El Dorado, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
El Dorado's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 38.7 inches of precipitation and 5 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.6°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 33°C, 982 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEl Dorado
- Station IDUSC00142401
- Location37.82°N 96.84°W
- Elevation1,290 ft (393 m)
- Population12,694
On October 23, the normal high in El Dorado is 68°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for El Dorado.
- Jan 44° 20°
- Feb 49° 23°
- Mar 59° 33°
- Apr 68° 43°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 86° 64°
- Jul 91° 69°
- Aug 90° 67°
- Sep 83° 58°
- Oct 71° 45°
- Nov 58° 33°
- Dec 46° 24°
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 El Dorado each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.77 in), the least in January (0.89 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 20°F | 32.1°F | 0.89 | 1.1 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 23°F | 36.1°F | 1.45 | 1.4 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 33°F | 45.8°F | 2.53 | 0.7 | 7 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 43°F | 55.7°F | 3.41 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 65.7°F | 5.77 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 64°F | 75.2°F | 5.64 | 0.0 | 10 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 91°F | 69°F | 80.0°F | 4.42 | 0.0 | 8 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 90°F | 67°F | 78.5°F | 4.59 | 0.0 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 83°F | 58°F | 70.5°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 45°F | 58.1°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 33°F | 45.5°F | 1.74 | 0.2 | 6 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 24°F | 35.1°F | 1.30 | 1.1 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 45°F | 56.5°F | 38.67 | 4.5 | 90 | 54 | 112 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −7°C | 0.1°C | 23 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 9°C | −5°C | 2.3°C | 37 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 64 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.2°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 147 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 24.0°C | 143 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 20°C | 26.7°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 19°C | 25.8°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 7°C | 14.5°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 1°C | 7.5°C | 44 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 8°C | −5°C | 1.7°C | 33 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00142401; 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 El Dorado?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. 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 USC00142401.
When is the last frost in El Dorado?
In El Dorado, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 13 in half of years and after April 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 11 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 131 year in 10 after April 27; 9 in 10 after March 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 193 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 214 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts El Dorado in zone 6b in ZIP code 67042, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, El Dorado's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (23 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00142401; 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 El Dorado?
In a normal year in El Dorado, 54 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 112 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 90 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 54a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 112a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 90a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 117°F, on July 18, 1936; the lowest is −28°F, on February 13, 1905.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 53.03 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 34.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00142401; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00142401. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is El Dorado?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around El Dorado, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and March the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.5 |
| February | 73% | 3.2 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 84% | 6.8 |
| July | 85% | 6.6 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 83% | 4.9 |
| October | 79% | 3.7 |
| November | 78% | 2.7 |
| December | 73% | 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 El Dorado need?
A normal year in El Dorado brings 4,620 heating degree days, 14% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,574 cooling degree days, 73% more than 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 4,347 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,018 | 0 |
| February | 808 | 0 |
| March | 597 | 3 |
| April | 299 | 21 |
| May | 91 | 113 |
| June | 4 | 312 |
| July | 0 | 467 |
| August | 1 | 421 |
| September | 38 | 201 |
| October | 248 | 36 |
| November | 588 | 2 |
| December | 928 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,620 | 1,574 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00142401. 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 El Dorado been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.6°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.5°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.6°F | +1.1°F | 42.80 | 12.0 |
| 2022 | 56.7°F | +0.2°F | 30.72 | 17.8 |
| 2023 | 58.8°F | +2.3°F | 25.96 | 7.0 |
| 2024 | 59.6°F | +3.1°F | 32.55 | 4.6 |
| 2025 | 57.6°F | +1.1°F | 40.43 | 13.8 |
Over 87 complete years from 1904 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.6°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 USC00142401; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does El Dorado's climate compare?
El Dorado is warmer than 113 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 109. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.5°F is warmer than 65%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, El Dorado 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 El Dorado share this climate record?
5 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.
- Augusta, KS9,103 people · 11 mi SW
- Towanda, KS1,424 people · 8 mi W
- Leon, KS649 people · 10 mi S
- Potwin, KS413 people · 13 mi NW
- Rosalia, KS179 people · 12 mi E
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 El Dorado's climate
What is the coldest month in El Dorado?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in El Dorado?
Yes: 5 inches in a normal year, falling on 4 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (1.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in El Dorado?
May, with 5.77 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.89 in.
What plant hardiness zone is El Dorado in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts El Dorado in zone 6b in ZIP code 67042, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at El Dorado's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in El Dorado?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 13; in one year in ten it comes after April 27. Waiting until April 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cassoday, KS19 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Smileyberg (1 mi N), KS20 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Wichita Jabara Airport, KS21 miles from this station, 57.0°F a year
- Florence, KS30 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made