Madison, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Madison's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 28.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.2°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 30°C, 716 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMadison
- Station IDUSC00255080
- Location41.83°N 97.45°W
- Elevation1,580 ft (482 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,169
On October 22, the normal high in Madison is 61°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Madison.
- Jan 32° 10°
- Feb 36° 15°
- Mar 49° 24°
- Apr 61° 36°
- May 72° 48°
- Jun 82° 59°
- Jul 85° 62°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 77° 51°
- Oct 64° 37°
- Nov 48° 25°
- Dec 35° 14°
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 Madison each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.45 in), the least in January (0.57 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 10°F | 21.2°F | 0.57 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 15°F | 25.5°F | 0.73 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 49°F | 24°F | 36.3°F | 1.45 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 36°F | 48.0°F | 2.94 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 72°F | 48°F | 59.7°F | 4.16 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 59°F | 70.2°F | 4.45 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 85°F | 62°F | 73.8°F | 3.06 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 71.8°F | 3.63 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 77°F | 51°F | 63.7°F | 2.51 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 37°F | 50.6°F | 2.65 | 6 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 25°F | 36.5°F | 1.29 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 14°F | 24.8°F | 0.76 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 37°F | 48.5°F | 28.20 | 76 | 22 | 161 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −12°C | −6.0°C | 14 mm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −3.6°C | 19 mm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.4°C | 37 mm |
| April | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 75 mm |
| May | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 106 mm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 113 mm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 78 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 92 mm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.6°C | 64 mm |
| October | 18°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 67 mm |
| November | 9°C | −4°C | 2.5°C | 33 mm |
| December | 2°C | −10°C | −4.0°C | 19 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Norfolk (11 miles away), gets 30 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00255080; 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 Madison?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00255080.
When is the last frost in Madison?
In Madison, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 23 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 301 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 160 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 180 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Madison in zone 5b in ZIP code 68748, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00255080; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Madison?
In a normal year in Madison, 22 days a year reach 90°F, 161 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 161a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 50high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1895) is 117°F, on July 24, 1936; the lowest is −34°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1944, with 38.51 in; the snowiest season is 1935–36, with 66.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00255080; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00255080. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Madison?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Madison, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and March the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.2 |
| February | 76% | 3.1 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.1 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.7 |
| July | 84% | 6.7 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 77% | 3.3 |
| November | 77% | 2.4 |
| December | 72% | 1.8 |
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 Madison need?
A normal year in Madison brings 6,810 heating degree days, 27% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 836 cooling degree days, 8% fewer 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 3,012 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,359 | 0 |
| February | 1,107 | 0 |
| March | 890 | 0 |
| April | 514 | 4 |
| May | 212 | 48 |
| June | 33 | 189 |
| July | 6 | 279 |
| August | 12 | 224 |
| September | 122 | 84 |
| October | 456 | 8 |
| November | 855 | 0 |
| December | 1,244 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,810 | 836 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00255080. 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.
How does Madison's climate compare?
Madison is warmer than 35 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 84. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.5°F is warmer than 34%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Madison 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 Madison share this climate record?
4 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.
- Humphrey, NE884 people · 10 mi S
- Lindsay, NE297 people · 15 mi SW
- Creston, NE176 people · 10 mi SE
- Cornlea, NE34 people · 12 mi SW
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 Madison's climate
What is the coldest month in Madison?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Madison?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Madison's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Norfolk (11 miles away), records 30 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Madison?
June, with 4.45 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.57 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Madison in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Madison in zone 5b in ZIP code 68748, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Madison?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Norfolk, NE11 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Stanton, NE15 miles from this station, 49.4°F a year
- Clarkson, NE18 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Howells, NE24 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made