Norton, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Norton's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 26.2 inches of precipitation and 20 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 33°C, 666 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNorton Dam
- Station IDUSC00145852
- Location39.81°N 99.94°W
- Elevation2,346 ft (715 m)
- Population2,681
On October 22, the normal high in Norton is 64°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Norton.
- Jan 40° 14°
- Feb 43° 17°
- Mar 55° 26°
- Apr 65° 35°
- May 75° 47°
- Jun 87° 58°
- Jul 92° 64°
- Aug 89° 61°
- Sep 81° 52°
- Oct 67° 38°
- Nov 53° 25°
- Dec 41° 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 Norton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.26 in), the least in January (0.44 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 14°F | 26.9°F | 0.44 | 3.5 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 17°F | 30.1°F | 0.52 | 5.4 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 26°F | 40.2°F | 1.20 | 2.6 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 35°F | 49.9°F | 2.71 | 1.1 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 47°F | 60.7°F | 4.26 | 0.2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 87°F | 58°F | 72.3°F | 3.19 | 0.0 | 9 | 13 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 92°F | 64°F | 77.8°F | 4.23 | 0.0 | 9 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 89°F | 61°F | 75.2°F | 3.63 | 0.0 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 81°F | 52°F | 66.3°F | 2.10 | 0.0 | 6 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 38°F | 52.3°F | 2.27 | 0.9 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 25°F | 39.0°F | 0.91 | 1.2 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 16°F | 28.7°F | 0.76 | 4.7 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 38°F | 51.6°F | 26.22 | 19.6 | 78 | 60 | 155 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −10°C | −2.8°C | 11 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 6°C | −8°C | −1.1°C | 13 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 13°C | −4°C | 4.6°C | 30 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 18°C | 2°C | 9.9°C | 69 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 24°C | 8°C | 15.9°C | 108 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 30°C | 14°C | 22.4°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 18°C | 25.4°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 16°C | 24.0°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 11°C | 19.1°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 3°C | 11.3°C | 58 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 11°C | −4°C | 3.9°C | 23 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 5°C | −9°C | −1.8°C | 19 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00145852; 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 Norton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, September and October. 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 USC00145852.
When is the last frost in Norton?
In Norton, 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 12 in half of years and before September 29 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 121 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 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 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Norton in zone 6a in ZIP code 67654, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Norton's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (29 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00145852; 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 Norton?
In a normal year in Norton, 60 days a year reach 90°F (13 of them 100°F or more), 155 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 78 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 60a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 155a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 31high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 78a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1962) is 118°F, on June 28, 2012; the lowest is −28°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 37.72 in; the snowiest season is 1973–74, with 31.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00145852; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00145852. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Norton?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Norton, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and February the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.4 |
| February | 75% | 3.3 |
| March | 77% | 4.5 |
| April | 76% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.3 |
| June | 86% | 7.1 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 6.1 |
| September | 84% | 5.0 |
| October | 80% | 3.7 |
| November | 81% | 2.7 |
| 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 Norton need?
A normal year in Norton brings 6,015 heating degree days, 12% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,171 cooling degree days, 29% 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 3,494 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,181 | 0 |
| February | 977 | 0 |
| March | 769 | 0 |
| April | 460 | 5 |
| May | 194 | 59 |
| June | 24 | 241 |
| July | 2 | 400 |
| August | 6 | 323 |
| September | 90 | 130 |
| October | 407 | 11 |
| November | 782 | 0 |
| December | 1,125 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,015 | 1,171 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00145852. 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 Norton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.9°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.7°F | +1.1°F | – | – |
| 2022 | 51.6°F | at normal | – | – |
| 2023 | 52.1°F | +0.5°F | – | – |
| 2024 | 53.9°F | +2.3°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 52.9°F | +1.3°F | – | – |
Over 48 complete years from 1965 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.9°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00145852; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Norton's climate compare?
Norton is warmer than 3 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.6°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Norton is Dfa: continental, no dry season, 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 Norton 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.
- Lenora, KS199 people · 14 mi S
- Norcatur, KS160 people · 13 mi W
- Clayton, KS42 people · 14 mi W
- Edmond, KS27 people · 14 mi SE
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 Norton's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Norton. This page uses Norton Dam; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton (9 mi SSE) USC00145856 | 7 mi SE | 2,413 ft | 53.0°F | 16°F | 92°F | 23.1 | 22 | April 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Norton's climate
What is the coldest month in Norton?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Norton?
Yes: 20 inches in a normal year, falling on 10 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Norton?
May, with 4.26 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Norton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Norton in zone 6a in ZIP code 67654, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Norton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Norton?
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
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Beaver City, NE23 miles from this station, 51.8°F a year
- Hill City, KS30 miles from this station, 53.9°F a year
- Oberlin, KS30 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Edison, NE33 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