Independence, Mississippi climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Independence's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 55.9 inches of precipitation and 2 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.6°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,420 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationIndependence (1 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00224377
- Location34.70°N 89.82°W
- Elevation345 ft (105 m)
- Population (census place)106
On October 22, the normal high in Independence is 71°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Independence.
- Jan 49° 30°
- Feb 54° 33°
- Mar 62° 40°
- Apr 71° 48°
- May 79° 58°
- Jun 86° 66°
- Jul 88° 70°
- Aug 89° 68°
- Sep 84° 61°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 61° 39°
- Dec 52° 33°
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 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in April (5.79 in), the least in September (3.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 30°F | 39.4°F | 4.58 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 33°F | 43.3°F | 4.86 | 0.5 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| March | 62°F | 40°F | 51.1°F | 5.68 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 48°F | 59.7°F | 5.79 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 58°F | 68.4°F | 5.06 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 66°F | 76.0°F | 4.58 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 70°F | 79.0°F | 4.59 | 0.0 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 89°F | 68°F | 78.2°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 8 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 61°F | 72.0°F | 3.20 | 0.0 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 60.9°F | 4.33 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 61°F | 39°F | 49.9°F | 4.22 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 52°F | 33°F | 42.2°F | 5.65 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 49°F | 60.0°F | 55.90 | 1.6 | 109 | 46 | 73 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −1°C | 4.1°C | 116 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 12°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 123 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 17°C | 5°C | 10.6°C | 144 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 147 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 15°C | 20.2°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.4°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 21°C | 26.1°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 20°C | 25.7°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 4°C | 9.9°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 144 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00224377; 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 USC00224377.
When is the last frost in Independence?
In Independence, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 18 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 31 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 212 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 20 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Independence in zone 8a in ZIP code 38618, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (28 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 Mississippi · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00224377; 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, 46 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 73 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 109 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 46a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 73a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 109a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 106°F, on August 31, 2000; the lowest is −8°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 78.18 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 16.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00224377; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00224377. 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, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.2 |
| April | 75% | 5.3 |
| May | 78% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 6.5 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 5.0 |
| October | 78% | 3.9 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 67% | 2.2 |
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 3,466 heating degree days, 35% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,682 cooling degree days, 85% 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 4,843 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 792 | 0 |
| February | 609 | 1 |
| March | 438 | 9 |
| April | 200 | 42 |
| May | 51 | 156 |
| June | 2 | 330 |
| July | 0 | 434 |
| August | 0 | 410 |
| September | 22 | 232 |
| October | 186 | 59 |
| November | 459 | 7 |
| December | 707 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,466 | 1,682 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00224377. 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?
Over 45 complete years from 1961 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.2°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Independence's climate compare?
Independence is warmer than 4 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Mississippi, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.0°F is warmer than 75%.
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.
Questions about Independence's climate
What is the coldest month in Independence?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Independence?
Yes: 2 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Independence?
April, with 5.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 3.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Independence in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Independence in zone 8a in ZIP code 38618, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Independence's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Independence?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Mississippi climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Senatobia, MS9 miles from this station, 61.9°F a year
- Hernando, MS13 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Olive Branch, MS17 miles from this station, 61.8°F a year
- Sardis, MS21 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made