Hillsdale, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Hillsdale's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 39.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.7°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,014 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHillsdale Lake
- Station IDUSC00143686
- Location38.66°N 94.89°W
- Elevation1,010 ft (308 m)
- Population (census place)115
On October 14, the normal high in Hillsdale is 69°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Hillsdale.
- Jan 39° 19°
- Feb 44° 23°
- Mar 55° 33°
- Apr 65° 43°
- May 75° 55°
- Jun 84° 64°
- Jul 88° 69°
- Aug 88° 67°
- Sep 80° 58°
- Oct 68° 45°
- Nov 54° 33°
- Dec 43° 24°
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 Hillsdale each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.59 in), the least in January (1.05 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 19°F | 28.9°F | 1.05 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 44°F | 23°F | 33.5°F | 1.58 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 2.47 | 7 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 43°F | 54.3°F | 3.85 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 55°F | 64.8°F | 5.59 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 64°F | 74.1°F | 5.34 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 88°F | 69°F | 78.5°F | 3.96 | 9 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 88°F | 67°F | 77.2°F | 4.31 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 4.95 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 3.20 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 54°F | 33°F | 43.8°F | 2.12 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 43°F | 24°F | 33.4°F | 1.50 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 44°F | 54.8°F | 39.92 | 90 | 34 | 110 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −7°C | −1.7°C | 27 mm |
| February | 7°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 40 mm |
| March | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 63 mm |
| April | 19°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 98 mm |
| May | 24°C | 13°C | 18.2°C | 142 mm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 136 mm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.8°C | 101 mm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 25.1°C | 109 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 126 mm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 81 mm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.6°C | 54 mm |
| December | 6°C | −4°C | 0.8°C | 38 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Osawatomie (12 miles away), gets 8 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00143686; 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 Hillsdale?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00143686.
When is the last frost in Hillsdale?
In Hillsdale, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 9 in half of years and after April 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 17 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 91 year in 10 after April 23; 9 in 10 after March 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 204 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 221 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 1 in half of springs and before November 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hillsdale in zone 6b in ZIP code 66083, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00143686; 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 Hillsdale?
In a normal year in Hillsdale, 34 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 110 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 90 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 34a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 110a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 24high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 90a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00143686.
How sunny is Hillsdale?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Hillsdale, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and March the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.3 |
| February | 70% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.0 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 81% | 6.6 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.5 |
| November | 74% | 2.5 |
| December | 71% | 2.0 |
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 Hillsdale need?
A normal year in Hillsdale brings 5,052 heating degree days, 6% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,382 cooling degree days, 52% 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 4,056 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,120 | 0 |
| February | 884 | 0 |
| March | 649 | 3 |
| April | 333 | 12 |
| May | 106 | 99 |
| June | 7 | 279 |
| July | 0 | 417 |
| August | 1 | 378 |
| September | 49 | 168 |
| October | 285 | 27 |
| November | 637 | 1 |
| December | 979 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,052 | 1,382 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00143686. 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 Hillsdale's climate compare?
Hillsdale is warmer than 63 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 114. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.8°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale 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.
- Gardner, KS25,836 people · 10 mi N
- Spring Hill, KS10,070 people · 7 mi NE
- Wellsville, KS1,933 people · 11 mi W
- Edgerton, KS1,716 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 Hillsdale's climate
What is the coldest month in Hillsdale?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Hillsdale?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Hillsdale's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Osawatomie (12 miles away), records 8 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Hillsdale?
May, with 5.59 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.05 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Hillsdale in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Hillsdale in zone 6b in ZIP code 66083, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Hillsdale?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 9; in one year in ten it comes after April 23. Waiting until April 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Paola, KS5 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Osawatomie, KS12 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Olathe, KS15 miles from this station, 55.1°F a year
- Overland Park, KS17 miles from this station, 55.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made