Clay Ctr, NE Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Clay Ctr's primary NOAA station, CLAY CTR.
The climate verdict for Clay Ctr
Clay Ctr, Nebraska has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 52°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 52°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 29.8"
- annual precipitation · 19" snow
- 184 days
- frost-free growing season
Clay Ctr: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00251684 · Clay Ctr, NE 52°F mean · 29.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,225
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Streator
- PRCP-MID 29.8"
- SWING-WIDE 51°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,934 HDD
- STN-1 USC00251684
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Streator, IL (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every NE station list.
- Clay Ctr (this station) 52°F
- Hot Falls City, NE 52°F
- Near Streator, IL 52°F
- Near Donnellson, IA 52°F
- Near Dugway, UT 52°F
Climate Living Index · Clay Ctr
Clay Ctr: 56/100 · grade C
Clay Ctr publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Clay Ctr, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 29.8 in · 5.2 from 35 in | 81/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 184 days/year | 53/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 141 calendar days | 52/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 18.5 inches/year | 51/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 51.6°F · 15.9° from 67.5°F | 47/100 · D |
Clay Ctr · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Clay Ctr is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 25.8°F and warmest-month mean 76.4°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 76.4°F
- Coldest month
- 25.8°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Clay Ctr sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Clay Ctr's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 47th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 40th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 83%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Clay Ctr is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Clay Ctr compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Clay Ctr's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Clay Ctr's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 35 complete annual observations from 1972 to 2025, CLAY CTR warmed at a fitted rate of 0.21°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Clay Ctr primary station fitted change +0.21 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F (2°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 0.6" | 4.5" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 5.9" | 26.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 1.3" | 1.5" | 22.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 2.6" | 1.4" | 8.5 | 0.2 |
| May | 73°F (23°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 12.0 |
| August | 85°F (30°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.4 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 3.9 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.4" | 0.4" | 6.3 | 0.4 |
| November | 51°F (11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 1.4" | 1.5" | 21.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 1.0" | 3.3" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 88°F around July 12, short of 90°F on every date, while 141 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 16°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 26, then returns to freezing around November 7, covering 141 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 23, when 31% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 21 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 71 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 23 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Clay Ctr.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.5"
2.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.9"
3.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
7.0 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
3.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.3"
3.8 days with precipitation
Clay Ctr runs a summer-peaked wet season
41% of Clay Ctr's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is May at 5.3", on a wide 50.6°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: May, June, July, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.6".
- Winter share: 8% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
When it rains in Clay Ctr, it arrives in quantity
29.8" of precipitation falls across only about 70 wet days here, averaging 0.42 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 70 a year, 19% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- January, about 3
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Clay Ctr
Clay Ctr averages 18.5 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 9 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 18.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 9 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 6% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
184 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,934
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,096
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NE closest to Clay Ctr on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (52°F here).
- Amity, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Carmel, IN 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Eau Claire, MI 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Gallatin, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (29.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Litchfield, MN 29.8" · 0.0" off
- Hutchinson, MN 29.8" · 0.0" off
- Glenwood, WA 29.8" · 0.0" off
- Babbitt, MN 29.8" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Clay Ctr
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Clay Ctr's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,934 annual heating degree days against 1,096 for cooling. Its 50.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Clay Ctr's frost-free season lasts about 184 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Clay Ctr coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 26°F (-3°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Clay Ctr typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Clay Ctr snow peak
February
Clay Ctr averages 18.5 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Clay Ctr's climate
How much snow does Clay Ctr get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Clay Ctr get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Clay Ctr? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Clay Ctr's primary station: CLAY CTR (USC00251684). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Clay Ctr; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Clay Ctr comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.