Marion, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Marion's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 33.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.7°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 33°C, 862 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMarion Reservoir
- Station IDUSC00145039
- Location38.38°N 97.08°W
- Elevation1,369 ft (417 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population1,890
On October 14, the normal high in Marion is 71°F and the normal low 48°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 Marion.
- Jan 41° 21°
- Feb 46° 25°
- Mar 57° 35°
- Apr 67° 45°
- May 77° 56°
- Jun 87° 66°
- Jul 92° 70°
- Aug 91° 68°
- Sep 83° 59°
- Oct 70° 47°
- Nov 56° 34°
- Dec 44° 25°
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 Marion each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.20 in), the least in January (0.80 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 21°F | 31.1°F | 0.80 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 46°F | 25°F | 35.2°F | 1.21 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 35°F | 45.8°F | 2.15 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 45°F | 55.8°F | 3.11 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 56°F | 66.0°F | 5.20 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 87°F | 66°F | 76.2°F | 4.54 | 9 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 92°F | 70°F | 81.2°F | 4.34 | 8 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 91°F | 68°F | 79.4°F | 3.98 | 8 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 83°F | 59°F | 71.1°F | 3.50 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 47°F | 58.5°F | 2.55 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 34°F | 44.9°F | 1.38 | 4 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 25°F | 34.2°F | 1.18 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 46°F | 56.6°F | 33.94 | 76 | 58 | 119 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −6°C | −0.5°C | 20 mm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 31 mm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.7°C | 55 mm |
| April | 19°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 79 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 132 mm |
| June | 31°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 115 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 27.3°C | 110 mm |
| August | 33°C | 20°C | 26.3°C | 101 mm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.7°C | 89 mm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 65 mm |
| November | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 35 mm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.2°C | 30 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Herington (21 miles away), gets 13 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00145039; 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 Marion?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, 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 USC00145039.
When is the last frost in Marion?
In Marion, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 8 in half of years and after April 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 17 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 81 year in 10 after April 25; 9 in 10 after March 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 202 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 222 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 30 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Marion in zone 6b in ZIP code 66861, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Marion's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00145039; 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 in Marion?
In a normal year in Marion, 58 days a year reach 90°F (10 of them 100°F or more), 119 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 58a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 119a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 23high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1966) is 110°F, on July 28, 2011; the lowest is −24°F, on December 24, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 43.99 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 25.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00145039; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00145039. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Marion?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Marion, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.4 |
| February | 73% | 3.2 |
| March | 73% | 4.3 |
| April | 75% | 5.4 |
| May | 76% | 6.1 |
| June | 84% | 6.9 |
| July | 85% | 6.7 |
| August | 85% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.9 |
| October | 79% | 3.7 |
| November | 79% | 2.7 |
| December | 75% | 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 much heating and cooling does Marion need?
A normal year in Marion brings 4,725 heating degree days, 12% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,707 cooling degree days, 88% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,479 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,049 | 0 |
| February | 834 | 0 |
| March | 600 | 4 |
| April | 301 | 23 |
| May | 92 | 123 |
| June | 6 | 343 |
| July | 0 | 501 |
| August | 1 | 449 |
| September | 39 | 220 |
| October | 244 | 42 |
| November | 605 | 2 |
| December | 955 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,725 | 1,707 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00145039. 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 Marion been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.6°F, 1.0°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 56.6°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.5°F | −0.1°F | – |
| 2022 | 55.3°F | −1.3°F | 25.15 |
| 2023 | 57.2°F | +0.6°F | 23.53 |
| 2024 | 57.6°F | +1.0°F | 35.40 |
| 2025 | 55.6°F | −1.0°F | 43.01 |
Over 48 complete years from 1966 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.2°F per century (+0.35°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00145039; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Marion's climate compare?
Marion is warmer than 114 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 80. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.6°F is warmer than 65%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Marion 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 Marion share this climate record?
7 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.
- Hillsboro, KS2,673 people · 7 mi W
- Lincolnville, KS169 people · 10 mi NE
- Lehigh, KS159 people · 12 mi W
- Tampa, KS105 people · 12 mi N
- Durham, KS88 people · 11 mi NW
- Pilsen, KS29 people · 7 mi N
- Eastshore, KS17 people · 1 mi NE
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 Marion's climate
What is the coldest month in Marion?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Marion?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Marion's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Herington (21 miles away), records 13 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Marion?
May, with 5.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.80 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Marion in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Marion in zone 6b in ZIP code 66861, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Marion's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Marion?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 8; 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
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Florence, KS12 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Herington, KS21 miles from this station, 54.0°F a year
- Tallgrass Prairie National Park, KS29 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Cottonwood Falls, KS29 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made