Independence, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Independence's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 44.7 inches of precipitation and 13 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.2°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,134 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationIndependence
- Station IDUSC00234154
- Location39.06°N 94.39°W
- Elevation985 ft (300 m)
- Population121,629
On October 23, the normal high in Independence is 64°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Independence.
- Jan 38° 19°
- Feb 43° 23°
- Mar 55° 33°
- Apr 65° 43°
- May 74° 54°
- Jun 83° 64°
- Jul 87° 68°
- Aug 86° 66°
- Sep 78° 57°
- Oct 67° 45°
- Nov 53° 34°
- Dec 42° 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 Independence each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.99 in), the least in January (1.50 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 19°F | 28.4°F | 1.50 | 3.6 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 23°F | 33.1°F | 1.86 | 2.6 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 33°F | 43.5°F | 2.88 | 1.7 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 43°F | 53.6°F | 4.43 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 54°F | 63.8°F | 5.99 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 64°F | 73.2°F | 5.28 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 68°F | 77.4°F | 5.11 | 0.0 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 86°F | 66°F | 75.8°F | 5.06 | 0.0 | 9 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 78°F | 57°F | 67.7°F | 4.77 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 45°F | 55.8°F | 3.54 | 0.4 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 34°F | 43.3°F | 2.40 | 1.2 | 7 | <1 | 14 | 10 h |
| December | 42°F | 24°F | 32.9°F | 1.84 | 3.5 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 44°F | 54.0°F | 44.66 | 13.2 | 107 | 31 | 113 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −7°C | −2.0°C | 38 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 47 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 73 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 113 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 23°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 152 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 18°C | 22.9°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.2°C | 130 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 90 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.3°C | 61 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 5°C | −5°C | 0.5°C | 47 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00234154; 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 May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00234154.
When is the last frost in Independence?
In Independence, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 10 in half of years and after April 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 27 in half of years and before October 14 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 101 year in 10 after April 26; 9 in 10 after March 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 271 year in 10 before October 14; 9 in 10 before November 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 198 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 219 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Independence in zones 6a to 6b across its 9 ZIP code areas (6b in 64056, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Independence's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00234154; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Independence ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Independence's 9 ZIP code areas run from zone 6a to 6b: 1 in 6a and 8 in 6b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Independence?
In a normal year in Independence, 31 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 113 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 107 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 113a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 27high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 107a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00234154.
How sunny is Independence?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Independence, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and March the cloudiest (69%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 276th (with 27 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.1 |
| February | 71% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.5 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 75% | 3.4 |
| November | 74% | 2.4 |
| December | 70% | 1.9 |
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 5,207 heating degree days, 3% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,245 cooling degree days, 37% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,848 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,134 | 0 |
| February | 895 | 0 |
| March | 667 | 2 |
| April | 355 | 13 |
| May | 122 | 85 |
| June | 10 | 256 |
| July | 1 | 384 |
| August | 2 | 338 |
| September | 63 | 144 |
| October | 308 | 23 |
| November | 653 | 1 |
| December | 996 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,207 | 1,245 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00234154. 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 Independence's climate compare?
Independence is warmer than 37 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 70. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.0°F is warmer than 57%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Independence 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 Independence share this climate record?
7 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.
- Sugar Creek, MO3,223 people · 5 mi N
- Buckner, MO2,893 people · 11 mi NE
- Blue Summit, MO1,145 people · 5 mi W
- Lake Tapawingo, MO781 people · 5 mi SE
- Sibley, MO320 people · 13 mi NE
- Birmingham, MO189 people · 8 mi NW
- River Bend, MO5 people · 8 mi N
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 38°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Independence?
Yes: 13 inches in a normal year, falling on 10 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Independence?
May, with 5.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Independence in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Independence in zones 6a to 6b across its 9 ZIP code areas (6b in 64056, the largest). By the same method at Independence's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Independence?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 10; in one year in ten it comes after April 26. Waiting until April 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Independence in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lee's Summit, MO7 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Kansas City Downtown Airport, MO12 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Lees Summit Reed Wildlife Refuge, MO13 miles from this station, 53.0°F a year
- Pleasant Hill, MO19 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made