Garden City, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Garden City's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 18.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.4°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 33°C, 481 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGarden City Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00023064
- Location37.93°N 100.72°W
- Elevation2,882 ft (878 m)
- Population27,996
On October 22, the normal high in Garden City is 67°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Garden City.
- Jan 45° 18°
- Feb 49° 21°
- Mar 59° 29°
- Apr 68° 38°
- May 78° 49°
- Jun 88° 60°
- Jul 92° 65°
- Aug 90° 63°
- Sep 83° 54°
- Oct 70° 40°
- Nov 56° 27°
- Dec 46° 19°
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 Garden City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.51 in), the least in January (0.30 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 | 45°F | 18°F | 31.2°F | 0.30 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 21°F | 34.7°F | 0.40 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 29°F | 44.0°F | 1.07 | 5 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 38°F | 52.7°F | 1.46 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 78°F | 49°F | 63.4°F | 2.52 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 88°F | 60°F | 73.8°F | 3.51 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 92°F | 65°F | 78.4°F | 3.43 | 9 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 90°F | 63°F | 76.2°F | 2.49 | 9 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 83°F | 54°F | 68.6°F | 1.37 | 6 | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 40°F | 55.1°F | 1.42 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 27°F | 41.9°F | 0.42 | 3 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 19°F | 32.3°F | 0.56 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 40°F | 54.4°F | 18.95 | 70 | 68 | 139 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −8°C | −0.4°C | 8 mm |
| February | 9°C | −6°C | 1.5°C | 10 mm |
| March | 15°C | −2°C | 6.7°C | 27 mm |
| April | 20°C | 3°C | 11.5°C | 37 mm |
| May | 25°C | 10°C | 17.4°C | 64 mm |
| June | 31°C | 15°C | 23.2°C | 89 mm |
| July | 33°C | 18°C | 25.8°C | 87 mm |
| August | 32°C | 17°C | 24.6°C | 63 mm |
| September | 28°C | 12°C | 20.3°C | 35 mm |
| October | 21°C | 5°C | 12.8°C | 36 mm |
| November | 14°C | −3°C | 5.5°C | 11 mm |
| December | 8°C | −7°C | 0.2°C | 14 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Garden City's own co-op station Garden City Experiment Station does: 16 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023064; 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 Garden City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USW00023064.
When is the last frost in Garden City?
In Garden City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 27 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 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 271 year in 10 after May 9; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 188 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 17 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Garden City in zone 6b in ZIP code 67846, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Garden City's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (28 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 USW00023064; 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 Garden City?
In a normal year in Garden City, 68 days a year reach 90°F (11 of them 100°F or more), 139 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 70 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 68a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 139a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 70a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1947) is 110°F, on June 24, 1953; the lowest is −22°F, on March 11, 1948.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1969, with 30.75 in; the snowiest season is 1992–93, with 64.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023064; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00023064. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Garden City, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 59°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 62°F; the driest air comes in December (19°F). March is the windiest month (14.2 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (82%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 63% | 39% | 11.5 mph | 74% | 19% |
| February | 22°F | 55% | 33% | 13.1 mph | 73% | 18% |
| March | 32°F | 56% | 32% | 14.2 mph | 73% | 19% |
| April | 41°F | 58% | 34% | 13.8 mph | 67% | 22% |
| May | 53°F | 60% | 37% | 12.7 mph | 71% | 16% |
| June | 59°F | 56% | 34% | 12.4 mph | 82% | 7% |
| July | 62°F | 61% | 39% | 10.8 mph | 80% | 8% |
| August | 58°F | 60% | 36% | 11.3 mph | 80% | 10% |
| September | 45°F | 56% | 32% | 12.3 mph | 80% | 12% |
| October | 32°F | 58% | 34% | 12.0 mph | 78% | 15% |
| November | 22°F | 60% | 36% | 12.1 mph | 80% | 14% |
| December | 19°F | 66% | 45% | 11.5 mph | 77% | 18% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023064. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Garden City?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Garden City, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (89%) and February the cloudiest (77%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.7 |
| February | 77% | 3.5 |
| March | 79% | 4.8 |
| April | 79% | 5.9 |
| May | 82% | 6.8 |
| June | 88% | 7.4 |
| July | 89% | 7.2 |
| August | 87% | 6.3 |
| September | 87% | 5.3 |
| October | 82% | 4.0 |
| November | 82% | 3.0 |
| December | 79% | 2.4 |
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 Garden City need?
A normal year in Garden City brings 5,174 heating degree days, 4% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,325 cooling degree days, 46% 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 3,866 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,048 | 0 |
| February | 848 | 0 |
| March | 652 | 1 |
| April | 379 | 10 |
| May | 137 | 86 |
| June | 12 | 275 |
| July | 1 | 415 |
| August | 3 | 350 |
| September | 59 | 166 |
| October | 329 | 22 |
| November | 693 | 1 |
| December | 1,013 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,174 | 1,325 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023064. 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 Garden City been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.3°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.0°F | +0.6°F | 15.26 |
| 2022 | 54.6°F | +0.2°F | 5.03 |
| 2023 | 54.4°F | at normal | 23.87 |
| 2024 | 56.4°F | +2.0°F | 15.43 |
| 2025 | 55.3°F | +0.9°F | 17.18 |
Over 72 complete years from 1948 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.6°F per century (+0.03°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023064; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Garden City's climate compare?
Garden City is warmer than 53 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 9. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.4°F is warmer than 58%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Garden City 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.
Which places near Garden City share this climate record?
Pierceville has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Pierceville, KS0 people · 4 mi SE
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 Garden City's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Garden City. This page uses Garden City Regional Airport; the other differs by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City Experiment Station USC00142980 | 7 mi NW | 2,890 ft | 54.5°F | 17°F | 93°F | 19.6 | 16 | April 28 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Garden City's climate
What is the coldest month in Garden City?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Garden City?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Garden City's NOAA station; Garden City's own co-op station Garden City Experiment Station records 16 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Garden City?
June, with 3.51 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.30 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Garden City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Garden City in zone 6b in ZIP code 67846, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Garden City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Garden City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 27; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Garden City in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Garden City Experiment Station, KS7 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
- Cimarron, KS22 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Montezuma, KS28 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Lakin, KS29 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