Elkhart, KS Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Elkhart's primary NOAA station, ELKHART.
The climate verdict for Elkhart
Dryness leads the climate profile for Elkhart, Kansas, with 18.4 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 56°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 56°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 18.4"
- annual precipitation · 18" snow
- 187 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Elkhart: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00142432 · Elkhart, KS 56°F mean · 18.4" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 56°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,391
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Nevada Wtp
- PRCP-DRY 18.4"
- SWING-MID 45°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,659 HDD
- STN-1 USC00142432
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Nevada Wtp, MO (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every KS station list.
- Elkhart (this station) 56°F
- Hot Paria Ranger St…, UT 56°F
- Near Nevada Wtp, MO 56°F
- Near Eldon, MO 56°F
- Near St Louis Sprt o…, MO 56°F
Climate Living Index · Elkhart
Elkhart: 44/100 · grade D
Elkhart publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Elkhart, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 56.0°F · 11.5° from 67.5°F | 63/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 187 days/year | 55/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 17.6 inches/year | 52/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 18.4 in · 16.6 from 35 in | 41/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 192 calendar days | 18/100 · F |
Elkhart · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Elkhart's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 79.2°F
- Coldest month
- 34.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Elkhart sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Elkhart's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 64th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 75%
- Elkhart's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 57th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Elkhart compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Elkhart's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Elkhart's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 60 complete annual observations from 1901 to 2025, ELKHART warmed at a fitted rate of 0.07°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Elkhart primary station fitted change +0.07 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F (9°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 0.4" | 4.2" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 52°F (11°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.3" | 2.1" | 23.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (16°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.0" | 3.5" | 16.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 69°F (20°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.9" | 0.4" | 5.4 | 0.5 |
| May | 79°F (26°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 2.2" | 0.8" | 0.1 | 5.7 |
| June | 89°F (32°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 16.3 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 2.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 23.1 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 19.4 |
| September | 84°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.2" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 8.9 |
| October | 71°F (22°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 1.7" | 0.7" | 3.1 | 1.4 |
| November | 58°F (15°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.5" | 1.2" | 16.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.7" | 4.7" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Elkhart works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 94°F by July 14 and hold at or above 90°F on 66 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 126 dates, bottoming at 21°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 17 through August 21, covering 66 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 21 to October 19.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 18, then returns to freezing around November 14, covering 126 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 27, when 26% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 14 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 57 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 6 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 30°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Elkhart.
Where Elkhart Stands Nationally
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 66 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Elkhart earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.2"
2.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.5"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
6.3 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
4.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.7"
3.5 days with precipitation
Elkhart runs a summer-peaked wet season
46% of Elkhart's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is August at 3.0", on a 44.7°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: August, July, June, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.3".
- Winter share: 8% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Elkhart's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 57 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 18.4" between them, or roughly 0.32 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Elkhart
Elkhart averages 17.6 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 8 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 17.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 8 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
187 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,659
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,425
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Elkhart on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (56°F here).
- Barbourville, KY 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Bolivar, MO 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Chestertown, MD 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Columbia, MO 56°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (18.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Rosalia, WA 18.4" · 0.0" off
- Wray, CO 18.4" · 0.0" off
- Hayden, CO 18.4" · 0.0" off
- Hebron, ND 18.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Elkhart
heating led · dry · mid swing
Elkhart's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,659 annual heating degree days against 1,425 for cooling. Its 44.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Elkhart's frost-free season lasts about 187 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Elkhart coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 35°F (1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Elkhart typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Elkhart snow peak
December
Elkhart averages 17.6 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Elkhart's climate
How much snow does Elkhart get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Elkhart get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Elkhart? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Elkhart's primary station: ELKHART (USC00142432). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2020350). Match rule for Elkhart: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Elkhart comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.