Ashland, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ashland's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 32.3 inches of precipitation and 22 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.4°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 31°C, 820 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAshland #2
- Station IDUSC00250375
- Location41.04°N 96.38°W
- Elevation1,118 ft (341 m)
- Population3,369
On October 23, the normal high in Ashland is 62°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ashland.
- Jan 33° 13°
- Feb 38° 17°
- Mar 51° 28°
- Apr 63° 38°
- May 73° 50°
- Jun 83° 62°
- Jul 87° 66°
- Aug 85° 63°
- Sep 79° 53°
- Oct 65° 41°
- Nov 50° 28°
- Dec 37° 18°
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 Ashland each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.19 in), the least in January (0.85 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 13°F | 23.0°F | 0.85 | 5.7 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 38°F | 17°F | 27.4°F | 0.98 | 6.2 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 28°F | 39.1°F | 1.67 | 3.2 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 38°F | 50.4°F | 3.18 | 0.9 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 50°F | 61.7°F | 5.19 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 83°F | 62°F | 72.3°F | 4.48 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 87°F | 66°F | 76.4°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 63°F | 74.1°F | 3.96 | 0.0 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 53°F | 65.9°F | 3.19 | 0.0 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 41°F | 53.2°F | 2.40 | 0.6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 28°F | 38.9°F | 1.42 | 0.7 | 4 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 18°F | 27.7°F | 1.29 | 4.8 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 40°F | 50.8°F | 32.29 | 22.1 | 81 | 37 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −10°C | −5.0°C | 22 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 3°C | −8°C | −2.6°C | 25 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 10°C | −2°C | 3.9°C | 42 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 17°C | 3°C | 10.2°C | 81 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.5°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 24.7°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 61 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 10°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 36 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 3°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 33 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00250375; 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 Ashland?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00250375.
When is the last frost in Ashland?
In Ashland, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 16 in half of years and before September 29 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 231 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 161 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 194 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 13 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ashland in zone 5b in ZIP code 68003, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ashland's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (26 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00250375; 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 Ashland?
In a normal year in Ashland, 37 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 81 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 41high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 81a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 116°F, on July 20, 1934; the lowest is −33°F, on January 12, 1974.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 58.01 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 51.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00250375; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00250375. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ashland?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ashland, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.0 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.5 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 76% | 3.3 |
| November | 76% | 2.3 |
| December | 69% | 1.7 |
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 Ashland need?
A normal year in Ashland brings 6,221 heating degree days, 16% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,103 cooling degree days, 21% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,470 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,302 | 0 |
| February | 1,054 | 0 |
| March | 804 | 1 |
| April | 447 | 9 |
| May | 171 | 69 |
| June | 18 | 238 |
| July | 3 | 356 |
| August | 7 | 289 |
| September | 94 | 122 |
| October | 385 | 18 |
| November | 782 | 0 |
| December | 1,155 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,221 | 1,103 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00250375. 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.
Has Ashland been warmer than normal lately?
Over 86 complete years from 1894 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ashland's climate compare?
Ashland is warmer than 96 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 114. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.8°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ashland is Dfa: continental, 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 Ashland share this climate record?
5 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.
- Greenwood, NE610 people · 6 mi SW
- Alvo, NE118 people · 12 mi S
- South Bend, NE93 people · 7 mi E
- Beacon View, NE49 people · 4 mi NE
- Linoma Beach, NE36 people · 4 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Ashland's climate
What is the coldest month in Ashland?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Ashland?
Yes: 22 inches in a normal year, falling on 12 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (6.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Ashland?
May, with 5.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.85 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ashland in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ashland in zone 5b in ZIP code 68003, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Ashland's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Ashland?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mead, NE9 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Gretna, NE13 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Weeping Water, NE17 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Wahoo, NE17 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made