 913 Nebraska towns
January low
14°
437th coldest of 913 Nebraska towns
Rain + melted snow
29 in
362nd wettest of 913 Nebraska towns
Snow a winter
24 in
246th least snowy of 910 Nebraska towns
A normal year

What a year in Read feels like

Winter

36° / 16°
Typical high / low · 8 days with an inch or more of snow

Spring

62° / 38°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Apr 29

Summer

84° / 63°
Typical high / low · 31 days reach 90° in a normal year

Fall

64° / 40°
Typical high / low · First frost around Oct 9
Best months to be outsideMayJunAugSepOctHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month

Read weather by month

Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.

MonthHighLowRain + meltSnowWet daysSnow on ground30-yr range
January34°14°0.6" 5.8"416 17° – 38°
February39°18°0.7" 6.4"414 16° – 37°
March51°28°1.5" 3.6"55 31° – 53°
April62°38°2.8" 1.5"71 42° – 56°
May73°50°4.9" 0100 56° – 67°
June83°61°4.4" 090 68° – 76°
July86°65°3.3" 070 70° – 80°
August84°63°3.5" 070 69° – 78°
September77°53°2.6" 060 60° – 71°
October65°40°2.2" 0.6"50 45° – 56°
November50°27°1.3" 1.5"42 30° – 49°
December37°18°1.0" 4.9"410 15° – 33°
Year62°39°28.8"24.3"7247

“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 Read

Read gets 29 inches of rain and melted snow a year. May is the wettest month and January the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 72 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 47 days of the year.

29 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 77% of U.S. towns
24 in
Snow in a normal winter
Less snow than 51% of U.S. towns
47 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 65% of U.S. towns

Rain + melted snow by month

Inches of water
4.9"

Snowfall by month

Inches of snow
6.4"
Frost & the growing season

About 163 frost-free days a year

In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 29 and the first one by October 9. That leaves about 163 frost-free days for gardens, shorter than 68% of U.S. towns.

150
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
13
nights below 0° in a normal year
31
days that reach 90° in a normal year

Freezing nights by month

Average nights at or below 32°

90° days by month

Average days at 90° or more
Heating & cooling

Heating and cooling a home in Read

Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Read, 88% of that work is heating and 12% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.

88%heating
6,435 heating degree daysMore heating than 65% of U.S. towns
918 cooling degree daysMore cooling than 56% 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 Read

Read and its neighbors

Read borders 2 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 0.1°. Ulysses has both the coldest January nights (14°) and the hottest July afternoons (86°). Read’s January low is 14° and its July high 86°.

Summit: January low 14°, July high 86°Union: January low 14°, July high 86°Plum Creek: January low 14°, July high 86°Reading: January low 14°, July high 86°Ulysses: January low 14°, July high 86°Read: January low 14°, July high 86° ReadReadingUlysses
ColderMilder14° to 14°
Read13.8°
Ulysses13.8° same
Reading13.9° +0.1°

Temperatures and rain come from NOAA’s 5 km grid, so each town gets its own value.

Compared with other towns

How Read compares

Summer heat86° July high
Hotter than 59% of U.S. towns257th coolest of 913 Nebraska towns
Winter cold14° January low
Colder than 74% of U.S. towns437th coldest of 913 Nebraska towns
Precipitation29" a year
Drier than 77% of U.S. towns362nd wettest of 913 Nebraska towns
Snow24" a winter
Less snow than 51% of U.S. towns246th least snowy of 910 Nebraska towns
Growing season163 frost-free days
Shorter than 68% of U.S. towns438th shortest of 913 Nebraska towns

Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.

Then and now

Warmer than it used to be

+0.9°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)

The last 30 years in Read averaged 0.9° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in March (+2.5°). The shift is smaller than in 81% of U.S. towns.

❄️ Winter+2.0° now 26°, was 25°
🌷 Spring+1.1° now 50°, was 49°
☀️ Summer−0.2° now 73°, was 74°
🍂 Fall+0.5° now 52°, was 52°

Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Read’s spot on NOAA’s grid

Year to year

How much a month can swing

A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. March swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 31° to 53°. June is the most reliable, staying within 8°.

Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions

Common questions about Read’s climate

What is the coldest month in Read?

January, with a typical high of 34° and a low of 14°.

What is the hottest month in Read?

July, with a typical high of 86° and a low of 65°. About 31 days a year reach 90°.

How much snow does Read get?

About 24 inches in a normal winter, most of it in February.

When is the first frost in Read?

In half of years the first 32° night comes by October 9, and the last spring frost by April 29.

What is the rainiest month in Read?

May, with 4.9 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 29 inches.

Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Read itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Surprise, NE (1 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.

We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Read, NEButler CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map
Loading boundary…

Read is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01