Canton, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Canton's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 39.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,002 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCanton Lock and Dam 20
- Station IDUSC00231275
- Location40.14°N 91.52°W
- Elevation490 ft (149 m)
- Population2,747
On October 14, the normal high in Canton is 66°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Canton.
- Jan 34° 17°
- Feb 38° 21°
- Mar 50° 31°
- Apr 63° 42°
- May 72° 53°
- Jun 81° 63°
- Jul 85° 66°
- Aug 83° 64°
- Sep 77° 56°
- Oct 65° 44°
- Nov 51° 32°
- Dec 39° 23°
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 Canton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.17 in), the least in January (1.56 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 17°F | 25.3°F | 1.56 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 38°F | 21°F | 29.5°F | 1.88 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 31°F | 40.4°F | 2.43 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 42°F | 52.0°F | 4.06 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 53°F | 62.5°F | 5.17 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 81°F | 63°F | 71.9°F | 4.60 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 85°F | 66°F | 75.5°F | 4.23 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 64°F | 73.8°F | 4.11 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 56°F | 66.4°F | 3.49 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 3.36 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 32°F | 41.6°F | 2.58 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 23°F | 30.7°F | 1.98 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 43°F | 52.0°F | 39.45 | 103 | 22 | 122 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.7°C | 40 mm |
| February | 4°C | −6°C | −1.4°C | 48 mm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.7°C | 62 mm |
| April | 17°C | 5°C | 11.1°C | 103 mm |
| May | 22°C | 12°C | 16.9°C | 131 mm |
| June | 27°C | 17°C | 22.2°C | 117 mm |
| July | 29°C | 19°C | 24.2°C | 107 mm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.2°C | 104 mm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 89 mm |
| October | 18°C | 7°C | 12.5°C | 85 mm |
| November | 11°C | 0°C | 5.3°C | 66 mm |
| December | 4°C | −5°C | −0.7°C | 50 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Steffenville (23 miles away), gets 18 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00231275; 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 Canton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, 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 USC00231275.
When is the last frost in Canton?
In Canton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 11 in half of years and after April 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 10 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 111 year in 10 after April 29; 9 in 10 after March 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 10; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 194 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 213 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Canton in zone 6a in ZIP code 63435, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Canton's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (25 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 USC00231275; 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 Canton?
In a normal year in Canton, 22 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 122 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 122a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 33high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1937) is 110°F, on July 30, 1980; the lowest is −20°F, on January 12, 1974.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1986, with 54.16 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 58.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00231275; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00231275. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Canton?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Canton, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (82%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.9 |
| February | 68% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 78% | 6.3 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 73% | 3.2 |
| November | 71% | 2.2 |
| December | 64% | 1.6 |
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 Canton need?
A normal year in Canton brings 5,742 heating degree days, 7% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,041 cooling degree days, 15% 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 3,503 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,232 | 0 |
| February | 994 | 0 |
| March | 762 | 1 |
| April | 399 | 10 |
| May | 147 | 69 |
| June | 16 | 221 |
| July | 1 | 328 |
| August | 4 | 275 |
| September | 76 | 118 |
| October | 344 | 17 |
| November | 702 | 1 |
| December | 1,065 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,742 | 1,041 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00231275. 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 Canton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 53.2°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.0°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2024 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 54.5°F | +2.5°F | 36.69 |
| 2025 | 53.2°F | +1.2°F | 26.83 |
Over 66 complete years from 1939 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.09°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00231275; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Canton's climate compare?
Canton is warmer than 13 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.0°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Canton 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 Canton share this climate record?
9 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.
- Mendon, IL844 people · 13 mi E
- La Grange, MO806 people · 7 mi S
- Ursa, IL588 people · 9 mi SE
- Loraine, IL294 people · 16 mi E
- Lima, IL143 people · 8 mi E
- Monticello, MO105 people · 11 mi W
- Marcelline, IL60 people · 8 mi E
- Meyer, IL19 people · 1 mi NE
- Bloomfield, IL0 people · 14 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.
Questions about Canton's climate
What is the coldest month in Canton?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Canton?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Canton's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Steffenville (23 miles away), records 18 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Canton?
May, with 5.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.56 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Canton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Canton in zone 6a in ZIP code 63435, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Canton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Canton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 11; in one year in ten it comes after April 29. Waiting until April 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Keokuk, IA19 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Quincy, IL22 miles from this station, 53.0°F a year
- Steffenville, MO23 miles from this station, 52.5°F a year
- Bentley, IL25 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made