Chadron, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chadron's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 15.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.1°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 33°C, 387 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChadron Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00024017
- Location42.84°N 103.10°W
- Elevation3,318 ft (1,011 m)
- Population5,094
On October 23, the normal high in Chadron is 60°F and the normal low 30°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 Chadron.
- Jan 38° 13°
- Feb 41° 15°
- Mar 52° 24°
- Apr 60° 32°
- May 70° 42°
- Jun 82° 52°
- Jul 91° 60°
- Aug 89° 57°
- Sep 79° 47°
- Oct 63° 33°
- Nov 50° 21°
- Dec 39° 13°
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 Chadron each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.71 in), the least in January (0.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 13°F | 25.5°F | 0.15 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 41°F | 15°F | 27.9°F | 0.29 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 52°F | 24°F | 37.9°F | 0.81 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 32°F | 45.8°F | 1.96 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 42°F | 55.9°F | 2.71 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 82°F | 52°F | 67.0°F | 2.46 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 91°F | 60°F | 75.3°F | 1.99 | 7 | 21 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 89°F | 57°F | 72.8°F | 1.27 | 6 | 17 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 79°F | 47°F | 62.8°F | 1.59 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 33°F | 48.1°F | 1.28 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 21°F | 35.4°F | 0.40 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 13°F | 25.7°F | 0.31 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 34°F | 48.3°F | 15.22 | 77 | 55 | 180 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −11°C | −3.6°C | 4 mm |
| February | 5°C | −9°C | −2.3°C | 7 mm |
| March | 11°C | −5°C | 3.3°C | 21 mm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 50 mm |
| May | 21°C | 5°C | 13.3°C | 69 mm |
| June | 28°C | 11°C | 19.4°C | 62 mm |
| July | 33°C | 15°C | 24.1°C | 51 mm |
| August | 32°C | 14°C | 22.7°C | 32 mm |
| September | 26°C | 8°C | 17.1°C | 40 mm |
| October | 17°C | 0°C | 8.9°C | 33 mm |
| November | 10°C | −6°C | 1.9°C | 10 mm |
| December | 4°C | −11°C | −3.5°C | 8 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Chadron's own co-op station Chadron (3 mi SW) does: 50 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024017; 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 Chadron?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. 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 USW00024017.
When is the last frost in Chadron?
In Chadron, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 15 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 141 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 138 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chadron in zone 5a in ZIP code 69337, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chadron's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (19 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00024017; 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 Chadron?
In a normal year in Chadron, 55 days a year reach 90°F (11 of them 100°F or more), 180 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 77 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 55a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 180a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 77a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1941) is 112°F, on July 15, 2006; the lowest is −33°F, on February 18, 2006.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 23.85 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 83.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024017; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00024017. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chadron?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chadron, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.2 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 75% | 4.2 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 6.1 |
| June | 83% | 7.2 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 87% | 6.2 |
| September | 84% | 5.0 |
| October | 78% | 3.4 |
| November | 78% | 2.4 |
| December | 74% | 1.8 |
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 Chadron need?
A normal year in Chadron brings 6,848 heating degree days, 27% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 808 cooling degree days, 11% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,804 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,225 | 0 |
| February | 1,039 | 0 |
| March | 840 | 0 |
| April | 577 | 1 |
| May | 304 | 20 |
| June | 66 | 126 |
| July | 4 | 322 |
| August | 19 | 259 |
| September | 141 | 76 |
| October | 528 | 4 |
| November | 888 | 0 |
| December | 1,218 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,848 | 808 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024017. 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 Chadron been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.0°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.3°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.6°F | +1.3°F | 11.58 |
| 2022 | 48.1°F | −0.2°F | 12.59 |
| 2023 | 48.6°F | +0.3°F | 23.85 |
| 2024 | 50.5°F | +2.2°F | 10.60 |
| 2025 | 50.0°F | +1.7°F | 17.84 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024017. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Chadron's climate compare?
Chadron is warmer than 28 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 2. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.3°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chadron is BSk: cold 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.
Which places near Chadron share this climate record?
Whitney has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Whitney, NE58 people · 9 mi SW
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 Chadron's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Chadron. This page uses Chadron Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chadron (3 mi SW) USC00251575 | 3 mi SE | 3,383 ft | 48.0°F | 13°F | 89°F | 18.8 | 50 | May 15 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Chadron's climate
What is the coldest month in Chadron?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Chadron?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Chadron's NOAA station; Chadron's own co-op station Chadron (3 mi SW) records 50 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Chadron?
May, with 2.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chadron in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chadron in zone 5a in ZIP code 69337, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Chadron's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Chadron?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fort Robinson, NE22 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Hay Springs, NE23 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Oelrichs, SD25 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Oglala, SD29 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made