Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 18.8 inches of precipitation and 37 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.7°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 30°C, 478 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCrescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge
- Station IDUSC00252000
- Location41.76°N 102.44°W
- Elevation3,818 ft (1,164 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge is 59°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
- Jan 38° 13°
- Feb 41° 15°
- Mar 51° 24°
- Apr 59° 32°
- May 68° 42°
- Jun 80° 52°
- Jul 86° 58°
- Aug 85° 57°
- Sep 76° 46°
- Oct 62° 34°
- Nov 49° 22°
- Dec 38° 14°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.07 in), the least in January (0.29 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 13°F | 25.2°F | 0.29 | 5.0 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 41°F | 15°F | 28.0°F | 0.42 | 6.2 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 51°F | 24°F | 37.5°F | 0.84 | 5.8 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 32°F | 45.6°F | 2.13 | 4.8 | 9 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 42°F | 55.2°F | 3.07 | 1.0 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 52°F | 65.9°F | 2.86 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 86°F | 58°F | 72.3°F | 2.77 | 0.0 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 85°F | 57°F | 70.6°F | 2.56 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 46°F | 61.4°F | 1.67 | 0.4 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 34°F | 48.0°F | 1.26 | 2.4 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 22°F | 35.7°F | 0.55 | 3.8 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 14°F | 25.9°F | 0.38 | 7.1 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 34°F | 47.6°F | 18.80 | 36.5 | 84 | 37 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −11°C | −3.8°C | 7 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 5°C | −9°C | −2.2°C | 11 mm | 16 cm |
| March | 11°C | −5°C | 3.1°C | 21 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.6°C | 54 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 78 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 26°C | 11°C | 18.8°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.4°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 14°C | 21.4°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 8°C | 16.3°C | 42 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 17°C | 1°C | 8.9°C | 32 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 10°C | −5°C | 2.1°C | 14 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 4°C | −10°C | −3.4°C | 10 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00252000; 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.
Which months are mildest at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August 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 USC00252000.
When is the last frost at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
In Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 in half of years and before September 16 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 131 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 16; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in zone 5a in ZIP code 69148, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (18 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 USC00252000; 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 at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
In a normal year in Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 37 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 31high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1935) is 109°F, on July 24, 1940; the lowest is −46°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 24.60 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 79.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00252000; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00252000. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 2.4 |
| February | 77% | 3.3 |
| March | 76% | 4.4 |
| April | 75% | 5.5 |
| May | 76% | 6.3 |
| June | 85% | 7.3 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.3 |
| September | 85% | 5.1 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.6 |
| December | 78% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge record?
A normal year at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge brings 6,918 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 610 cooling degree days, 33% 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 2,564 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,235 | 0 |
| February | 1,036 | 0 |
| March | 854 | 0 |
| April | 581 | 1 |
| May | 319 | 15 |
| June | 73 | 100 |
| July | 11 | 236 |
| August | 23 | 198 |
| September | 167 | 58 |
| October | 531 | 2 |
| November | 878 | 0 |
| December | 1,210 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,918 | 610 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00252000. 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.
Have recent years at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 49.9°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.6°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 47.5°F | −0.1°F | 11.24 | 45.2 |
| 2023 | 48.2°F | +0.6°F | 20.34 | 77.7 |
| 2024 | 50.7°F | +3.1°F | 15.63 | 26.8 |
| 2025 | 49.9°F | +2.3°F | 14.63 | 23.6 |
Over 44 complete years from 1943 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.8°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00252000; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge's climate compare?
Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge is warmer than 13 of the 137 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.6°F is warmer than 30%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge 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.
Questions about Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge's climate
What is the coldest month at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
Yes: 37 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (7.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
May, with 3.07 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.29 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in zone 5a in ZIP code 69148, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 13; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ellsworth (2 mi W), NE22 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Oshkosh, NE25 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Broadwater, NE26 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Alliance, NE28 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made