Buffalo, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Buffalo's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 45.3 inches of precipitation and 9 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.8°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,150 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBuffalo (2 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00231087
- Location37.67°N 93.11°W
- Elevation1,071 ft (326 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population3,512
On October 22, the normal high in Buffalo is 67°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Buffalo.
- Jan 43° 20°
- Feb 48° 24°
- Mar 58° 33°
- Apr 68° 42°
- May 76° 52°
- Jun 84° 61°
- Jul 89° 66°
- Aug 88° 64°
- Sep 81° 55°
- Oct 70° 43°
- Nov 57° 33°
- Dec 46° 24°
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 Buffalo each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.77 in), the least in February (2.22 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 20°F | 31.3°F | 2.40 | 4.1 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 24°F | 35.8°F | 2.22 | 1.7 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 33°F | 45.0°F | 3.50 | 1.2 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 42°F | 54.9°F | 4.93 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 52°F | 64.0°F | 5.77 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 61°F | 72.6°F | 4.44 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 66°F | 77.3°F | 3.93 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 88°F | 64°F | 75.7°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 55°F | 67.6°F | 4.11 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 43°F | 56.3°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 33°F | 44.8°F | 3.75 | 0.5 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 24°F | 35.1°F | 2.48 | 1.5 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 43°F | 55.0°F | 45.26 | 9.0 | 103 | 34 | 108 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −7°C | −0.4°C | 61 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 9°C | −5°C | 2.1°C | 56 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 89 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 12.7°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 147 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.6°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 19°C | 25.2°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.5°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 95 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 8°C | −4°C | 1.7°C | 63 mm | 4 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00231087; 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 Buffalo?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00231087.
When is the last frost in Buffalo?
In Buffalo, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 1 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 8; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 198 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Buffalo in zone 6b in ZIP code 65622, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Buffalo's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00231087; 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 Buffalo?
In a normal year in Buffalo, 34 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 108 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 34a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 108a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 17high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1931) is 109°F, on July 30, 1980; the lowest is −30°F, on February 16, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 64.14 in; the snowiest season is 1969–70, with 36.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00231087; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00231087. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Buffalo?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Buffalo, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.4 |
| February | 67% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.1 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 82% | 6.6 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 4.9 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 69% | 2.0 |
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 Buffalo need?
A normal year in Buffalo brings 4,836 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,242 cooling degree days, 37% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,919 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,043 | 0 |
| February | 818 | 0 |
| March | 622 | 3 |
| April | 321 | 18 |
| May | 120 | 89 |
| June | 11 | 241 |
| July | 1 | 384 |
| August | 4 | 334 |
| September | 65 | 144 |
| October | 295 | 27 |
| November | 609 | 2 |
| December | 927 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,836 | 1,242 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00231087. 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 Buffalo been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.4°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.0°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.9°F | +0.9°F | 49.33 | 12.1 |
| 2022 | 55.2°F | +0.2°F | 44.59 | 8.7 |
| 2023 | 57.1°F | +2.1°F | 35.68 | 7.3 |
| 2024 | 57.7°F | +2.7°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 56.4°F | +1.4°F | 45.29 | 10.4 |
Over 48 complete years from 1962 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.7°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00231087; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Buffalo's climate compare?
Buffalo is warmer than 61 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 79. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.0°F is warmer than 60%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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.
- Halfway, MO153 people · 8 mi SW
- Louisburg, MO139 people · 6 mi N
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 Buffalo's climate
What is the coldest month in Buffalo?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Buffalo?
Yes: 9 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (4.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Buffalo?
May, with 5.77 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.22 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Buffalo in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Buffalo in zone 6b in ZIP code 65622, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Buffalo's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Buffalo?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 8. Waiting until May 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bolivar, MO16 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Pomme De Terre Dam, MO20 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Lebanon, MO22 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Marshfield, MO25 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made