Niobrara, NE Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Niobrara's primary NOAA station, NIOBRARA.
The climate verdict for Niobrara
Niobrara, Nebraska has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 51°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 51°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 24.3"
- precipitation, annual total
- 171 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Niobrara: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00255960 · Niobrara, NE 51°F mean · 24.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #3,019
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Red Oak
- PRCP-DRY 24.3"
- SWING-WIDE 53°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,215 HDD
- STN-1 USC00255960
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Red Oak, IA (+ 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 NE station list.
- Niobrara (this station) 51°F
- Cold Gretna, NE 51°F
- Hot Des Moines, IA 51°F
- Near Red Oak, IA 51°F
- Near Glenwood, IA 51°F
Climate Living Index · Niobrara
Niobrara: 48/100 · grade D
Niobrara publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Niobrara, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 24.3 in · 10.7 from 35 in | 62/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 149 calendar days | 47/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 50.8°F · 16.7° from 67.5°F | 44/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 171 days/year | 43/100 · D |
Niobrara · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Niobrara is a continental Köppen climate: Dwa
Coldest-month mean 23.6°F and warmest-month mean 76.2°F place this station in continental, dry-winter, hot summer climates (Dwa). Class Dwa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-winter, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dwa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 76.2°F
- Coldest month
- 23.6°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 · heating-led station
Where Niobrara sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Niobrara's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 44th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 33rd percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 87%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Niobrara is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Niobrara compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Niobrara's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F (1°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.4" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| February | 39°F (4°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.7" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.4" | 23.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 64°F (18°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 3.0" | 9.3 | 0.4 |
| May | 74°F (24°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 3.2" | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 3.8" | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 2.7" | 0.0 | 12.2 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 3.0" | 0.0 | 10.3 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 2.7" | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| October | 65°F (18°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 2.1" | 7.2 | 0.5 |
| November | 50°F (10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 21.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 37°F (3°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 0.3" | 29.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 16, short of 90°F on every date, while 149 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 13°F near January 15.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 31, then returns to freezing around November 4, covering 149 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 June 4, when 34% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 27 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 80 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Niobrara.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
3.9 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
3.2 days with precipitation
Niobrara runs a summer-peaked wet season
39% of Niobrara's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 3.8", on a wide 52.6°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, May, April, taking 41% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: December at 0.3".
- Winter share: 6% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Niobrara's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 79 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 24.3" between them, or roughly 0.31 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 13
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 25
50% probability date
Growing Season
171 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,215
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,072
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NE closest to Niobrara 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 (51°F here).
- Attica, IN 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Bridgehampton, NY 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Cadiz, OH 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Clatskanie, OR 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (24.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Brackettville, TX 24.3" · 0.0" off
- Goodridge, MN 24.3" · 0.0" off
- Menard, TX 24.3" · 0.0" off
- Red Lake Falls, MN 24.3" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Niobrara's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Niobrara's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,215 annual heating degree days against 1,072 for cooling. Its 52.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Niobrara's frost-free season lasts about 171 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Niobrara's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 52.6°F. The annual average is 51°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Niobrara's 24.3 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 Niobrara's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Niobrara, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Niobrara's climate
How much rain does Niobrara get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Niobrara get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Niobrara? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Niobrara's primary station: NIOBRARA (USC00255960). 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 3134370). Match rule for Niobrara: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Niobrara 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.