Big Lake, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Big Lake's normal year runs from 33°F January nights to 94°F July afternoons, with 18.2 inches of precipitation and 2 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.8°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 35°C, 462 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBig Lake 2
- Station IDUSC00410779
- Location31.20°N 101.46°W
- Elevation2,734 ft (833 m)
- Population2,762
On October 11, the normal high in Big Lake is 82°F and the normal low 56°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Big Lake.
- Jan 60° 33°
- Feb 65° 37°
- Mar 73° 45°
- Apr 82° 52°
- May 88° 61°
- Jun 93° 69°
- Jul 94° 71°
- Aug 95° 70°
- Sep 89° 63°
- Oct 80° 54°
- Nov 69° 42°
- Dec 61° 35°
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 Big Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 94°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in September (2.34 in), the least in February (0.79 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 33°F | 46.9°F | 1.03 | 0.9 | 4 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 65°F | 37°F | 51.1°F | 0.79 | 0.5 | 3 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| March | 73°F | 45°F | 58.8°F | 0.97 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 12 h |
| April | 82°F | 52°F | 66.6°F | 1.47 | 0.0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 88°F | 61°F | 74.1°F | 1.84 | 0.0 | 5 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 93°F | 69°F | 80.6°F | 2.05 | 0.0 | 4 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 94°F | 71°F | 82.7°F | 2.10 | 0.0 | 4 | 25 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 95°F | 70°F | 82.5°F | 1.77 | 0.0 | 4 | 26 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 63°F | 75.8°F | 2.34 | 0.0 | 4 | 13 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 80°F | 54°F | 66.9°F | 1.60 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 69°F | 42°F | 55.7°F | 1.35 | 0.4 | 3 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 61°F | 35°F | 48.2°F | 0.87 | 0.5 | 3 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 79°F | 53°F | 65.8°F | 18.18 | 2.3 | 44 | 104 | 56 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 1°C | 8.3°C | 26 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 19°C | 3°C | 10.6°C | 20 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 23°C | 7°C | 14.9°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 28°C | 11°C | 19.2°C | 37 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 31°C | 16°C | 23.4°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 34°C | 20°C | 27.0°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 22°C | 28.2°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 35°C | 21°C | 28.1°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 31°C | 17°C | 24.3°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 27°C | 12°C | 19.4°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 21°C | 6°C | 13.2°C | 34 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 16°C | 2°C | 9.0°C | 22 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00410779; 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 Big Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October and November. Of those, November has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00410779.
When is the last frost in Big Lake?
In Big Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 20 in half of years and after April 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 14 in half of years and before October 30 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
- March 201 year in 10 after April 10; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 141 year in 10 before October 30; 9 in 10 before December 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 238 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 265 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Big Lake in zone 8a in ZIP code 76932, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Big Lake's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00410779; 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 Big Lake?
In a normal year in Big Lake, 104 days a year reach 90°F (14 of them 100°F or more), 56 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 44 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 104a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 56a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 44a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1963) is 110°F, on June 28, 1998; the lowest is 1°F, on December 24, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1974, with 38.64 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 8.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00410779; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00410779. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Big Lake?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Big Lake, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and February the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 3.4 |
| February | 80% | 4.3 |
| March | 83% | 5.4 |
| April | 86% | 6.6 |
| May | 85% | 7.0 |
| June | 91% | 7.5 |
| July | 89% | 7.2 |
| August | 89% | 6.6 |
| September | 85% | 5.5 |
| October | 85% | 4.6 |
| November | 84% | 3.6 |
| December | 82% | 3.1 |
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 Big Lake need?
A normal year in Big Lake brings 2,173 heating degree days, 60% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,503 cooling degree days, 2.8 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,291 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 562 | 1 |
| February | 395 | 4 |
| March | 229 | 36 |
| April | 72 | 120 |
| May | 13 | 297 |
| June | 0 | 470 |
| July | 0 | 549 |
| August | 0 | 544 |
| September | 9 | 333 |
| October | 75 | 134 |
| November | 296 | 16 |
| December | 522 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 2,173 | 2,503 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00410779. 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 Big Lake's climate compare?
Big Lake is warmer than 164 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 34. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 65.8°F is warmer than 90%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Big Lake is BSh: hot semi-arid steppe. 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.
Questions about Big Lake's climate
What is the coldest month in Big Lake?
January, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is July (94°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Big Lake?
Yes: 2 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Big Lake?
September, with 2.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.79 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Big Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Big Lake in zone 8a in ZIP code 76932, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Big Lake's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Big Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 20; in one year in ten it comes after April 10. Waiting until April 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cope Ranch, TX25 miles from this station, 63.2°F a year
- Ozona, TX37 miles from this station, 64.6°F a year
- Mertzon (12 mi NNW), TX38 miles from this station, 63.9°F a year
- Sheffield, TX42 miles from this station, 66.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made