Jefferson City, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Jefferson City's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 39.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.5°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,009 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationJefferson City Memorial Airport
- Station IDUSW00003963
- Location38.59°N 92.16°W
- Elevation573 ft (175 m)
- Population42,564
On October 14, the normal high in Jefferson City is 70°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Jefferson City.
- Jan 41° 23°
- Feb 47° 26°
- Mar 58° 35°
- Apr 68° 45°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 85° 65°
- Jul 89° 69°
- Aug 88° 66°
- Sep 80° 57°
- Oct 70° 46°
- Nov 57° 35°
- Dec 45° 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 Jefferson City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.89 in), the least in February (1.87 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 23°F | 31.8°F | 2.01 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 47°F | 26°F | 36.5°F | 1.87 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 58°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 2.85 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 45°F | 56.6°F | 4.37 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 66.0°F | 4.89 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 65°F | 75.1°F | 3.62 | 11 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 89°F | 69°F | 78.7°F | 4.44 | 9 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 88°F | 66°F | 76.9°F | 3.61 | 10 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 57°F | 68.8°F | 3.73 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 46°F | 57.6°F | 3.40 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 2.82 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 26°F | 35.8°F | 2.10 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 46°F | 56.3°F | 39.71 | 114 | 41 | 101 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 51 mm |
| February | 8°C | −3°C | 2.5°C | 47 mm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 72 mm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 111 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 124 mm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.9°C | 92 mm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 25.9°C | 113 mm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.9°C | 92 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 95 mm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 86 mm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 72 mm |
| December | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 53 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Jefferson City's own co-op station Jefferson City Water Treatment Plant does: 9 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003963; 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 Jefferson City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00003963.
When is the last frost in Jefferson City?
In Jefferson City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 10 in half of years and after April 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 26 in half of years and before October 13 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 25; 9 in 10 after March 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 261 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 198 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 220 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Jefferson City in zone 6b across its 2 ZIP code areas (6b in 65101, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Jefferson City's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (22 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 USW00003963; 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 Jefferson City ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Jefferson City's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 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 Jefferson City?
In a normal year in Jefferson City, 41 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 101 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 41a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 101a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
The highest temperature in Jefferson City's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1894) is 114°F, on July 12, 1901; the lowest is −25°F, on February 12, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 66.13 in; the snowiest season is 1939–40, with 37.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003963; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record JEFthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Jefferson City?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Jefferson City, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 2.2 |
| February | 67% | 2.9 |
| March | 68% | 3.8 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 81% | 6.5 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 72% | 2.4 |
| December | 68% | 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 Jefferson City need?
A normal year in Jefferson City brings 4,589 heating degree days, 15% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,457 cooling degree days, 61% 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 4,238 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,029 | 0 |
| February | 800 | 0 |
| March | 588 | 6 |
| April | 280 | 28 |
| May | 88 | 119 |
| June | 5 | 310 |
| July | 0 | 425 |
| August | 1 | 371 |
| September | 45 | 159 |
| October | 265 | 35 |
| November | 583 | 2 |
| December | 905 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,589 | 1,457 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003963. 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 Jefferson City been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.7°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 59.6°F | +3.3°F | 29.02 |
| 2024 | 59.5°F | +3.3°F | 40.29 |
| 2025 | 57.7°F | +1.4°F | 29.39 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003963. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Jefferson City's climate compare?
Jefferson City is warmer than 98 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.3°F is warmer than 65%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Jefferson City 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 Jefferson City share this climate record?
9 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.
- Holts Summit, MO4,714 people · 5 mi NE
- Wardsville, MO1,661 people · 7 mi S
- St. Martins, MO1,226 people · 10 mi W
- Taos, MO1,175 people · 7 mi SE
- New Bloomfield, MO744 people · 9 mi N
- Tebbetts, MO419 people · 11 mi E
- Westphalia, MO393 people · 13 mi SE
- St. Thomas, MO226 people · 16 mi S
- Lohman, MO177 people · 12 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Jefferson City's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Jefferson City. This page uses Jefferson City Memorial Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson City Water Treatment Plant USC00234271 | 1 mi W | 650 ft | 55.4°F | 21°F | 88°F | 43.6 | 9 | April 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Jefferson City's climate
What is the coldest month in Jefferson City?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Jefferson City?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Jefferson City's NOAA station; Jefferson City's own co-op station Jefferson City Water Treatment Plant records 9 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Jefferson City?
May, with 4.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Jefferson City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Jefferson City in zone 6b across its 2 ZIP code areas (6b in 65101, the largest). By the same method at Jefferson City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Jefferson City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 10; in one year in ten it comes after April 25. Waiting until April 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Jefferson City in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Columbia, MO16 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Fulton, MO21 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- California, MO22 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Freedom, MO26 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made