Howard, 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 Howard's primary NOAA station, HOWARD.
The climate verdict for Howard
Howard, Kansas has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 56°F. It scores 78/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 72% of them.
- 56°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 78/100
- comfort score, above 72% of station-mapped location scores
- 38.6"
- annual precipitation · 6" snow
- 188 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Howard: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00143822 · Howard, KS 56°F mean · 38.6" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 56°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,322
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Carlyle Rsvr
- PRCP-MID 38.6"
- SWING-WIDE 47°F
- COMF-TOP 78/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,737 HDD
- STN-1 USC00143822
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Carlyle Rsvr, IL ( -0.1 °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.
- Howard (this station) 56°F
- Cold Carlyle Rsvr, IL 56°F
- Hot Yates Ctr, KS 56°F
- Near Iola, KS 56°F
- Near Rend Lake Dam, IL 56°F
Climate Living Index · Howard
Howard: 60/100 · grade C
Howard publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Howard, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 78/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 38.6 in · 3.6 from 35 in | 87/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 6.4 inches/year | 69/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 55.8°F · 11.7° from 67.5°F | 62/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 188 days/year | 56/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 161 calendar days | 39/100 · F |
Howard · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Howard is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 31.7°F and warmest-month mean 78.9°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 78.9°F
- Coldest month
- 31.7°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 Howard sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Howard's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 63rd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 55th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 69th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Howard compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Howard's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
78 Top 28% score exceeds 72% 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%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Howard's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 60 complete annual observations from 1952 to 2022, HOWARD warmed at a fitted rate of 0.06°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Howard primary station fitted change +0.06 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F (6°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 1.0" | 2.2" | 28.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.7" | 0.8" | 22.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 59°F (15°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 2.8" | 0.9" | 14.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.6" | 0.1" | 4.2 | 0.2 |
| May | 76°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| June | 85°F (29°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 5.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.2 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.0 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.4 |
| September | 82°F (28°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| October | 71°F (22°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 3.2 | 0.3 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 2.2" | 0.9" | 15.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 46°F (8°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 1.8" | 1.5" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Howard works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 91°F by July 28 and hold at or above 90°F on 40 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 121 dates, bottoming at 20°F around January 15.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 10 through August 18, covering 40 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 23 to October 17.
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 15, then returns to freezing around November 16, covering 121 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 May 15, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 20 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 79 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 27 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Howard.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 2.2"
4.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
4.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
6.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
7.9 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
6.4 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
4.9 days with precipitation
Howard spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 34% of the annual total and December through February 12%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Howard has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 47.2°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 5.7" and January 1.0". The three wettest months together take 38% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Howard, it arrives in quantity
38.6" of precipitation falls across only about 79 wet days here, averaging 0.49 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 79 a year, 22% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.49 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- January, about 4
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Howard, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 6.4 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 5 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 22
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
188 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,737
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,436
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Howard 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 (56°F here).
- Bryson City, NC 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Cassville, MO 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Covelo, CA 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Elnora, IN 56°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (38.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Calistoga, CA 38.6" · 0.0" off
- Hennepin, IL 38.6" · 0.0" off
- Mabel, MN 38.6" · 0.0" off
- Manchester, IA 38.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Howard's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Howard's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,737 annual heating degree days against 1,436 for cooling. Its 47.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Howard's frost-free season lasts about 188 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 Howard's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 47.2°F. The annual average is 56°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Howard's 38.6 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Annual snowfall totals 6.4 inches. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Howard'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 Howard, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Howard's climate
How much rain does Howard get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Howard get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Howard? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Howard's primary station: HOWARD (USC00143822). 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 2033250). Match rule for Howard: 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 Howard 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.