Minatare, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Minatare's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 15.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 31°C, 396 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMinatare Dam (USBR)
- Station IDUSC00255555
- Location41.92°N 103.48°W
- Elevation4,144 ft (1,263 m)
- Population703
On October 14, the normal high in Minatare is 63°F and the normal low 36°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Minatare.
- Jan 40° 15°
- Feb 43° 17°
- Mar 52° 25°
- Apr 60° 34°
- May 69° 43°
- Jun 81° 54°
- Jul 88° 60°
- Aug 87° 58°
- Sep 78° 48°
- Oct 63° 35°
- Nov 50° 25°
- Dec 40° 16°
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 Minatare each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.74 in), the least in January (0.30 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 15°F | 27.7°F | 0.30 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 43°F | 17°F | 29.7°F | 0.34 | – | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 52°F | 25°F | 38.7°F | 0.98 | – | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 34°F | 46.8°F | 1.88 | – | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 43°F | 56.2°F | 2.74 | – | 1 | 3 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 54°F | 67.7°F | 2.58 | – | 9 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 88°F | 60°F | 74.1°F | 2.11 | – | 15 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 87°F | 58°F | 72.2°F | 1.33 | – | 11 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 78°F | 48°F | 63.0°F | 1.37 | – | 5 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 35°F | 49.0°F | 1.17 | – | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 25°F | 37.3°F | 0.44 | – | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 40°F | 16°F | 28.0°F | 0.35 | – | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 36°F | 49.2°F | 15.59 | – | 41 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −9°C | −2.4°C | 8 mm |
| February | 6°C | −8°C | −1.3°C | 9 mm |
| March | 11°C | −4°C | 3.7°C | 25 mm |
| April | 16°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 48 mm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 70 mm |
| June | 27°C | 12°C | 19.8°C | 66 mm |
| July | 31°C | 16°C | 23.4°C | 54 mm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 22.3°C | 34 mm |
| September | 25°C | 9°C | 17.2°C | 35 mm |
| October | 17°C | 2°C | 9.4°C | 30 mm |
| November | 10°C | −4°C | 2.9°C | 11 mm |
| December | 4°C | −9°C | −2.2°C | 9 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Scottsbluff (6 miles away), gets 43 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00255555; 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 Minatare?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September.
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 USC00255555.
When is the last frost in Minatare?
In Minatare, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 28 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 51 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 179 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Minatare in zone 5a in ZIP code 69355, 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 USC00255555; 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 Minatare?
In a normal year in Minatare, 41 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more) and 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 41a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 30high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00255555.
How sunny is Minatare?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Minatare, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (86%) and April the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.4 |
| February | 75% | 3.2 |
| March | 76% | 4.4 |
| April | 73% | 5.4 |
| May | 75% | 6.3 |
| June | 84% | 7.3 |
| July | 86% | 7.1 |
| August | 86% | 6.3 |
| September | 85% | 5.1 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 79% | 2.5 |
| December | 75% | 2.0 |
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 Minatare need?
A normal year in Minatare brings 6,479 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 744 cooling degree days, 18% 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 2,810 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,158 | 0 |
| February | 988 | 0 |
| March | 817 | 0 |
| April | 547 | 1 |
| May | 293 | 19 |
| June | 46 | 127 |
| July | 3 | 283 |
| August | 13 | 236 |
| September | 135 | 75 |
| October | 502 | 4 |
| November | 831 | 0 |
| December | 1,146 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,479 | 744 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00255555. 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 Minatare been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 49.1°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 49.2°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.7°F | +1.5°F | 12.10 |
| 2022 | 49.1°F | −0.1°F | 11.20 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00255555. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Minatare's climate compare?
Minatare is warmer than 49 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 3. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.2°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Minatare is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Minatare share this climate record?
McGrew 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.
- McGrew, NE69 people · 12 mi S
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 Minatare's climate
What is the coldest month in Minatare?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Minatare?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Minatare's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Scottsbluff (6 miles away), records 43 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Minatare?
May, with 2.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.30 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Minatare in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Minatare in zone 5a in ZIP code 69355, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Minatare?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Scottsbluff, NE6 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Mitchell, NE11 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Plainsview Ranch, NE24 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Bridgeport, NE26 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made