Emporia, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Emporia's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 34.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.2°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 32°C, 884 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEmporia Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00013989
- Location38.33°N 96.19°W
- Elevation1,209 ft (369 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population24,354
On October 23, the normal high in Emporia is 67°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Emporia.
- Jan 41° 21°
- Feb 47° 24°
- Mar 57° 34°
- Apr 67° 44°
- May 76° 54°
- Jun 85° 64°
- Jul 90° 68°
- Aug 89° 66°
- Sep 81° 57°
- Oct 69° 45°
- Nov 56° 33°
- Dec 44° 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 Emporia each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.01 in), the least in January (0.78 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 21°F | 31.0°F | 0.78 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 47°F | 24°F | 35.4°F | 1.31 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 34°F | 45.6°F | 2.12 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 44°F | 55.5°F | 3.84 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 54°F | 65.1°F | 5.01 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 64°F | 74.2°F | 4.53 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 90°F | 68°F | 79.0°F | 3.90 | 9 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 89°F | 66°F | 77.5°F | 3.86 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 57°F | 69.0°F | 3.25 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 45°F | 57.2°F | 3.06 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 33°F | 44.6°F | 1.85 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 24°F | 34.3°F | 1.30 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 45°F | 55.7°F | 34.81 | 101 | 49 | 111 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −6°C | −0.6°C | 20 mm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 33 mm |
| March | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 54 mm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 98 mm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 18.4°C | 127 mm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 115 mm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 26.1°C | 99 mm |
| August | 32°C | 19°C | 25.3°C | 98 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 83 mm |
| October | 21°C | 7°C | 14.0°C | 78 mm |
| November | 13°C | 1°C | 7.0°C | 47 mm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.3°C | 33 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Cottonwood Falls (20 miles away), gets 11 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013989; 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 Emporia?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USW00013989.
When is the last frost in Emporia?
In Emporia, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 12 in half of years and after April 27 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 121 year in 10 after April 27; 9 in 10 after March 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 9; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 193 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 213 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 Emporia in zone 6b in ZIP code 66801, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Emporia's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00013989; 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 Emporia?
In a normal year in Emporia, 49 days a year reach 90°F (7 of them 100°F or more), 111 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 101 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 49a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 111a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 21high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 101a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1950) is 115°F, on July 14, 1954; the lowest is −17°F, on February 16, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 63.29 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 35.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013989; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00013989. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Emporia?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Emporia, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and March the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.9 |
| June | 83% | 6.8 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 78% | 2.6 |
| December | 73% | 2.1 |
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 Emporia need?
A normal year in Emporia brings 4,793 heating degree days, 11% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,433 cooling degree days, 58% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,154 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,054 | 0 |
| February | 830 | 0 |
| March | 607 | 4 |
| April | 307 | 20 |
| May | 98 | 100 |
| June | 7 | 284 |
| July | 0 | 434 |
| August | 1 | 389 |
| September | 48 | 168 |
| October | 275 | 33 |
| November | 614 | 2 |
| December | 953 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,793 | 1,433 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013989. 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 Emporia been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.1°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.7°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.0°F | +2.3°F | 32.95 |
| 2022 | 56.8°F | +1.1°F | 30.91 |
| 2023 | 58.5°F | +2.8°F | 31.66 |
| 2024 | 59.0°F | +3.3°F | 32.33 |
| 2025 | 57.1°F | +1.4°F | 29.00 |
Over 52 complete years from 1951 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013989; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Emporia's climate compare?
Emporia is warmer than 93 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 87. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.7°F is warmer than 63%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Emporia 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 Emporia share this climate record?
4 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.
- Americus, KS779 people · 13 mi N
- Madison, KS668 people · 14 mi S
- Olpe, KS528 people · 5 mi S
- Neosho Rapids, KS239 people · 11 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.
What do Emporia's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Emporia. This page uses Emporia Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emporia (3 mi NW) USC00142548 | 2 mi NW | 1,238 ft | 53.8°F | 18°F | 89°F | 35.8 | – | April 15 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Emporia's climate
What is the coldest month in Emporia?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Emporia?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Emporia's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Cottonwood Falls (20 miles away), records 11 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Emporia?
May, with 5.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.78 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Emporia in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Emporia in zone 6b in ZIP code 66801, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Emporia's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Emporia?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 12; 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
- Emporia in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cottonwood Falls, KS20 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Tallgrass Prairie National Park, KS21 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- John Redmond Lake, KS24 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Melvern, KS29 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made