Panhandle, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Panhandle's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 21.1 inches of precipitation and 14 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.4°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 34°C, 535 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPanhandle
- Station IDUSC00416785
- Location35.35°N 101.39°W
- Elevation3,463 ft (1,056 m)
- Population2,315
On October 23, the normal high in Panhandle is 70°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 11%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Panhandle.
- Jan 50° 24°
- Feb 54° 27°
- Mar 64° 34°
- Apr 72° 42°
- May 80° 52°
- Jun 89° 62°
- Jul 93° 66°
- Aug 91° 65°
- Sep 84° 57°
- Oct 73° 45°
- Nov 60° 33°
- Dec 50° 25°
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 Panhandle each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.22 in), the least in February (0.50 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 24°F | 37.0°F | 0.53 | 2.2 | 2 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 27°F | 40.4°F | 0.50 | 2.1 | 3 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 64°F | 34°F | 48.8°F | 1.24 | 1.4 | 4 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 42°F | 56.6°F | 1.60 | 0.1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 52°F | 66.0°F | 2.74 | 0.1 | 6 | 7 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 89°F | 62°F | 75.6°F | 3.22 | 0.0 | 6 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 93°F | 66°F | 79.8°F | 2.57 | 0.0 | 6 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 91°F | 65°F | 78.1°F | 3.07 | 0.0 | 7 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 57°F | 70.6°F | 1.91 | 0.0 | 5 | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 45°F | 59.0°F | 1.97 | 0.4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 33°F | 46.8°F | 0.80 | 2.0 | 3 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 25°F | 37.7°F | 0.91 | 5.3 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 44°F | 58.0°F | 21.06 | 13.6 | 51 | 78 | 122 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −5°C | 2.8°C | 13 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 12°C | −3°C | 4.7°C | 13 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 18°C | 1°C | 9.3°C | 31 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 22°C | 5°C | 13.7°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 11°C | 18.9°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 17°C | 24.2°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 19°C | 26.6°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 18°C | 25.6°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 14°C | 21.4°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 7°C | 15.0°C | 50 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 16°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 20 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 10°C | −4°C | 3.2°C | 23 mm | 13 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00416785; 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 Panhandle?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00416785.
When is the last frost in Panhandle?
In Panhandle, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after April 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 29 in half of years and before October 15 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 151 year in 10 after April 29; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 291 year in 10 before October 15; 9 in 10 before November 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 196 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 215 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Panhandle in zone 7a in ZIP code 79068, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Panhandle's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00416785; 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 Panhandle?
In a normal year in Panhandle, 78 days a year reach 90°F (14 of them 100°F or more), 122 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 51 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 78a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 122a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 12high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 51a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1961) is 112°F, on June 27, 2011; the lowest is −10°F, on January 11, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1987, with 31.50 in; the snowiest season is 1982–83, with 56.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00416785; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00416785. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Panhandle?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Panhandle, 5.2 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (89%) and February the cloudiest (79%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.1 |
| February | 79% | 3.9 |
| March | 82% | 5.2 |
| April | 83% | 6.4 |
| May | 84% | 7.0 |
| June | 89% | 7.6 |
| July | 89% | 7.3 |
| August | 87% | 6.4 |
| September | 87% | 5.5 |
| October | 83% | 4.3 |
| November | 84% | 3.3 |
| December | 80% | 2.7 |
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 Panhandle need?
A normal year in Panhandle brings 4,087 heating degree days, 24% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,579 cooling degree days, 74% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,459 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 870 | 0 |
| February | 690 | 0 |
| March | 506 | 4 |
| April | 273 | 21 |
| May | 89 | 122 |
| June | 6 | 325 |
| July | 1 | 459 |
| August | 1 | 409 |
| September | 34 | 202 |
| October | 223 | 37 |
| November | 549 | 1 |
| December | 846 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,087 | 1,579 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00416785. 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 Panhandle's climate compare?
Panhandle is warmer than 17 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 66. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.0°F is warmer than 69%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Panhandle 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 Panhandle share this climate record?
3 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.
- Claude, TX1,175 people · 17 mi S
- White Deer, TX1,037 people · 13 mi NE
- Groom, TX537 people · 19 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.
Questions about Panhandle's climate
What is the coldest month in Panhandle?
January, with a normal high of 50°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Panhandle?
Yes: 14 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (5.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Panhandle?
June, with 3.22 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Panhandle in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Panhandle in zone 7a in ZIP code 79068, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Panhandle's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Panhandle?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after April 29. Waiting until April 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Amarillo, TX20 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Borger, TX24 miles from this station, 60.9°F a year
- Sanford, TX26 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Pampa, TX27 miles from this station, 57.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made