Kansas City, MO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Kansas City's primary NOAA station, KANSAS CITY INTL AP.
The climate verdict for Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 55°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 55°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 39.3"
- annual precipitation · 18" snow
- 194 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Kansas City: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00003947 · Kansas City, MO 55°F mean · 39.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 55°F
- RANK-MID #4,048
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Greensburg
- PRCP-MID 39.3"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,071 HDD
- STN-1 USW00003947
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Greensburg, KS (+ 0.1 °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 MO station list.
- Kansas City (this station) 55°F
- Cold Waverly, MO 55°F
- Hot La Junta, CO 55°F
- Near Greensburg, KS 55°F
- Near Hillsdale Lake, KS 55°F
Climate Living Index · Kansas City
Kansas City: 60/100 · grade C
Kansas City publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Kansas City, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 39.3 in · 4.3 from 35 in | 85/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 113 calendar days | 69/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 194 days/year | 60/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 54.7°F · 12.8° from 67.5°F | 58/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 18.2 inches/year | 51/100 · D |
| Summer moisture balance | 65.7°F mean dew point | 32/100 · F |
Kansas City · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Kansas City is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 29.0°F and warmest-month mean 78.2°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 78.2°F
- Coldest month
- 29.0°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 Kansas City sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Kansas City's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 59th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 56th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 78%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Kansas City is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Kansas City compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Kansas City's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% 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
Kansas City's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 47 complete annual observations from 1973 to 2025, KANSAS CITY INTL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Kansas City primary station fitted change +0.18 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F (4°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 1.2" | 4.9" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 44°F (6°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.5" | 5.9" | 22.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 55°F (13°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 2.4" | 1.7" | 13.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 66°F (19°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.0" | 0.3" | 3.4 | 0.2 |
| May | 75°F (24°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.1 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 4.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.1 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 11.6 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| October | 67°F (20°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 3.3" | 0.3" | 2.3 | 0.2 |
| November | 54°F (12°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 2.0" | 1.1" | 13.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 42°F (6°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.6" | 4.0" | 24.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 25, short of 90°F on every date, while 113 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near January 15.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 11, then returns to freezing around November 20, covering 113 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 April 30, when 40% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 21 at 22%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 104 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Kansas City.
Where Kansas City Stands Nationally
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 23°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Kansas City earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.9"
6.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.9"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.7"
9.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
11.3 days with precipitation
12.1 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
6.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.0"
6.5 days with precipitation
Kansas City runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Kansas City'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 May at 5.3", on a wide 49.2°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: May, June, July, taking 39% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 1.2".
- Winter share: 11% 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.
When it rains in Kansas City, it arrives in quantity
39.3" of precipitation falls across only about 104 wet days here, averaging 0.38 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 104 a year, 28% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.38 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- December, about 7
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Kansas City
Kansas City averages 18.2 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 14 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: 18.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 14 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 5% 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 24
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 13
50% probability date
Growing Season
194 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,071
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,363
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 10.4 | 30% | 36% |
| February | 64% | 11.3 | 28% | 36% |
| March | 61% | 12.0 | 25% | 36% |
| April | 66% | 10.8 | 21% | 36% |
| May | 70% | 9.5 | 20% | 27% |
| June | 70% | 9.3 | 29% | 16% |
| July | 70% | 8.2 | 27% | 17% |
| August | 71% | 8.5 | 31% | 16% |
| September | 68% | 9.5 | 41% | 18% |
| October | 65% | 10.4 | 32% | 30% |
| November | 68% | 10.7 | 29% | 35% |
| December | 71% | 10.5 | 30% | 37% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MO closest to Kansas City 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 (55°F here).
- Abingdon, VA 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Cottonwood Falls, KS 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Cranford, NJ 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Ellsworth, KS 55°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (39.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Newkirk, OK 39.3" · 0.0" off
- Cascade, IA 39.3" · 0.0" off
- Houlton, ME 39.3" · 0.0" off
- Leon, IA 39.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Kansas City
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Kansas City's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,071 annual heating degree days against 1,363 for cooling. Its 49.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Kansas City's frost-free season lasts about 194 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Kansas City coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 29°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Kansas City typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Kansas City snow peak
February
Kansas City averages 18.2 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Kansas City's climate
How much snow does Kansas City get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Kansas City get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Kansas City? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Kansas City's primary station: KANSAS CITY INTL AP (USW00003947). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2938000). Match rule for Kansas City: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Kansas City 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.