Fort Calhoun, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fort Calhoun's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 33.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 29°C, 848 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Calhoun (4 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00252980
- Location41.45°N 96.09°W
- Elevation1,310 ft (399 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population1,102
On October 23, the normal high in Fort Calhoun is 58°F and the normal low 38°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Calhoun.
- Jan 30° 13°
- Feb 35° 16°
- Mar 48° 27°
- Apr 61° 39°
- May 70° 50°
- Jun 80° 61°
- Jul 84° 65°
- Aug 82° 63°
- Sep 75° 54°
- Oct 62° 42°
- Nov 47° 28°
- Dec 34° 18°
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 Fort Calhoun each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.06 in), the least in January (0.78 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 13°F | 21.3°F | 0.78 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 16°F | 25.5°F | 0.94 | – | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 48°F | 27°F | 37.5°F | 1.76 | – | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 39°F | 49.8°F | 3.30 | – | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 50°F | 60.3°F | 5.01 | – | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 61°F | 70.6°F | 5.06 | – | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 65°F | 74.4°F | 3.92 | – | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 63°F | 72.6°F | 4.17 | – | 4 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 75°F | 54°F | 64.8°F | 3.31 | – | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 42°F | 51.7°F | 2.41 | – | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 28°F | 37.4°F | 1.43 | – | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 34°F | 18°F | 26.0°F | 1.31 | – | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 40°F | 49.3°F | 33.40 | – | 18 | 140 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −11°C | −5.9°C | 20 mm |
| February | 1°C | −9°C | −3.6°C | 24 mm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 3.1°C | 45 mm |
| April | 16°C | 4°C | 9.9°C | 84 mm |
| May | 21°C | 10°C | 15.7°C | 127 mm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 129 mm |
| July | 29°C | 19°C | 23.6°C | 100 mm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 106 mm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 84 mm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 61 mm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 3.0°C | 36 mm |
| December | 1°C | −8°C | −3.3°C | 33 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Omaha (14 miles away), gets 27 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00252980; 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 Fort Calhoun?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00252980.
When is the last frost in Fort Calhoun?
In Fort Calhoun, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 1 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 191 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 199 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Calhoun in zone 5b in ZIP code 68023, 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 USC00252980; 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 in Fort Calhoun?
In a normal year in Fort Calhoun, 18 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 140 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 18a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 140a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 52high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00252980.
How sunny is Fort Calhoun?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fort Calhoun, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.0 |
| February | 74% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.5 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 76% | 3.3 |
| November | 76% | 2.3 |
| December | 69% | 1.7 |
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 Fort Calhoun need?
A normal year in Fort Calhoun brings 6,575 heating degree days, 22% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 897 cooling degree days, 1% fewer 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 3,190 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,354 | 0 |
| February | 1,107 | 0 |
| March | 854 | 1 |
| April | 462 | 6 |
| May | 197 | 51 |
| June | 23 | 189 |
| July | 4 | 297 |
| August | 8 | 242 |
| September | 105 | 99 |
| October | 424 | 11 |
| November | 827 | 0 |
| December | 1,210 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,575 | 897 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00252980. 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 Fort Calhoun been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 51.7°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.3°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.0°F | +1.7°F | 31.97 |
| 2022 | 48.2°F | −1.1°F | 18.40 |
| 2023 | 51.7°F | +2.4°F | 26.48 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00252980. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Fort Calhoun's climate compare?
Fort Calhoun is warmer than 54 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 121. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.3°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Calhoun 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 Fort Calhoun 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.
- Bennington, NE1,982 people · 6 mi SW
- Kennard, NE373 people · 6 mi W
- Washington, NE133 people · 7 mi SW
- Loveland, IA46 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.
Questions about Fort Calhoun's climate
What is the coldest month in Fort Calhoun?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Fort Calhoun?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Fort Calhoun's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Omaha (14 miles away), records 27 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Fort Calhoun?
June, with 5.06 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.78 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Calhoun in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Calhoun in zone 5b in ZIP code 68023, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Fort Calhoun?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Blair, NE8 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Omaha, NE14 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Valley, NE17 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Fremont, NE19 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made