Johnson, KS Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Johnson's primary NOAA station, JOHNSON.
The climate verdict for Johnson
Dryness leads the climate profile for Johnson, Kansas, with 17.5 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 56°F. Its climate comfort score of 63/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 46% of station-mapped location scores.
- 56°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 63/100
- comfort score, above 46% of station-mapped location scores
- 17.5"
- annual precipitation · 22" snow
- 187 days
- frost-free growing season
Johnson: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00144114 · Johnson, KS 56°F mean · 17.5" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 56°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,322
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Liberal
- PRCP-DRY 17.5"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-MID 63/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,773 HDD
- STN-1 USC00144114
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Liberal, KS (+ 0 °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.
- Johnson (this station) 56°F
- Cold Lees Summit, MO 56°F
- Hot Liberal, KS 56°F
- Near Carlyle Rsvr, IL 56°F
- Near Windsor, MO 56°F
Climate Living Index · Johnson
Johnson: 42/100 · grade D
Johnson publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Johnson, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 63/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 55.8°F · 11.7° from 67.5°F | 62/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 187 days/year | 55/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 21.9 inches/year | 47/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 17.5 in · 17.5 from 35 in | 38/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 196 calendar days | 16/100 · F |
Johnson · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Johnson's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 79.5°F
- Coldest month
- 33.8°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 Johnson sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Johnson'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
- Drier than 77%
- Johnson's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 63rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Johnson compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Johnson's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
63 46th percentile score exceeds 46% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F (9°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.5" | 5.8" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 51°F (11°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.3" | 3.2" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (16°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.0" | 4.7" | 19.8 | 0.1 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.5" | 0.9" | 7.1 | 0.9 |
| May | 78°F (26°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 5.5 |
| June | 89°F (32°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.7 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 80°F (26°C) | 2.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 22.9 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.8 |
| September | 84°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 10.1 |
| October | 72°F (22°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 1.6" | 0.7" | 4.4 | 2.0 |
| November | 58°F (15°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 0.5" | 1.3" | 19.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 0.7" | 5.3" | 29.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Johnson works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 94°F by July 13 and hold at or above 90°F on 62 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 134 dates, bottoming at 20°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 19 through August 19, covering 62 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 23 to October 19.
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 22, then returns to freezing around November 10, covering 134 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 July 26, when 27% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 23 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 58 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 27 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Johnson.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 5.8"
2.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.2"
3.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.7"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
5.7 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
2.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
3.1 days with precipitation
Johnson runs a summer-peaked wet season
46% of Johnson's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is August at 3.0", on a wide 45.7°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: August, July, June, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.3".
- Winter share: 9% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Johnson's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 58 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 17.5" between them, or roughly 0.30 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Johnson
Johnson averages 21.9 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 10 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 21.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 10 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 13% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
187 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,773
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,451
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Johnson 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 (17.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Fort Bidwell, CA 17.5" · 0.0" off
- Hay Springs, NE 17.5" · 0.0" off
- Medora, ND 17.4" · 0.0" off
- Tonasket, WA 17.5" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Johnson
heating led · dry · mid swing
Johnson's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,773 annual heating degree days against 1,451 for cooling. Its 45.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Johnson's frost-free season lasts about 187 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Johnson coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 34°F (1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Johnson typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Johnson snow peak
January
Johnson averages 21.9 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Johnson's climate
How much snow does Johnson get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Johnson get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Johnson? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Johnson's primary station: JOHNSON (USC00144114). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Johnson; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Johnson 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.