Friend, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Friend's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 29.0 inches of precipitation and 24 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.8°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 29°C, 737 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFriend (3 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00253065
- Location40.66°N 97.22°W
- Elevation1,535 ft (468 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population938
On October 23, the normal high in Friend is 61°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Friend.
- Jan 33° 13°
- Feb 38° 16°
- Mar 50° 26°
- Apr 62° 36°
- May 72° 50°
- Jun 82° 60°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 77° 52°
- Oct 65° 39°
- Nov 50° 26°
- Dec 36° 17°
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 Friend 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 May (4.90 in), the least in January (0.70 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 13°F | 22.8°F | 0.70 | 5.9 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 38°F | 16°F | 27.0°F | 0.85 | 6.6 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 26°F | 38.3°F | 1.59 | 2.7 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 36°F | 49.1°F | 2.39 | 1.0 | 10 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 60.8°F | 4.90 | 0.1 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 82°F | 60°F | 70.9°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 10 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 73.9°F | 3.47 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 71.9°F | 3.41 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 52°F | 64.7°F | 2.84 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 39°F | 52.0°F | 2.28 | 0.9 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 26°F | 37.9°F | 1.29 | 1.6 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| December | 36°F | 17°F | 26.5°F | 1.10 | 5.1 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 38°F | 49.7°F | 29.02 | 23.9 | 99 | 26 | 148 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −11°C | −5.1°C | 18 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 3°C | −9°C | −2.8°C | 22 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 10°C | −3°C | 3.5°C | 40 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 17°C | 2°C | 9.5°C | 61 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.0°C | 124 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.3°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 18.2°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 4°C | 11.1°C | 58 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 10°C | −3°C | 3.3°C | 33 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −3.1°C | 28 mm | 13 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00253065; 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 Friend?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. 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 USC00253065.
When is the last frost in Friend?
In Friend, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 13 in half of years and before September 28 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 261 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 131 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 169 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 186 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 17 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Friend in zone 6a in ZIP code 68359, 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 USC00253065; 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 Friend?
In a normal year in Friend, 26 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 148 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 99 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 148a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 45high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 99a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00253065.
How sunny is Friend?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Friend, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and March the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.3 |
| February | 74% | 3.1 |
| March | 73% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 6.8 |
| July | 85% | 6.7 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 78% | 3.5 |
| November | 78% | 2.5 |
| December | 73% | 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 much heating and cooling does Friend need?
A normal year in Friend brings 6,426 heating degree days, 20% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 873 cooling degree days, 4% 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 3,163 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,307 | 0 |
| February | 1,062 | 0 |
| March | 828 | 1 |
| April | 483 | 5 |
| May | 193 | 63 |
| June | 16 | 192 |
| July | 4 | 281 |
| August | 9 | 225 |
| September | 106 | 95 |
| October | 412 | 11 |
| November | 812 | 0 |
| December | 1,193 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,426 | 873 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00253065. 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 Friend been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.1°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.3°F | +1.6°F | 30.90 | 31.9 |
| 2022 | 49.7°F | at normal | 17.96 | 9.1 |
| 2023 | 51.5°F | +1.8°F | 19.73 | 21.4 |
| 2024 | 52.4°F | +2.7°F | 31.59 | 20.5 |
| 2025 | 51.1°F | +1.4°F | 33.28 | 24.1 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00253065. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Friend's climate compare?
Friend is warmer than 62 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 94. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.7°F is warmer than 39%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Friend 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 Friend 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.
- Dorchester, NE621 people · 6 mi E
- Beaver Crossing, NE365 people · 9 mi N
- Western, NE224 people · 18 mi S
- Cordova, NE94 people · 8 mi NW
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 Friend's climate
What is the coldest month in Friend?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Friend?
Yes: 24 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (6.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Friend?
May, with 4.90 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.70 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Friend in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Friend in zone 6a in ZIP code 68359, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Friend?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; 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
- Seward, NE18 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Crete, NE19 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Fairmont, NE19 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Geneva, NE22 miles from this station, 52.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made