McCook, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
McCook's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 20.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.2°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 33°C, 509 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMcCook Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00094040
- Location40.21°N 100.59°W
- Elevation2,530 ft (771 m)
- Population7,212
On October 23, the normal high in McCook is 64°F and the normal low 35°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 McCook.
- Jan 41° 16°
- Feb 45° 19°
- Mar 56° 27°
- Apr 65° 36°
- May 75° 48°
- Jun 86° 58°
- Jul 91° 64°
- Aug 89° 62°
- Sep 81° 52°
- Oct 68° 38°
- Nov 53° 25°
- Dec 42° 17°
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 McCook each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.32 in), the least in January (0.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 16°F | 28.7°F | 0.26 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 19°F | 31.5°F | 0.35 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 56°F | 27°F | 41.8°F | 0.90 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 36°F | 50.6°F | 1.81 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 48°F | 61.1°F | 3.08 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 86°F | 58°F | 72.2°F | 3.09 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 91°F | 64°F | 77.6°F | 3.32 | 10 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 89°F | 62°F | 75.2°F | 3.13 | 10 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 81°F | 52°F | 66.4°F | 1.63 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 38°F | 52.6°F | 1.43 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 25°F | 39.3°F | 0.61 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 10 h |
| December | 42°F | 17°F | 29.7°F | 0.44 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 38°F | 52.2°F | 20.05 | 79 | 61 | 154 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −9°C | −1.8°C | 7 mm |
| February | 7°C | −7°C | −0.3°C | 9 mm |
| March | 13°C | −3°C | 5.4°C | 23 mm |
| April | 18°C | 2°C | 10.3°C | 46 mm |
| May | 24°C | 9°C | 16.2°C | 78 mm |
| June | 30°C | 15°C | 22.3°C | 78 mm |
| July | 33°C | 18°C | 25.3°C | 84 mm |
| August | 31°C | 17°C | 24.0°C | 80 mm |
| September | 27°C | 11°C | 19.1°C | 41 mm |
| October | 20°C | 3°C | 11.4°C | 36 mm |
| November | 12°C | −4°C | 4.1°C | 15 mm |
| December | 6°C | −8°C | −1.3°C | 11 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. McCook's own co-op station McCook station does: 30 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094040; 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 McCook?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in 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 USW00094040.
When is the last frost in McCook?
In McCook, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 26 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 160 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts McCook in zone 6a in ZIP code 69001, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, McCook's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (24 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00094040; 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 McCook?
In a normal year in McCook, 61 days a year reach 90°F (13 of them 100°F or more), 154 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 79 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 61a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 154a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 26high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 79a normal year
The highest temperature in McCook's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1896) is 115°F, on June 26, 2012; the lowest is −30°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1915, with 30.95 in; the snowiest season is 1930–31, with 61.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094040; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record MCKthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is McCook?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around McCook, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.4 |
| February | 75% | 3.2 |
| March | 76% | 4.4 |
| April | 75% | 5.5 |
| May | 77% | 6.3 |
| June | 85% | 7.2 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.1 |
| September | 83% | 5.0 |
| October | 80% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.6 |
| December | 77% | 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 McCook need?
A normal year in McCook brings 5,776 heating degree days, 7% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,155 cooling degree days, 27% 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 3,508 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,127 | 0 |
| February | 936 | 0 |
| March | 720 | 0 |
| April | 437 | 5 |
| May | 178 | 59 |
| June | 20 | 236 |
| July | 2 | 392 |
| August | 5 | 319 |
| September | 88 | 131 |
| October | 398 | 13 |
| November | 771 | 0 |
| December | 1,096 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,776 | 1,155 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094040. 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 McCook been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 53.9°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.4°F | +1.2°F | 17.08 |
| 2022 | 52.8°F | +0.6°F | 10.39 |
| 2023 | 52.8°F | +0.6°F | 23.54 |
| 2025 | 53.9°F | +1.7°F | 17.56 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094040. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does McCook's climate compare?
McCook is warmer than 130 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.2°F is warmer than 50%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, McCook is Dwa: continental, dry-winter, 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 McCook share this climate record?
Indianola has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Indianola, NE513 people · 9 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do McCook's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near McCook. This page uses McCook Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCook station USC00255310 | 2 mi NW | 2,602 ft | 51.2°F | 14°F | 91°F | 22.7 | 30 | May 2 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about McCook's climate
What is the coldest month in McCook?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in McCook?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for McCook's NOAA station; McCook's own co-op station McCook station records 30 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in McCook?
July, with 3.32 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is McCook in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts McCook in zone 6a in ZIP code 69001, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at McCook's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in McCook?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Red Willow Dam, NE11 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Culbertson, NE12 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Medicine Creek Dam, NE22 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Cambridge, NE24 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