Lovewell Dam, Kansas climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Lovewell Dam's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 27.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.5°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 32°C, 698 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLovewell Dam
- Station IDUSC00144857
- Location39.90°N 98.03°W
- Elevation1,602 ft (488 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Lovewell Dam is 64°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lovewell Dam.
- Jan 38° 17°
- Feb 42° 20°
- Mar 54° 29°
- Apr 64° 39°
- May 73° 51°
- Jun 84° 61°
- Jul 89° 66°
- Aug 87° 64°
- Sep 80° 54°
- Oct 67° 42°
- Nov 53° 30°
- Dec 41° 20°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Lovewell Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.41 in), the least in January (0.64 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 17°F | 27.3°F | 0.64 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 20°F | 30.9°F | 0.75 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 29°F | 41.7°F | 1.48 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 2.32 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 62.1°F | 4.16 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 84°F | 61°F | 72.8°F | 3.84 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 66°F | 77.6°F | 4.41 | 10 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 87°F | 64°F | 75.4°F | 3.49 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 54°F | 67.1°F | 2.47 | 7 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 42°F | 54.5°F | 1.85 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 30°F | 41.2°F | 1.19 | 5 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 20°F | 30.5°F | 0.88 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 41°F | 52.7°F | 27.48 | 84 | 42 | 141 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −9°C | −2.6°C | 16 mm |
| February | 6°C | −7°C | −0.6°C | 19 mm |
| March | 12°C | −1°C | 5.4°C | 38 mm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 59 mm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 106 mm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.7°C | 98 mm |
| July | 32°C | 19°C | 25.3°C | 112 mm |
| August | 31°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 89 mm |
| September | 27°C | 12°C | 19.5°C | 63 mm |
| October | 19°C | 5°C | 12.5°C | 47 mm |
| November | 12°C | −1°C | 5.1°C | 30 mm |
| December | 5°C | −7°C | −0.8°C | 22 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Superior (9 miles away), gets 21 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00144857; 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.
Which months are mildest at Lovewell Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00144857.
When is the last frost at Lovewell Dam?
In Lovewell Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 20 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 in half of years and before October 1 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 201 year in 10 after May 3; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 181 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 201 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 8 in half of springs and before October 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lovewell Dam in zone 6a in ZIP code 66970, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (19 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 Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00144857; 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 at Lovewell Dam?
In a normal year in Lovewell Dam, 42 days a year reach 90°F (5 of them 100°F or more), 141 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 42a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 141a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 32high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1958) is 109°F, on July 6, 1964; the lowest is −29°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 45.08 in; the snowiest season is 2000–01, with 47.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00144857; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00144857. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Lovewell Dam?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Lovewell Dam, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and February the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.4 |
| February | 75% | 3.2 |
| March | 75% | 4.3 |
| April | 75% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 6.2 |
| June | 84% | 7.0 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 85% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.9 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.7 |
| December | 76% | 2.1 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Lovewell Dam record?
A normal year at Lovewell Dam brings 5,641 heating degree days, 5% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,191 cooling degree days, 31% 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 3,642 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,169 | 0 |
| February | 955 | 0 |
| March | 723 | 0 |
| April | 413 | 6 |
| May | 157 | 66 |
| June | 15 | 248 |
| July | 1 | 390 |
| August | 4 | 326 |
| September | 77 | 138 |
| October | 344 | 17 |
| November | 714 | 0 |
| December | 1,071 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,641 | 1,191 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00144857. 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.
Have recent years at Lovewell Dam been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 55.4°F, 2.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.7°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.4°F | +1.7°F | – |
| 2022 | 53.2°F | +0.5°F | – |
| 2023 | 54.6°F | +1.9°F | – |
| 2024 | 55.4°F | +2.7°F | – |
Over 57 complete years from 1959 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.1°F per century (+0.34°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00144857; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lovewell Dam's climate compare?
Lovewell Dam is warmer than 20 of the 137 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.7°F is warmer than 52%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lovewell Dam 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 Lovewell Dam share this climate record?
5 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.
- Nelson, NE458 people · 21 mi N
- Ruskin, NE106 people · 19 mi NE
- Hardy, NE89 people · 9 mi NE
- Oak, NE52 people · 24 mi N
- Nora, NE21 people · 18 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 Lovewell Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Lovewell Dam?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow at Lovewell Dam?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Superior (9 miles away), records 21 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Lovewell Dam?
July, with 4.41 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.64 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lovewell Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lovewell Dam in zone 6a in ZIP code 66970, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Lovewell Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 20; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Superior, NE9 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Courtland, KS11 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Mankato, KS12 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Burr Oak, KS15 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made