Dripping Springs, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dripping Springs's normal year runs from 39°F January nights to 95°F August afternoons, with 35.7 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.3 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.7°C, January lows of 4°C, August highs of 35°C, 907 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDripping Springs (6 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00412585
- Location30.22°N 97.99°W
- Elevation1,084 ft (330 m)
- Population10,165
On October 23, the normal high in Dripping Springs is 77°F and the normal low 55°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 Dripping Springs.
- Jan 60° 39°
- Feb 65° 43°
- Mar 72° 49°
- Apr 79° 56°
- May 85° 64°
- Jun 91° 70°
- Jul 94° 72°
- Aug 95° 72°
- Sep 89° 66°
- Oct 80° 58°
- Nov 69° 48°
- Dec 61° 41°
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 Dripping Springs each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 39°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.29 in), the least in February (2.10 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 2.65 | 7 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 65°F | 43°F | 53.7°F | 2.10 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 72°F | 49°F | 60.5°F | 2.86 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 12 h |
| April | 79°F | 56°F | 67.6°F | 2.61 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 85°F | 64°F | 74.5°F | 4.29 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 91°F | 70°F | 80.6°F | 3.68 | 7 | 21 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 94°F | 72°F | 83.2°F | 2.10 | 5 | 28 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 95°F | 72°F | 83.6°F | 2.11 | 4 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 66°F | 77.4°F | 3.65 | 7 | 16 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 80°F | 58°F | 68.6°F | 3.97 | 6 | 3 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 69°F | 48°F | 58.2°F | 2.94 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 61°F | 41°F | 51.0°F | 2.74 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 57°F | 67.4°F | 35.70 | 80 | 106 | 29 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 67 mm |
| February | 18°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 53 mm |
| March | 22°C | 10°C | 15.8°C | 73 mm |
| April | 26°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 66 mm |
| May | 29°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 109 mm |
| June | 33°C | 21°C | 27.0°C | 93 mm |
| July | 35°C | 22°C | 28.4°C | 53 mm |
| August | 35°C | 22°C | 28.7°C | 54 mm |
| September | 32°C | 19°C | 25.2°C | 93 mm |
| October | 27°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 101 mm |
| November | 20°C | 9°C | 14.6°C | 75 mm |
| December | 16°C | 5°C | 10.6°C | 70 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00412585; 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 Dripping Springs?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. 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 USC00412585.
When is the last frost in Dripping Springs?
In Dripping Springs, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 17 in half of years and after April 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 13 in half of years and before October 29 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
- March 171 year in 10 after April 7; 9 in 10 after February 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 131 year in 10 before October 29; 9 in 10 before December 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 242 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 268 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dripping Springs in zone 8b in ZIP code 78620, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dripping Springs's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00412585; 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 Dripping Springs?
In a normal year in Dripping Springs, 106 days a year reach 90°F (16 of them 100°F or more), 29 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 80 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 106a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 29a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 80a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1984) is 111°F, on September 5, 2000; the lowest is −2°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1991, with 56.70 in; the snowiest season is 2002–03, with 1.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00412585; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00412585. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dripping Springs?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dripping Springs, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (88%) and February the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 3.0 |
| February | 68% | 3.5 |
| March | 71% | 4.5 |
| April | 75% | 5.4 |
| May | 76% | 5.8 |
| June | 84% | 6.7 |
| July | 87% | 6.7 |
| August | 88% | 6.4 |
| September | 82% | 5.2 |
| October | 81% | 4.3 |
| November | 76% | 3.3 |
| December | 72% | 2.7 |
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 Dripping Springs need?
A normal year in Dripping Springs brings 1,811 heating degree days, 66% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,709 cooling degree days, 3.0 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,729 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 481 | 5 |
| February | 330 | 15 |
| March | 189 | 51 |
| April | 56 | 133 |
| May | 7 | 300 |
| June | 0 | 467 |
| July | 0 | 566 |
| August | 0 | 577 |
| September | 3 | 377 |
| October | 59 | 172 |
| November | 243 | 39 |
| December | 443 | 9 |
| Year (annual) | 1,811 | 2,709 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00412585. 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 Dripping Springs been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 69.6°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 67.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67.5°F | at normal | 43.04 |
| 2022 | 68.3°F | +0.9°F | 18.45 |
| 2023 | 70.0°F | +2.6°F | 25.90 |
| 2024 | 70.1°F | +2.7°F | 31.18 |
| 2025 | 69.6°F | +2.2°F | 25.74 |
Over 35 complete years from 1985 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.0°F per century (+0.28°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00412585; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dripping Springs's climate compare?
Dripping Springs is warmer than 211 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 192. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 67.4°F is warmer than 93%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dripping Springs 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 Dripping Springs share this climate record?
13 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.
- Lakeway, TX19,056 people · 9 mi N
- Buda, TX16,090 people · 12 mi SE
- Bee Cave, TX8,510 people · 6 mi N
- Belterra, TX7,190 people · 2 mi S
- Shady Hollow, TX5,821 people · 8 mi SE
- Briarcliff, TX2,387 people · 14 mi N
- The Hills, TX2,342 people · 9 mi N
- Manchaca, TX2,002 people · 11 mi SE
- Point Venture, TX1,243 people · 11 mi N
- San Leanna, TX517 people · 11 mi SE
- Bear Creek, TX461 people · 4 mi SE
- Hays, TX264 people · 10 mi SE
- Driftwood, TX141 people · 7 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.
Questions about Dripping Springs's climate
What is the coldest month in Dripping Springs?
January, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 39°F. The warmest is August (95°F by day, 72°F at night).
Does it snow in Dripping Springs?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.3 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Dripping Springs?
May, with 4.29 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.10 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dripping Springs in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dripping Springs in zone 8b in ZIP code 78620, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dripping Springs's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Dripping Springs?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 17; in one year in ten it comes after April 7. Waiting until April 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Austin, TX16 miles from this station, 70.0°F a year
- San Marcos, TX24 miles from this station, 68.6°F a year
- Johnson City, TX25 miles from this station, 67.0°F a year
- Blanco, TX27 miles from this station, 65.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made