Penwell, Texas climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Penwell's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 97°F July afternoons, with 12.5 inches of precipitation and 2 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.1°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 36°C, 316 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPenwell
- Station IDUSC00416932
- Location31.74°N 102.59°W
- Elevation2,933 ft (894 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Penwell is 79°F and the normal low 51°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Penwell.
- Jan 60° 32°
- Feb 65° 36°
- Mar 73° 44°
- Apr 82° 51°
- May 90° 62°
- Jun 97° 70°
- Jul 97° 73°
- Aug 97° 72°
- Sep 89° 65°
- Oct 81° 53°
- Nov 69° 42°
- Dec 61° 33°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Penwell each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 97°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in September (1.96 in), the least in March (0.55 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 32°F | 45.9°F | 0.64 | 0.8 | 3 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 65°F | 36°F | 50.5°F | 0.63 | 0.0 | 3 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| March | 73°F | 44°F | 58.5°F | 0.55 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 12 h |
| April | 82°F | 51°F | 66.6°F | 0.65 | 0.0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 90°F | 62°F | 75.5°F | 1.42 | 0.0 | 4 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 97°F | 70°F | 83.5°F | 1.13 | 0.0 | 3 | 26 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 97°F | 73°F | 84.6°F | 1.20 | 0.0 | 4 | 27 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 97°F | 72°F | 84.4°F | 1.54 | 0.0 | 4 | 27 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 65°F | 77.0°F | 1.96 | 0.0 | 4 | 16 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 81°F | 53°F | 67.4°F | 1.32 | 0.0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 69°F | 42°F | 55.2°F | 0.69 | 0.1 | 2 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 61°F | 33°F | 46.9°F | 0.73 | 0.6 | 2 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 80°F | 53°F | 66.3°F | 12.46 | 1.5 | 39 | 125 | 64 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 16 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 18°C | 2°C | 10.3°C | 16 mm | 0 cm |
| March | 23°C | 7°C | 14.7°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 28°C | 11°C | 19.2°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 32°C | 16°C | 24.2°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 36°C | 21°C | 28.6°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 36°C | 23°C | 29.2°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 36°C | 22°C | 29.1°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 32°C | 18°C | 25.0°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 27°C | 12°C | 19.7°C | 34 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 21°C | 5°C | 12.9°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 16°C | 1°C | 8.3°C | 19 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00416932; 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.
Which months are mildest at Penwell?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00416932.
When is the last frost at Penwell?
In Penwell, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 14 in half of years and after April 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 14 in half of years and before October 30 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
- March 141 year in 10 after April 6; 9 in 10 after February 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 141 year in 10 before October 30; 9 in 10 before December 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 244 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 269 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 2 in half of springs and before November 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Penwell in zone 8a in ZIP code 79776, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00416932; 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 at Penwell?
In a normal year in Penwell, 125 days a year reach 90°F (33 of them 100°F or more), 64 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 39 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 125a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 33a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 64a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 39a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00416932.
How sunny is it at Penwell?
Over a year 88% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Penwell, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (92%) and February the cloudiest (83%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.5 |
| February | 83% | 4.4 |
| March | 85% | 5.6 |
| April | 88% | 6.9 |
| May | 88% | 7.3 |
| June | 92% | 7.7 |
| July | 90% | 7.3 |
| August | 90% | 6.8 |
| September | 87% | 5.7 |
| October | 88% | 4.8 |
| November | 86% | 3.8 |
| December | 83% | 3.2 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Penwell record?
A normal year at Penwell brings 2,261 heating degree days, 58% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,786 cooling degree days, 3.1 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,507 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 590 | 0 |
| February | 409 | 3 |
| March | 235 | 33 |
| April | 76 | 125 |
| May | 12 | 338 |
| June | 0 | 555 |
| July | 0 | 608 |
| August | 0 | 601 |
| September | 6 | 367 |
| October | 66 | 140 |
| November | 308 | 15 |
| December | 560 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,261 | 2,786 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00416932. 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 Penwell's climate compare?
Penwell is warmer than 184 of the 321 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 10. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 66.3°F is warmer than 91%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Penwell is BSh: hot 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.
Questions about Penwell's climate
What is the coldest month at Penwell?
January, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (97°F by day, 73°F at night).
Does it snow at Penwell?
Yes: 2 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Penwell?
September, with 1.96 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.55 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Penwell in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Penwell in zone 8a in ZIP code 79776, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Penwell?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 14; in one year in ten it comes after April 6. Waiting until April 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Monahans, TX15 miles from this station, 65.8°F a year
- Odessa, TX17 miles from this station, 64.8°F a year
- Crane, TX27 miles from this station, 66.3°F a year
- Midland, TX27 miles from this station, 65.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made