Cushing, Oklahoma climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cushing's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 38.0 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.8°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 34°C, 964 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCushing
- Station IDUSC00342318
- Location35.98°N 96.78°W
- Elevation950 ft (290 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population8,444
On October 22, the normal high in Cushing is 72°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cushing.
- Jan 49° 26°
- Feb 54° 30°
- Mar 63° 39°
- Apr 72° 48°
- May 79° 58°
- Jun 88° 67°
- Jul 93° 71°
- Aug 93° 70°
- Sep 85° 62°
- Oct 74° 49°
- Nov 62° 38°
- Dec 51° 29°
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 Cushing each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in May (6.07 in), the least in January (1.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 26°F | 37.9°F | 1.35 | 1.7 | 3 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 30°F | 42.0°F | 1.35 | 0.8 | 4 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 39°F | 50.6°F | 2.53 | 0.2 | 5 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 48°F | 59.8°F | 3.63 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 58°F | 68.4°F | 6.07 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 88°F | 67°F | 77.4°F | 4.84 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 93°F | 71°F | 82.2°F | 3.25 | 0.0 | 5 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 93°F | 70°F | 81.5°F | 3.23 | 0.0 | 5 | 22 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 85°F | 62°F | 73.5°F | 3.92 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 49°F | 61.7°F | 3.43 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 38°F | 49.9°F | 2.24 | 0.2 | 5 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 29°F | 40.2°F | 2.13 | 1.2 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 49°F | 60.4°F | 37.97 | 4.1 | 64 | 69 | 76 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −3°C | 3.3°C | 34 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 12°C | −1°C | 5.6°C | 34 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 17°C | 4°C | 10.3°C | 64 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 154 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 20°C | 25.2°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 22°C | 27.9°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 34°C | 21°C | 27.5°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 30°C | 17°C | 23.1°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 10°C | 16.5°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 3°C | 9.9°C | 57 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 11°C | −2°C | 4.6°C | 54 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00342318; 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 Cushing?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00342318.
When is the last frost in Cushing?
In Cushing, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 1 in half of years and after April 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 5 in half of years and before October 20 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 11 year in 10 after April 17; 9 in 10 after March 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 51 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 217 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 20 in half of springs and before November 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cushing in zone 7b in ZIP code 74023, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cushing's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Oklahoma · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00342318; 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 Cushing?
In a normal year in Cushing, 69 days a year reach 90°F (14 of them 100°F or more), 76 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 64 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 69a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 76a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 64a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1940) is 117°F, on July 14, 1954; the lowest is −11°F, on January 4, 1947.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1974, with 49.96 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 24.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00342318; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00342318. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cushing?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cushing, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and February the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.7 |
| February | 71% | 3.3 |
| March | 72% | 4.3 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.7 |
| June | 84% | 6.7 |
| July | 87% | 6.7 |
| August | 85% | 6.0 |
| September | 82% | 5.0 |
| October | 78% | 3.8 |
| November | 77% | 2.9 |
| December | 72% | 2.3 |
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 Cushing need?
A normal year in Cushing brings 3,611 heating degree days, 33% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,974 cooling degree days, 2.2 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,103 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 842 | 0 |
| February | 644 | 1 |
| March | 457 | 10 |
| April | 203 | 46 |
| May | 50 | 156 |
| June | 3 | 376 |
| July | 0 | 532 |
| August | 0 | 512 |
| September | 20 | 273 |
| October | 164 | 62 |
| November | 458 | 7 |
| December | 769 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,611 | 1,974 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00342318. 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.
How does Cushing's climate compare?
Cushing is warmer than 68 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Oklahoma, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.4°F is warmer than 76%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cushing is Cfa: temperate, 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 Cushing share this climate record?
6 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.
- Drumright, OK2,527 people · 10 mi E
- Yale, OK1,075 people · 10 mi NE
- Ripley, OK354 people · 8 mi W
- Agra, OK326 people · 8 mi SW
- Ingalls, OK134 people · 10 mi NW
- Quay, OK0 people · 13 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 Cushing's climate
What is the coldest month in Cushing?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Cushing?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cushing?
May, with 6.07 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cushing in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cushing in zone 7b in ZIP code 74023, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cushing's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Cushing?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 1; in one year in ten it comes after April 17. Waiting until April 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Oklahoma climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Perkins, OK16 miles from this station, 60.4°F a year
- Chandler, OK20 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Stillwater, OK22 miles from this station, 61.5°F a year
- Mannford, OK23 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made