PlainClimate
NOAA 1991–2020 normals Incorporated place · exact Census match 1 NOAA station · Primary-station record

Memphis, TX Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month

Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate

30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Memphis's primary NOAA station, MEMPHIS.

The climate verdict for Memphis

Memphis, Texas has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 61°F. It scores 92/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 92% of them.

61°F
average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
92/100
comfort score, above 92% of station-mapped location scores
22.3"
yearly precipitation total
216 days
growing season, frost-free days

Memphis: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.

Normals record plate

Sheet USC00415821 · Memphis, TX 61°F mean · 22.3" precip

TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL

Nearest mean-temperature peer: Brinkley, AR (+ 0 °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 TX station list.

Memphis sits in Texas, the #4 hottest U.S. state at 66.2°F statewide annual average - see all 50 hottest states ranked by NOAA normals

Climate Living Index · Memphis

Memphis: 55/100 · grade C

Memphis publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.

C
55/100Climate Living Index

PlainClimate-derived for Memphis, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 92/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.

Memphis Living Index dimension scores
DimensionStation valueScore
Annual temperature balance 61.0°F · 6.5° from 67.5°F 80/100 · B
Frost-free season 216 days/year 75/100 · B
Precipitation balance 22.3 in · 12.7 from 35 in 55/100 · C
Normal heat + freeze calendar 188 calendar days 21/100 · F

Memphis · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.

Memphis's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk

Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.

Köppen code
BSk
Group
Dry (arid or semi-arid)
Warmest month
82.9°F
Coldest month
39.3°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 · balanced station

Where Memphis sits across the climate record

Three NOAA fields for Memphis's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.

Annual temperature
Top 23% warmest
Among 6,861 stations, Memphis sits in the warmer third of annual means.
Annual precipitation
31st percentile wetness
Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
Seasonal temperature swing
52nd percentile swing
Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.

How Memphis compares across U.S. station-mapped locations

Memphis's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations

PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals

92 Top 8% score exceeds 92% 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%). Below this entry. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Below this entry. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). This entry sits in this band. This location 0 100 every station-mapped location, bucketed by value
  1. 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  2. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  3. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
  4. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
  5. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
  6. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
  7. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
  8. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
  9. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Below this entry.
  10. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). This entry sits in this band.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more station-mapped locations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Memphis's measured station temperature trend

Methodology

Across 59 complete annual observations from 1951 to 2025, MEMPHIS changed little at a fitted rate of 0.00°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.

Memphis fitted annual mean temperature change, 1951-2025 Fitted station-temperature change from 1951 to 2025, relative to the fitted first year. The linear trend changed little at 0.00 °C per decade. -0.2°C +0.0°C 1960198020002020
  • Memphis primary station fitted change -0.00 °C/decade
Source: NOAA GHCN-M v4, quality-controlled monthly mean temperature. PlainClimate fits ordinary least squares over complete calendar years; minimum 30 years, record must reach 2015 or later.

Monthly Temperatures

Average daily high and low temperatures by month

Month Avg High Avg Low Mean
January 53°F (12°C) 25°F (-4°C) 39°F (4°C)
February 57°F (14°C) 29°F (-2°C) 43°F (6°C)
March 67°F (19°C) 37°F (3°C) 52°F (11°C)
April 75°F (24°C) 46°F (8°C) 60°F (16°C)
May 83°F (28°C) 56°F (13°C) 70°F (21°C)
June 92°F (33°C) 66°F (19°C) 79°F (26°C)
July 96°F (36°C) 70°F (21°C) 83°F (28°C)
August 95°F (35°C) 68°F (20°C) 81°F (27°C)
September 87°F (30°C) 60°F (16°C) 73°F (23°C)
October 75°F (24°C) 47°F (9°C) 61°F (16°C)
November 64°F (18°C) 35°F (2°C) 49°F (10°C)
December 54°F (12°C) 27°F (-3°C) 41°F (5°C)

The year, day by day

Memphis works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 97°F by July 23 and hold at or above 90°F on 91 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 97 dates, bottoming at 25°F around January 2.

Normal daily high and low temperature for Memphis, January through December Peaks 97°F around July 23. Bottoms 25°F around January 2. 15 35 55 75 95 freezing JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal daily high and low across the calendar year. NOAA 1991–2020 daily normals, MEMPHIS.

When the heat sits

Normal highs reach 90°F from June 7 through September 5, covering 91 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 25 to October 30.

This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.

The freezing stretch

The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 29, then returns to freezing around November 25, covering 97 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 May 24, when 22% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 9 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 51 wet dates a year.

The widest day

April 2 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.

Look up any date

Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Memphis.

Where Memphis Stands Nationally

Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 91 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.

Memphis 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

January 0.8"

2.5 days with precipitation

February 0.8"

3.1 days with precipitation

March 1.4"

3.8 days with precipitation

April 2.0"

4.6 days with precipitation

May 3.5"

6.6 days with precipitation

June 2.9"

6.0 days with precipitation

July 2.4"

4.4 days with precipitation

August 2.5"

5.2 days with precipitation

September 2.4"

4.4 days with precipitation

October 1.8"

4.5 days with precipitation

November 1.0"

2.9 days with precipitation

December 0.8"

2.4 days with precipitation

Memphis spreads its precipitation across the year

Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 35% of the annual total and December through February 11%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Memphis has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.6°F seasonal spread.

The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 3.5" and January 0.8". The three wettest months together take 40% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.

Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.

When it rains in Memphis, it arrives in quantity

22.3" of precipitation falls across only about 50 wet days here, averaging 0.44 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 50 a year, 14% of all days
Average depth per wet day
0.44 inches
Most wet days
May, about 7
Fewest wet days
December, about 2

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.

Frost Dates & Growing Season

First Fall Freeze

November 3

50% probability date

Last Spring Freeze

April 1

50% probability date

Growing Season

216 days

Heating & Cooling Degree Days

Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling

Heating Degree Days

3,499

Higher = more heating needed

Cooling Degree Days

2,060

Higher = more cooling needed

Warmest Month

July

Coldest Month

January

Nationwide similar cities

Other rankable U.S. places outside TX closest to Memphis 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 (61°F here).

Closest by annual precipitation

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (22.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.

Texas climate overview →

Data-derived climate profile

How Memphis's climate pattern fits together

mixed demand · moderate · mid swing

July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Memphis's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 43.6°F. The annual average is 61°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.

Heating and cooling both register in Memphis's normal, at 3,499 and 2,060 degree days respectively. Neither total exceeds the other by more than two to one, so the record is better read as a mixed-demand calendar than as heating-led or cooling-led.

A roughly 216-day frost-free season sits inside this mixed heating-and-cooling profile. Start and end dates matter because both sides of the thermostat register during a normal year.

Memphis's 22.3 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.

These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Memphis's primary station, where heating and cooling demand are close enough that neither season sets the character on its own. On a balanced station like Memphis, the bands are descriptive ranges rather than an official NOAA classification or a forecast.

Questions about Memphis's climate

How much rain does Memphis get?
Memphis receives 22.3 inches of precipitation. Based on NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991-2020).
How many days above 90°F does Memphis get?
Memphis averages about 101 days a year at or above 90°F, concentrated in July and the months either side of it. That is a count of days reaching the threshold, not a measure of how far above it they go.
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Memphis?
Memphis has 3,499 heating degree days and 2,060 cooling degree days annually, a fairly balanced heating/cooling split. Degree-day definitions: reading weather data.

Data Sources

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Memphis's primary station: MEMPHIS (USC00415821). 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 4847616). Match rule for Memphis: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainClimate

On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Memphis 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.