Ellsworth (2 mi W), Nebraska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Ellsworth (2 mi W)'s normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 16.7 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.8°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 31°C, 423 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEllsworth (2 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00252645
- Location42.06°N 102.32°W
- Elevation3,909 ft (1,192 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Ellsworth (2 mi W) is 58°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ellsworth (2 mi W).
- Jan 38° 14°
- Feb 41° 15°
- Mar 49° 25°
- Apr 59° 31°
- May 69° 41°
- Jun 81° 53°
- Jul 88° 59°
- Aug 87° 57°
- Sep 79° 46°
- Oct 63° 33°
- Nov 49° 22°
- Dec 39° 14°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Ellsworth (2 mi W) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in June (2.78 in), the least in January (0.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 14°F | 26.1°F | 0.27 | 5.5 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 41°F | 15°F | 28.3°F | 0.35 | 6.6 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 49°F | 25°F | 36.9°F | 0.75 | 6.8 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 31°F | 45.3°F | 1.71 | 7.0 | 7 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 41°F | 54.9°F | 2.75 | 1.6 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 53°F | 66.7°F | 2.78 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 88°F | 59°F | 73.1°F | 2.56 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 87°F | 57°F | 71.7°F | 2.02 | 0.0 | 6 | 15 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 79°F | 46°F | 62.6°F | 1.61 | 0.6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 33°F | 47.8°F | 1.14 | 3.5 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 22°F | 35.6°F | 0.42 | 4.8 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 14°F | 26.6°F | 0.30 | 6.2 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 34°F | 47.9°F | 16.66 | 42.6 | 64 | 37 | 198 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −10°C | −3.3°C | 7 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 5°C | −9°C | −2.1°C | 9 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 10°C | −4°C | 2.7°C | 19 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.4°C | 43 mm | 18 cm |
| May | 21°C | 5°C | 12.7°C | 70 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 27°C | 11°C | 19.3°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 15°C | 22.8°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 22.1°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 8°C | 17.0°C | 41 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 17°C | 1°C | 8.8°C | 29 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 9°C | −5°C | 2.0°C | 11 mm | 12 cm |
| December | 4°C | −10°C | −3.0°C | 8 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00252645; 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.
Which months are mildest at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September 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 USC00252645.
When is the last frost at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
In Ellsworth (2 mi W), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 18 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
- May 141 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 140 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ellsworth (2 mi W) in zone 5a in ZIP code 69351, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00252645; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
In a normal year in Ellsworth (2 mi W), 37 days a year reach 90°F, 198 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 64 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 198a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 45high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 64a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00252645.
How sunny is it at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Ellsworth (2 mi W), 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (88%) and April the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.1 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 74% | 4.2 |
| April | 72% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 6.2 |
| June | 84% | 7.2 |
| July | 88% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.2 |
| September | 84% | 5.0 |
| October | 78% | 3.4 |
| November | 78% | 2.4 |
| December | 75% | 1.9 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Ellsworth (2 mi W) record?
A normal year at Ellsworth (2 mi W) brings 6,803 heating degree days, 27% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 617 cooling degree days, 32% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,578 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,207 | 0 |
| February | 1,027 | 0 |
| March | 873 | 0 |
| April | 592 | 0 |
| May | 327 | 15 |
| June | 38 | 86 |
| July | 1 | 251 |
| August | 11 | 217 |
| September | 123 | 48 |
| October | 533 | 1 |
| November | 882 | 0 |
| December | 1,189 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,803 | 617 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00252645. 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.
Have recent years at Ellsworth (2 mi W) been warmer than normal?
2022 averaged 47.5°F, 0.4°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 47.9°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.0°F | +1.1°F | 19.25 | 37.5 |
| 2022 | 47.5°F | −0.4°F | 14.60 | 41.7 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00252645. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ellsworth (2 mi W)'s climate compare?
Ellsworth (2 mi W) is warmer than 21 of the 137 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.9°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ellsworth (2 mi W) is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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.
Questions about Ellsworth (2 mi W)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (7.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
June, with 2.78 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ellsworth (2 mi W) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ellsworth (2 mi W) in zone 5a in ZIP code 69351, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Ellsworth (2 mi W)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ellsworth (15 mi NNE), NE15 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, NE22 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Alliance, NE25 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Hemingford, NE43 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made