Oshkosh, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Oshkosh's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 17.9 inches of precipitation and 28 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.4°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 455 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOshkosh
- Station IDUSC00256385
- Location41.40°N 102.35°W
- Elevation3,390 ft (1,033 m)
- Population767
On October 23, the normal high in Oshkosh is 61°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Oshkosh.
- Jan 40° 13°
- Feb 43° 15°
- Mar 53° 24°
- Apr 61° 32°
- May 70° 44°
- Jun 82° 54°
- Jul 88° 60°
- Aug 86° 58°
- Sep 79° 48°
- Oct 64° 34°
- Nov 51° 22°
- Dec 41° 13°
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 Oshkosh 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 May (3.02 in), the least in January (0.25 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 13°F | 26.1°F | 0.25 | 3.8 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 43°F | 15°F | 29.3°F | 0.38 | 5.3 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 24°F | 38.7°F | 0.93 | 4.1 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 32°F | 46.7°F | 2.00 | 3.8 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 44°F | 56.9°F | 3.02 | 0.4 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 54°F | 68.1°F | 2.98 | 0.0 | 10 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 88°F | 60°F | 74.3°F | 2.75 | 0.0 | 8 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 86°F | 58°F | 72.1°F | 1.93 | 0.0 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 48°F | 63.2°F | 1.52 | 0.0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 34°F | 48.9°F | 1.33 | 1.6 | 5 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 22°F | 36.5°F | 0.46 | 3.6 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 41°F | 13°F | 26.8°F | 0.36 | 5.1 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 35°F | 49.0°F | 17.91 | 27.7 | 66 | 39 | 179 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −11°C | −3.3°C | 6 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 6°C | −9°C | −1.5°C | 10 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 12°C | −5°C | 3.7°C | 24 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 16°C | 0°C | 8.2°C | 51 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.8°C | 77 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 28°C | 12°C | 20.1°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 16°C | 23.5°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 22.3°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 9°C | 17.3°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 1°C | 9.4°C | 34 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 11°C | −6°C | 2.5°C | 12 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 5°C | −11°C | −2.9°C | 9 mm | 13 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00256385; 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 Oshkosh?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00256385.
When is the last frost in Oshkosh?
In Oshkosh, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 20 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 91 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oshkosh in zone 5b in ZIP code 69154, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Oshkosh's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00256385; 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 Oshkosh?
In a normal year in Oshkosh, 39 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 179 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 66 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 39a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 179a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 66a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1913) is 111°F, on July 11, 1954; the lowest is −47°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1923, with 28.27 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 72.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00256385; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00256385. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Oshkosh?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Oshkosh, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 2.4 |
| February | 77% | 3.3 |
| March | 76% | 4.4 |
| April | 75% | 5.5 |
| May | 76% | 6.3 |
| June | 85% | 7.3 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.3 |
| September | 85% | 5.1 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.6 |
| December | 78% | 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 Oshkosh need?
A normal year in Oshkosh brings 6,583 heating degree days, 23% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 776 cooling degree days, 14% 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 2,843 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,206 | 0 |
| February | 1,000 | 0 |
| March | 817 | 0 |
| April | 549 | 1 |
| May | 276 | 26 |
| June | 50 | 143 |
| July | 4 | 294 |
| August | 14 | 234 |
| September | 130 | 76 |
| October | 500 | 2 |
| November | 855 | 0 |
| December | 1,184 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,583 | 776 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00256385. 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 Oshkosh been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 51.6°F, 2.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.0°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.5°F | +1.5°F | 17.44 | 25.3 |
| 2022 | 49.6°F | +0.6°F | 12.44 | 38.8 |
| 2023 | 49.3°F | +0.3°F | 18.53 | 73.5 |
| 2024 | 51.6°F | +2.6°F | 18.71 | 19.5 |
Over 90 complete years from 1914 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.1°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00256385; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Oshkosh's climate compare?
Oshkosh is warmer than 43 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 12. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.0°F is warmer than 36%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh share this climate record?
2 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.
- Lewellen, NE170 people · 12 mi SE
- Lisco, NE16 people · 16 mi NW
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 Oshkosh's climate
What is the coldest month in Oshkosh?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Oshkosh?
Yes: 28 inches in a normal year, falling on 12 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Oshkosh?
May, with 3.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.25 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Oshkosh in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Oshkosh in zone 5b in ZIP code 69154, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Oshkosh's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Oshkosh?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Chappell, NE22 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Lodgepole, NE23 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, NE25 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Big Springs, NE27 miles from this station, 49.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made