Hays, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Hays's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 24.8 inches of precipitation and 13 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.1°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 34°C, 631 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHays
- Station IDUSC00143523
- Location38.87°N 99.32°W
- Elevation1,990 ft (607 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population21,213
On October 22, the normal high in Hays is 67°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Hays.
- Jan 44° 20°
- Feb 48° 22°
- Mar 58° 31°
- Apr 67° 39°
- May 77° 51°
- Jun 89° 63°
- Jul 93° 67°
- Aug 91° 65°
- Sep 84° 56°
- Oct 70° 42°
- Nov 57° 30°
- Dec 47° 22°
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 Hays each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.14 in), the least in January (0.56 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 20°F | 32.2°F | 0.56 | 3.2 | 2 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 48°F | 22°F | 35.3°F | 0.79 | 3.4 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 58°F | 31°F | 44.7°F | 1.30 | 1.7 | 4 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 39°F | 53.4°F | 2.22 | 0.3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 51°F | 63.8°F | 3.65 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 89°F | 63°F | 75.7°F | 3.09 | 0.0 | 7 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 93°F | 67°F | 80.2°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 7 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 91°F | 65°F | 78.2°F | 3.58 | 0.0 | 7 | 19 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 84°F | 56°F | 69.9°F | 2.12 | 0.0 | 5 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 42°F | 56.3°F | 1.75 | 0.2 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 30°F | 43.4°F | 0.88 | 0.9 | 3 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 22°F | 34.4°F | 0.76 | 3.2 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 43°F | 55.6°F | 24.84 | 12.9 | 61 | 74 | 124 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −7°C | 0.1°C | 14 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 9°C | −5°C | 1.8°C | 20 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 33 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 20°C | 4°C | 11.9°C | 56 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 25°C | 11°C | 17.7°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 17°C | 24.3°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 19°C | 26.8°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 18°C | 25.7°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 13°C | 21.1°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.5°C | 44 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 14°C | −1°C | 6.3°C | 22 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 8°C | −5°C | 1.3°C | 19 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00143523; 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 Hays?
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 USC00143523.
When is the last frost in Hays?
In Hays, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 22 in half of years and before October 6 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 2; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 221 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 184 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 205 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hays in zone 6b in ZIP code 67601, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Hays's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (19 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00143523; 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 Hays?
In a normal year in Hays, 74 days a year reach 90°F (17 of them 100°F or more), 124 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 61 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 74a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 17a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 124a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 20high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 61a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00143523.
How sunny is Hays?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Hays, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (88%) and February the cloudiest (76%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.6 |
| February | 76% | 3.4 |
| March | 77% | 4.6 |
| April | 77% | 5.6 |
| May | 80% | 6.5 |
| June | 86% | 7.2 |
| July | 88% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.2 |
| September | 85% | 5.1 |
| October | 81% | 3.8 |
| November | 81% | 2.8 |
| December | 78% | 2.3 |
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 Hays need?
A normal year in Hays brings 4,935 heating degree days, 8% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,546 cooling degree days, 70% 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 4,158 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,017 | 0 |
| February | 831 | 0 |
| March | 634 | 3 |
| April | 362 | 13 |
| May | 136 | 99 |
| June | 7 | 327 |
| July | 1 | 470 |
| August | 2 | 411 |
| September | 50 | 197 |
| October | 297 | 27 |
| November | 649 | 1 |
| December | 950 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,935 | 1,546 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00143523. 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.
How does Hays's climate compare?
Hays is warmer than 91 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 35. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.6°F is warmer than 62%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Hays is Cfa: temperate, 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 Hays 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.
- Victoria, KS1,129 people · 9 mi E
- Catharine, KS252 people · 7 mi NE
- Schoenchen, KS170 people · 11 mi S
- Munjor, KS115 people · 5 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 Hays's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Hays. This page uses Hays; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hays (1 mi S) USC00143527 | 2 mi SW | 2,010 ft | 54.3°F | 17°F | 93°F | 24.4 | 16 | April 25 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Hays's climate
What is the coldest month in Hays?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Hays?
Yes: 13 inches in a normal year, falling on 7 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (3.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Hays?
July, with 4.14 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.56 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Hays in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Hays in zone 6b in ZIP code 67601, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Hays's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Hays?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 2. Waiting until May 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bison, KS21 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Cedar Bluff Dam, KS22 miles from this station, 54.0°F a year
- Plainville, KS26 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Russell, KS27 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made