Garden City, KS Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Garden City's primary NOAA station, GARDEN CITY RGNL AP.
The climate verdict for Garden City
Dryness leads the climate profile for Garden City, Kansas, with 18.9 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 54°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 54°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 18.9"
- precipitation, annual total
- 171 days
- frost-free growing season
Garden City: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00023064 · Garden City, KS 54°F mean · 18.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 54°F
- RANK-MID #3,979
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Clarksville L&d
- PRCP-DRY 18.9"
- SWING-WIDE 47°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,174 HDD
- STN-1 USW00023064
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Clarksville L&d, MO (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every KS station list.
- Garden City (this station) 54°F
- Cold Osage City, KS 54°F
- Hot Clarksville L&d, MO 54°F
- Near Great Bend, KS 54°F
- Near Sweet Springs, MO 54°F
Climate Living Index · Garden City
Garden City: 44/100 · grade D
Garden City publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Garden City, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Summer moisture balance | 59.4°F mean dew point | 69/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 54.4°F · 13.1° from 67.5°F | 57/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 171 days/year | 43/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 18.9 in · 16.1 from 35 in | 43/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 195 calendar days | 17/100 · F |
Garden City · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Garden City's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 78.4°F
- Coldest month
- 31.2°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Garden City sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Garden City's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 58th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 74%
- Garden City's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 69th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Garden City compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Garden City's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Garden City's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 72 complete annual observations from 1948 to 2025, GARDEN CITY RGNL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.03°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Garden City primary station fitted change +0.03 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F (7°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 0.3" | 30.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.4" | 25.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 59°F (15°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.1" | 19.4 | 0.1 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 1.5" | 7.1 | 0.9 |
| May | 78°F (25°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 2.5" | 0.6 | 4.4 |
| June | 88°F (31°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.5" | 0.0 | 13.7 |
| July | 92°F (33°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 3.4" | 0.0 | 20.7 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 2.5" | 0.0 | 17.5 |
| September | 83°F (28°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 1.4" | 0.1 | 8.7 |
| October | 70°F (21°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 1.4" | 5.1 | 1.5 |
| November | 56°F (14°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 0.4" | 21.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 46°F (8°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.6" | 29.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Garden City works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 93°F by July 16 and hold at or above 90°F on 52 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 143 dates, bottoming at 17°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 24 through August 14, covering 52 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 26 to October 15.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 25, then returns to freezing around November 4, covering 143 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 12, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 5 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 70 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 24 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Garden City.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
2.9 days with precipitation
3.5 days with precipitation
4.7 days with precipitation
7.0 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
3.1 days with precipitation
2.7 days with precipitation
Garden City runs a summer-peaked wet season
50% of Garden City's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 3.5", on a wide 47.2°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, May, taking 50% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 7% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Garden City's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 70 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 18.9" between them, or roughly 0.27 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 15
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 27
50% probability date
Growing Season
171 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,174
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,325
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63% | 11.5 | 65% | 19% |
| February | 55% | 13.1 | 66% | 18% |
| March | 56% | 14.2 | 63% | 19% |
| April | 58% | 13.8 | 57% | 22% |
| May | 60% | 12.7 | 60% | 16% |
| June | 56% | 12.4 | 69% | 7% |
| July | 61% | 10.8 | 67% | 8% |
| August | 60% | 11.3 | 68% | 10% |
| September | 56% | 12.3 | 70% | 12% |
| October | 58% | 12.0 | 70% | 15% |
| November | 60% | 12.1 | 73% | 14% |
| December | 66% | 11.5 | 71% | 18% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Garden City on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (54°F here).
- Arlington, OR 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Bent Creek, NC 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Bloomfield, NM 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Charleston, WV 54°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (18.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Center, ND 18.9" · 0.0" off
- Willow City, ND 18.9" · 0.0" off
- Enterprise, OR 19.0" · 0.0" off
- Hansboro, ND 19.0" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Garden City's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Garden City's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,174 annual heating degree days against 1,325 for cooling. Its 47.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Garden City's frost-free season lasts about 171 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Garden City's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 47.2°F. The annual average is 54°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Garden City's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 18.9 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Garden City's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Garden City, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Garden City's climate
How much rain does Garden City get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Garden City get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Garden City? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Garden City's primary station: GARDEN CITY RGNL AP (USW00023064). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2025325). Match rule for Garden City: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Garden City comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.