Independence, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Independence's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 45.4 inches of precipitation and 7 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.2°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,153 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationIndependence
- Station IDUSC00143954
- Location37.24°N 95.70°W
- Elevation805 ft (245 m)
- Population8,287
On October 24, the normal high in Independence is 69°F and the normal low 44°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 Independence.
- Jan 45° 23°
- Feb 50° 26°
- Mar 60° 35°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 56°
- Jun 86° 65°
- Jul 91° 70°
- Aug 90° 68°
- Sep 83° 59°
- Oct 72° 47°
- Nov 59° 35°
- Dec 48° 26°
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 Independence each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in May (6.76 in), the least in January (1.44 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 23°F | 33.8°F | 1.44 | 2.2 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 50°F | 26°F | 38.0°F | 1.85 | 0.9 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 35°F | 47.5°F | 2.88 | 1.9 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 57.0°F | 4.47 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 56°F | 66.3°F | 6.76 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 65°F | 75.4°F | 6.26 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 91°F | 70°F | 80.2°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 8 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 90°F | 68°F | 79.0°F | 4.49 | 0.0 | 7 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 83°F | 59°F | 70.9°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 47°F | 59.2°F | 4.09 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 35°F | 47.0°F | 2.40 | 0.3 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 26°F | 36.9°F | 2.35 | 2.1 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 46°F | 57.6°F | 45.40 | 7.4 | 93 | 54 | 98 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −5°C | 1.0°C | 37 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 10°C | −3°C | 3.3°C | 47 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 73 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 172 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 159 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 26.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 20°C | 26.1°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.6°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 8°C | 15.1°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 61 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 2.7°C | 60 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00143954; 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 Independence?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00143954.
When is the last frost in Independence?
In Independence, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 5 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 16 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 51 year in 10 after April 23; 9 in 10 after March 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 16; 9 in 10 before November 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 208 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 228 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 26 in half of springs and before November 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Independence in zone 7a in ZIP code 67301, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Independence's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°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 USC00143954; 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 Independence?
In a normal year in Independence, 54 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 98 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 93 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 54a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 98a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 13high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 93a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 116°F, on August 9, 1936; the lowest is −23°F, on February 13, 1905.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 61.84 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 33.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00143954; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00143954. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Independence?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Independence, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and February the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.4 |
| February | 70% | 3.1 |
| March | 70% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 83% | 6.7 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 83% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.9 |
| October | 77% | 3.6 |
| November | 76% | 2.6 |
| December | 72% | 2.1 |
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 Independence need?
A normal year in Independence brings 4,284 heating degree days, 20% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,618 cooling degree days, 78% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,502 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 967 | 0 |
| February | 756 | 0 |
| March | 548 | 5 |
| April | 265 | 25 |
| May | 77 | 116 |
| June | 4 | 316 |
| July | 0 | 470 |
| August | 1 | 433 |
| September | 31 | 208 |
| October | 222 | 42 |
| November | 544 | 3 |
| December | 869 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,284 | 1,618 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00143954. 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 Independence been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 58.1°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.2°F | +0.6°F | 38.24 | 6.6 |
| 2022 | 57.5°F | −0.1°F | 31.95 | 11.1 |
| 2023 | 59.2°F | +1.6°F | 28.70 | 2.0 |
| 2024 | 60.1°F | +2.5°F | 35.88 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 58.1°F | +0.5°F | 41.72 | 5.0 |
Over 121 complete years from 1893 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.8°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00143954; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Independence's climate compare?
Independence is warmer than 128 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 130. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.6°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Independence 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 Independence share this climate record?
3 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.
- Elk City, KS250 people · 12 mi W
- Sycamore, KS43 people · 6 mi N
- Wayside, KS0 people · 12 mi SW
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 Independence's climate
What is the coldest month in Independence?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Independence?
Yes: 7 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Independence?
May, with 6.76 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Independence in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Independence in zone 7a in ZIP code 67301, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Independence's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Independence?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 5; 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
- Coffeyville, KS12 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Parsons, KS12 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Coffeyville Water Works, KS12 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Big Hill Lake, KS13 miles from this station, 57.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made