Altus, Oklahoma climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Altus's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 97°F July afternoons, with 27.6 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.6°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 36°C, 701 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAltus Irig Research Station
- Station IDUSC00340179
- Location34.59°N 99.33°W
- Elevation1,380 ft (421 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population18,543
On October 23, the normal high in Altus is 74°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Altus.
- Jan 54° 25°
- Feb 58° 29°
- Mar 67° 38°
- Apr 76° 46°
- May 84° 58°
- Jun 93° 68°
- Jul 97° 71°
- Aug 96° 70°
- Sep 88° 62°
- Oct 76° 49°
- Nov 65° 37°
- Dec 54° 28°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Altus each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 97°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.07 in), the least in February (1.09 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 25°F | 39.4°F | 1.15 | 1.3 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| February | 58°F | 29°F | 43.1°F | 1.09 | 0.5 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 38°F | 52.2°F | 1.71 | 0.5 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 76°F | 46°F | 61.1°F | 2.36 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 58°F | 70.9°F | 4.07 | 0.0 | 8 | 9 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 93°F | 68°F | 80.2°F | 3.88 | 0.0 | 8 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 97°F | 71°F | 84.1°F | 2.43 | 0.0 | 6 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 96°F | 70°F | 82.8°F | 2.96 | 0.0 | 6 | 25 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 88°F | 62°F | 74.8°F | 2.56 | 0.0 | 6 | 13 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 49°F | 62.5°F | 2.69 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 37°F | 50.7°F | 1.40 | 0.5 | 5 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 54°F | 28°F | 40.9°F | 1.31 | 1.3 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 48°F | 61.9°F | 27.61 | 4.1 | 74 | 100 | 86 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | −4°C | 4.1°C | 29 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 14°C | −2°C | 6.2°C | 28 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 19°C | 3°C | 11.2°C | 43 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 24°C | 8°C | 16.2°C | 60 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 29°C | 14°C | 21.6°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 34°C | 20°C | 26.8°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 36°C | 22°C | 28.9°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 35°C | 21°C | 28.2°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 31°C | 17°C | 23.8°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 25°C | 9°C | 16.9°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 3°C | 10.4°C | 36 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 12°C | −2°C | 4.9°C | 33 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00340179; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Altus?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (6).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00340179.
When is the last frost in Altus?
In Altus, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 5 in half of years and after April 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 in half of years and before October 19 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 51 year in 10 after April 21; 9 in 10 after March 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 19; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 210 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 232 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 24 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Altus in zone 7b in ZIP code 73523. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Altus's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Oklahoma · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00340179; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Altus?
In a normal year in Altus, 100 days a year reach 90°F (28 of them 100°F or more), 86 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 74 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 100a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 28a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 86a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 74a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1903) is 120°F, on July 19, 1936; the lowest is −11°F, on January 5, 1947.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 49.30 in; the snowiest season is 1965–66, with 17.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00340179; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00340179. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Altus?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Altus, 5.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and February the cloudiest (76%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 3.1 |
| February | 76% | 3.7 |
| March | 79% | 5.0 |
| April | 81% | 6.0 |
| May | 81% | 6.5 |
| June | 88% | 7.3 |
| July | 89% | 7.1 |
| August | 88% | 6.4 |
| September | 85% | 5.3 |
| October | 83% | 4.2 |
| November | 82% | 3.3 |
| December | 78% | 2.7 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Altus need?
A normal year in Altus brings 3,351 heating degree days, 38% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,250 cooling degree days, 2.5 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,448 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 795 | 0 |
| February | 614 | 0 |
| March | 408 | 9 |
| April | 164 | 46 |
| May | 30 | 212 |
| June | 1 | 458 |
| July | 0 | 592 |
| August | 0 | 553 |
| September | 13 | 308 |
| October | 146 | 67 |
| November | 432 | 5 |
| December | 749 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,351 | 2,250 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00340179. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Altus's climate compare?
Altus is warmer than 111 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Oklahoma, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.9°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Altus is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Altus share this climate record?
6 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Olustee, OK459 people · 6 mi SW
- East Duke, OK397 people · 14 mi W
- Martha, OK159 people · 10 mi N
- Headrick, OK73 people · 11 mi E
- Elmer, OK63 people · 8 mi S
- Friendship, OK23 people · 10 mi NE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Altus's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Altus. This page uses Altus Irig Research Station; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altus 3 mi S Mesonet USC00340180 | 5 mi S | 1,364 ft | 62.1°F | 28°F | 96°F | 28.0 | – | April 3 |
| Altus Dam USC00340184 | 16 mi N | 1,525 ft | 61.2°F | 27°F | 95°F | 30.8 | 2 | April 2 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Altus's climate
What is the coldest month in Altus?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (97°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Altus?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 3 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Altus?
May, with 4.07 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Altus in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Altus in zone 7b in ZIP code 73523. By the same method at Altus's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Altus?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 5; in one year in ten it comes after April 21. Waiting until April 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oklahoma climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Tipton, OK16 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Frederick, OK23 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Mangum, OK23 miles from this station, 60.6°F a year
- Altus Air Force Base, OK25 miles from this station, 63.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made