Abilene, KS Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Abilene's primary NOAA station, ABILENE.
The climate verdict for Abilene
Abilene, Kansas has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 58°F. It scores 78/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 72% of them.
- 58°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 78/100
- comfort score, above 72% of station-mapped location scores
- 34.3"
- annual precipitation · 12" snow
- 192 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Abilene: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00140010 · Abilene, KS 58°F mean · 34.3" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 58°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,665
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Freedom
- PRCP-MID 34.3"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-TOP 78/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,491 HDD
- STN-1 USC00140010
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Freedom, OK ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every KS station list.
- Abilene (this station) 58°F
- Hot Medicine Lodge, KS 58°F
- Near Wichita, KS 58°F
- Near Kiowa, KS 58°F
- Cold Freedom, OK 57°F
Climate Living Index · Abilene
Abilene: 58/100 · grade C
Abilene publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Abilene, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 78/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 34.3 in · 0.7 from 35 in | 95/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 57.5°F · 10.0° from 67.5°F | 68/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 12.2 inches/year | 60/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 192 days/year | 59/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 181 calendar days | 24/100 · F |
Abilene · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Abilene is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 32.5°F and warmest-month mean 81.9°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 81.9°F
- Coldest month
- 32.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Abilene sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Abilene's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 68th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 47th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 79%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Abilene is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Abilene compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Abilene's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
78 Top 28% score exceeds 72% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Abilene's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 59 complete annual observations from 1894 to 2025, ABILENE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.10°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Abilene primary station fitted change +0.10 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F (6°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 0.9" | 4.1" | 26.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 1.4" | 2.8" | 21.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (15°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 2.2" | 1.7" | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 70°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.3" | 0.2" | 3.4 | 0.8 |
| May | 79°F (26°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 5.2" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 4.1 |
| June | 89°F (32°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 16.2 |
| July | 94°F (35°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 82°F (28°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 23.7 |
| August | 92°F (33°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 4.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 20.0 |
| September | 84°F (29°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 9.7 |
| October | 71°F (22°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.5" | 0.2" | 2.7 | 1.4 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.6" | 1.0" | 13.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.5" | 2.2" | 25.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Abilene works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 95°F by July 17 and hold at or above 90°F on 72 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 109 dates, bottoming at 22°F around January 8.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 17 through August 27, covering 72 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 17 to October 18.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 8, then returns to freezing around November 21, covering 109 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 14, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 11 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 78 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 21 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Abilene.
Where Abilene Stands Nationally
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 72 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Abilene earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.1"
3.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.8"
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.7"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
7.6 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
6.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
4.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.2"
4.3 days with precipitation
Abilene runs a summer-peaked wet season
39% of Abilene's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is May at 5.2", on a wide 49.4°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: May, July, August, taking 41% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.9".
- Winter share: 11% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
When it rains in Abilene, it arrives in quantity
34.3" of precipitation falls across only about 78 wet days here, averaging 0.44 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 78 a year, 21% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.44 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- January, about 4
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Abilene
Abilene averages 12.2 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 7 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 12.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 7 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 4% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 14
50% probability date
Growing Season
192 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,491
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,803
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Abilene on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (58°F here).
- Ashland, VA 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Bowling Green, KY 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Branson, MO 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Charlotte, TN 58°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (34.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Clarion, IA 34.3" · 0.0" off
- Britt, IA 34.3" · 0.0" off
- Chester, CA 34.3" · 0.0" off
- Detroit, MI 34.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Abilene
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Abilene's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,491 annual heating degree days against 1,803 for cooling. Its 49.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Abilene's frost-free season lasts about 192 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Abilene coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 33°F (0°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Abilene typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Abilene snow peak
January
Abilene averages 12.2 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Abilene's climate
How much snow does Abilene get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Abilene get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Abilene? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Abilene's primary station: ABILENE (USC00140010). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2000125). Match rule for Abilene: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Abilene comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.