Broken Bow, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Broken Bow's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 22.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 31°C, 582 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBroken Bow Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00094946
- Location41.43°N 99.63°W
- Elevation2,530 ft (771 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population3,491
On October 23, the normal high in Broken Bow is 62°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Broken Bow.
- Jan 38° 15°
- Feb 41° 17°
- Mar 53° 27°
- Apr 62° 36°
- May 71° 47°
- Jun 82° 58°
- Jul 87° 63°
- Aug 86° 60°
- Sep 78° 50°
- Oct 65° 37°
- Nov 51° 24°
- Dec 40° 17°
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 Broken Bow each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.95 in), the least in January (0.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 15°F | 26.5°F | 0.35 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 41°F | 17°F | 28.8°F | 0.46 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 27°F | 39.5°F | 1.16 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 36°F | 48.7°F | 2.70 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 47°F | 59.3°F | 3.95 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 58°F | 70.3°F | 3.52 | 12 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 87°F | 63°F | 75.3°F | 3.17 | 11 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 86°F | 60°F | 72.9°F | 2.57 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 50°F | 64.3°F | 2.21 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 37°F | 50.7°F | 1.85 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 24°F | 37.6°F | 0.59 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 40°F | 17°F | 28.4°F | 0.37 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 38°F | 50.2°F | 22.90 | 93 | 31 | 164 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 9 mm |
| February | 5°C | −8°C | −1.8°C | 12 mm |
| March | 11°C | −3°C | 4.2°C | 29 mm |
| April | 17°C | 2°C | 9.3°C | 69 mm |
| May | 22°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 100 mm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 89 mm |
| July | 31°C | 17°C | 24.1°C | 81 mm |
| August | 30°C | 16°C | 22.7°C | 65 mm |
| September | 26°C | 10°C | 17.9°C | 56 mm |
| October | 18°C | 3°C | 10.4°C | 47 mm |
| November | 10°C | −4°C | 3.1°C | 15 mm |
| December | 4°C | −8°C | −2.0°C | 9 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Broken Bow's own co-op station Broken Bow (2 mi W) does: 30 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094946; 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 Broken Bow?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USW00094946.
When is the last frost in Broken Bow?
In Broken Bow, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 23 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 176 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Broken Bow in zone 5b in ZIP code 68822, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Broken Bow's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (21 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 USW00094946; 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 Broken Bow?
In a normal year in Broken Bow, 31 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 164 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 93 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 164a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 93a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1999) is 107°F, on July 19, 2006; the lowest is −37°F, on February 15, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2007, with 34.62 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094946; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094946. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Broken Bow?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Broken Bow, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and March the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.2 |
| February | 76% | 3.1 |
| March | 73% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 6.0 |
| June | 83% | 6.9 |
| July | 86% | 6.9 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 78% | 3.4 |
| November | 78% | 2.4 |
| December | 75% | 1.9 |
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 Broken Bow need?
A normal year in Broken Bow brings 6,277 heating degree days, 17% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 913 cooling degree days, 1% 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 3,111 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,192 | 0 |
| February | 1,012 | 0 |
| March | 791 | 1 |
| April | 493 | 3 |
| May | 219 | 43 |
| June | 32 | 189 |
| July | 3 | 322 |
| August | 9 | 253 |
| September | 117 | 95 |
| October | 451 | 8 |
| November | 824 | 0 |
| December | 1,134 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,277 | 913 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094946. 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 Broken Bow been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.2°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 50.2°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.0°F | +0.8°F | 19.54 |
| 2022 | 50.0°F | −0.2°F | 16.73 |
| 2023 | 50.3°F | +0.1°F | 26.29 |
| 2024 | 51.5°F | +1.3°F | 21.91 |
| 2025 | 50.2°F | at normal | 21.58 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094946. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Broken Bow's climate compare?
Broken Bow is warmer than 79 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 35. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.2°F is warmer than 41%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Broken Bow is Dwa: continental, dry-winter, 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 Broken Bow share this climate record?
2 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.
- Merna, NE343 people · 8 mi NW
- Berwyn, NE75 people · 9 mi SE
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 Broken Bow's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Broken Bow. This page uses Broken Bow Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broken Bow (2 mi W) USC00251200 | 2 mi W | 2,504 ft | 48.0°F | 12°F | 86°F | 23.0 | 30 | May 10 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Broken Bow's climate
What is the coldest month in Broken Bow?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Broken Bow?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Broken Bow's NOAA station; Broken Bow's own co-op station Broken Bow (2 mi W) records 30 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Broken Bow?
May, with 3.95 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Broken Bow in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Broken Bow in zone 5b in ZIP code 68822, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Broken Bow's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Broken Bow?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Anselmo, NE19 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Oconto, NE21 miles from this station, 49.4°F a year
- Comstock, NE22 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Mason City, NE23 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made