Niobrara, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Niobrara's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 24.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 617 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNiobrara
- Station IDUSC00255960
- Location42.75°N 98.05°W
- Elevation1,234 ft (376 m)
- Population361
On October 23, the normal high in Niobrara is 61°F and the normal low 37°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 Niobrara.
- Jan 34° 13°
- Feb 39° 17°
- Mar 52° 27°
- Apr 64° 37°
- May 74° 49°
- Jun 84° 59°
- Jul 88° 64°
- Aug 86° 63°
- Sep 79° 54°
- Oct 65° 40°
- Nov 50° 27°
- Dec 37° 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 Niobrara each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.81 in), the least in December (0.32 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 13°F | 23.6°F | 0.43 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 39°F | 17°F | 28.1°F | 0.73 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 52°F | 27°F | 39.4°F | 1.37 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 37°F | 50.6°F | 3.04 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 74°F | 49°F | 61.6°F | 3.19 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 84°F | 59°F | 71.5°F | 3.81 | 10 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 88°F | 64°F | 76.2°F | 2.71 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 86°F | 63°F | 74.4°F | 2.98 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 79°F | 54°F | 66.4°F | 2.71 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 40°F | 52.5°F | 2.08 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 27°F | 38.3°F | 0.93 | 5 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 17°F | 26.9°F | 0.32 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 39°F | 50.8°F | 24.30 | 79 | 37 | 147 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −11°C | −4.7°C | 11 mm |
| February | 4°C | −8°C | −2.2°C | 19 mm |
| March | 11°C | −3°C | 4.1°C | 35 mm |
| April | 18°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 77 mm |
| May | 24°C | 9°C | 16.4°C | 81 mm |
| June | 29°C | 15°C | 21.9°C | 97 mm |
| July | 31°C | 18°C | 24.6°C | 69 mm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.6°C | 76 mm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 19.1°C | 69 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 53 mm |
| November | 10°C | −3°C | 3.5°C | 24 mm |
| December | 3°C | −8°C | −2.8°C | 8 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Tyndall (19 miles away), gets 37 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00255960; 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 Niobrara?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September 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 USC00255960.
When is the last frost in Niobrara?
In Niobrara, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 13 in half of years and before September 27 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 251 year in 10 after May 9; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 131 year in 10 before September 27; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 192 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Niobrara in zone 5a in ZIP code 57062, 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 USC00255960; 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 Niobrara?
In a normal year in Niobrara, 37 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 147 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 79 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 147a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 41high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 79a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1939) is 116°F, on July 11, 1939; the lowest is −33°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1944, with 37.56 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 66.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00255960; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00255960. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Niobrara?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Niobrara, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (85%) and March the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.1 |
| February | 75% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.9 |
| June | 80% | 6.7 |
| July | 85% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 5.8 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 76% | 3.3 |
| November | 75% | 2.3 |
| December | 71% | 1.7 |
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 Niobrara need?
A normal year in Niobrara brings 6,215 heating degree days, 16% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,072 cooling degree days, 18% 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 3,427 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,283 | 0 |
| February | 1,032 | 0 |
| March | 794 | 1 |
| April | 441 | 9 |
| May | 166 | 60 |
| June | 20 | 217 |
| July | 2 | 350 |
| August | 7 | 296 |
| September | 85 | 126 |
| October | 402 | 13 |
| November | 801 | 0 |
| December | 1,182 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,215 | 1,072 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00255960. 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.
How does Niobrara's climate compare?
Niobrara is warmer than 96 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 45. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.8°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Niobrara 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 Niobrara share this climate record?
4 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.
- Springfield, SD1,912 people · 11 mi NE
- Avon, SD606 people · 18 mi N
- Verdigre, NE534 people · 10 mi S
- Running Water, SD80 people · 4 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 Niobrara's climate
What is the coldest month in Niobrara?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Niobrara?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Niobrara's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Tyndall (19 miles away), records 37 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Niobrara?
June, with 3.81 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.32 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Niobrara in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Niobrara in zone 5a in ZIP code 57062, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Niobrara?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Verdel, NE9 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Tyndall, SD19 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Creighton, NE21 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Lynch, NE22 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made