Elm, Missouri climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Elm's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 42.9 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,088 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElm
- Station IDUSC00232568
- Location38.87°N 94.04°W
- Elevation850 ft (259 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Elm is 65°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elm.
- Jan 38° 18°
- Feb 43° 22°
- Mar 54° 32°
- Apr 65° 42°
- May 74° 53°
- Jun 83° 63°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 87° 65°
- Sep 79° 56°
- Oct 68° 44°
- Nov 54° 33°
- Dec 42° 23°
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 Elm each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.57 in), the least in January (1.36 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 18°F | 28.1°F | 1.36 | 3.8 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 22°F | 32.9°F | 1.78 | 2.9 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 32°F | 43.4°F | 2.93 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 42°F | 53.5°F | 4.41 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 53°F | 63.6°F | 5.29 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 63°F | 72.9°F | 5.21 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.2°F | 5.57 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 75.7°F | 4.43 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 56°F | 67.5°F | 3.92 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 44°F | 55.6°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 54°F | 33°F | 43.1°F | 2.66 | 0.7 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 42°F | 23°F | 32.7°F | 1.85 | 3.3 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 43°F | 53.8°F | 42.85 | 11.9 | 107 | 33 | 116 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −8°C | −2.2°C | 35 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.5°C | 45 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 12°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 74 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 18°C | 6°C | 11.9°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.1°C | 141 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 68 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 6°C | −5°C | 0.4°C | 47 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00232568; 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 Elm?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00232568.
When is the last frost at Elm?
In Elm, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 13 in half of years and after April 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 9 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 29; 9 in 10 after March 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 9; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 191 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elm in zone 6b in ZIP code 64061, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00232568; 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 at Elm?
In a normal year in Elm, 33 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 116 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 107 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 33a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 116a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 26high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 107a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00232568.
How sunny is it at Elm?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Elm, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and March the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.3 |
| February | 70% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.0 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 81% | 6.6 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.5 |
| November | 74% | 2.5 |
| December | 71% | 2.0 |
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 Elm record?
A normal year at Elm brings 5,244 heating degree days, 2% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,213 cooling degree days, 34% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,805 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,144 | 0 |
| February | 900 | 0 |
| March | 672 | 2 |
| April | 356 | 11 |
| May | 124 | 82 |
| June | 11 | 248 |
| July | 1 | 377 |
| August | 3 | 332 |
| September | 63 | 138 |
| October | 313 | 22 |
| November | 656 | 1 |
| December | 1,003 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,244 | 1,213 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00232568. 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.
How does Elm's climate compare?
Elm is warmer than 36 of the 134 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 55. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.8°F is warmer than 56%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elm is Dfa: continental, 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 Elm share this climate record?
6 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.
- Oak Grove, MO9,129 people · 11 mi NW
- Odessa, MO5,689 people · 10 mi N
- Holden, MO2,309 people · 11 mi S
- Lake Lafayette, MO304 people · 7 mi NE
- Kingsville, MO249 people · 9 mi S
- Bates City, MO230 people · 10 mi N
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 Elm's climate
What is the coldest month at Elm?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow at Elm?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Elm?
July, with 5.57 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elm in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elm in zone 6b in ZIP code 64061, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Elm?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 13; in one year in ten it comes after April 29. Waiting until April 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pleasant Hill, MO13 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Warrensburg, MO14 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Lees Summit Reed Wildlife Refuge, MO16 miles from this station, 53.0°F a year
- Lee's Summit, MO19 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made