Dardanelle, Arkansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dardanelle's normal year runs from 29°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 49.5 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.6°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 34°C, 1,258 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDardanelle
- Station IDUSC00031838
- Location35.23°N 93.17°W
- Elevation370 ft (113 m)
- Population4,531
On October 23, the normal high in Dardanelle is 73°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dardanelle.
- Jan 51° 29°
- Feb 56° 33°
- Mar 65° 40°
- Apr 74° 49°
- May 81° 59°
- Jun 89° 67°
- Jul 93° 71°
- Aug 93° 69°
- Sep 87° 62°
- Oct 76° 50°
- Nov 62° 39°
- Dec 53° 32°
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 Dardanelle each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.44 in), the least in February (3.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 29°F | 40.1°F | 3.56 | 0.8 | 7 | <1 | 19 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 33°F | 44.4°F | 3.34 | 1.2 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 40°F | 52.8°F | 4.58 | 0.7 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 49°F | 61.6°F | 5.15 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 81°F | 59°F | 70.1°F | 5.44 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 89°F | 67°F | 78.2°F | 3.65 | 0.0 | 6 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 93°F | 71°F | 82.1°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 6 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 93°F | 69°F | 81.2°F | 3.35 | 0.0 | 5 | 22 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 87°F | 62°F | 74.2°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 5 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 50°F | 63.2°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 39°F | 50.8°F | 4.79 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 53°F | 32°F | 42.6°F | 4.52 | 0.4 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 50°F | 61.8°F | 49.53 | 3.1 | 77 | 73 | 66 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −2°C | 4.5°C | 90 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 14°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 85 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 18°C | 5°C | 11.6°C | 116 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 23°C | 9°C | 16.4°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 25.7°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 22°C | 27.8°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 34°C | 21°C | 27.3°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 10°C | 17.3°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 115 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00031838; 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 Dardanelle?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00031838.
When is the last frost in Dardanelle?
In Dardanelle, 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 2 in half of years and before October 22 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 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 22; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 215 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 240 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 19 in half of springs and before November 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dardanelle in zone 8a in ZIP code 72801, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dardanelle's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (29 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arkansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00031838; 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 Dardanelle?
In a normal year in Dardanelle, 73 days a year reach 90°F (8 of them 100°F or more), 66 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 77 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 73a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 66a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 77a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1909) is 113°F, on August 10, 1936; the lowest is −14°F, on February 2, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 74.17 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 15.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00031838; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00031838. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dardanelle?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dardanelle, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.5 |
| February | 66% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 72% | 5.2 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 81% | 6.5 |
| July | 82% | 6.3 |
| August | 82% | 5.8 |
| September | 81% | 5.0 |
| October | 77% | 3.8 |
| November | 74% | 2.7 |
| December | 70% | 2.2 |
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 Dardanelle need?
A normal year in Dardanelle brings 3,189 heating degree days, 41% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,041 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 5,312 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 772 | 0 |
| February | 576 | 1 |
| March | 389 | 10 |
| April | 151 | 49 |
| May | 29 | 188 |
| June | 0 | 395 |
| July | 0 | 530 |
| August | 0 | 502 |
| September | 9 | 284 |
| October | 133 | 76 |
| November | 432 | 7 |
| December | 696 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,189 | 2,041 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00031838. 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 Dardanelle been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 63.4°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 61.8°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62.3°F | +0.5°F | 49.31 | 7.5 |
| 2022 | 62.1°F | +0.3°F | 51.45 | 7.0 |
| 2023 | 63.6°F | +1.8°F | 50.15 | 2.2 |
| 2025 | 63.4°F | +1.6°F | 52.29 | 13.0 |
Over 86 complete years from 1911 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.7°F per century (+0.04°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00031838; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dardanelle's climate compare?
Dardanelle is warmer than 51 of the other 85 places with their own NOAA record in Arkansas, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.8°F is warmer than 79%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dardanelle 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 Dardanelle share this climate record?
2 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.
- London, AR1,041 people · 8 mi NW
- Centerville, AR194 people · 8 mi S
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 Dardanelle's climate
What is the coldest month in Dardanelle?
January, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Dardanelle?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (1.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dardanelle?
May, with 5.44 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dardanelle in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dardanelle in zone 8a in ZIP code 72801, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dardanelle's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Dardanelle?
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
- Arkansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Russellville, AR4 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Nimrod Dam, AR19 miles from this station, 62.6°F a year
- Morrilton, AR23 miles from this station, 61.1°F a year
- Clarksville, AR25 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