Plains, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Plains's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 16.2 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.3°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 34°C, 411 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPlains
- Station IDUSC00417074
- Location33.19°N 102.83°W
- Elevation3,675 ft (1,120 m)
- Population1,358
On October 23, the normal high in Plains is 73°F and the normal low 42°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 Plains.
- Jan 54° 25°
- Feb 59° 28°
- Mar 67° 35°
- Apr 75° 42°
- May 84° 53°
- Jun 92° 62°
- Jul 93° 65°
- Aug 91° 64°
- Sep 84° 57°
- Oct 75° 45°
- Nov 63° 33°
- Dec 55° 26°
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 Plains each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in September (2.48 in), the least in January (0.52 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 25°F | 39.4°F | 0.52 | 0.5 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 59°F | 28°F | 43.7°F | 0.59 | 0.9 | 3 | <1 | 19 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 35°F | 51.0°F | 1.04 | 0.0 | 3 | <1 | 11 | 12 h |
| April | 75°F | 42°F | 58.7°F | 0.91 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 53°F | 68.4°F | 1.56 | 0.0 | 4 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 92°F | 62°F | 76.9°F | 1.99 | 0.0 | 5 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 93°F | 65°F | 78.9°F | 2.10 | 0.0 | 5 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 64°F | 77.8°F | 2.10 | 0.0 | 6 | 22 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 57°F | 70.6°F | 2.48 | 0.0 | 5 | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 45°F | 60.1°F | 1.43 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 33°F | 48.1°F | 0.70 | 0.2 | 2 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 55°F | 26°F | 40.5°F | 0.77 | 1.1 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 45°F | 59.5°F | 16.19 | 2.7 | 44 | 89 | 99 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | −4°C | 4.1°C | 13 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 15°C | −2°C | 6.5°C | 15 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 20°C | 2°C | 10.6°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 24°C | 6°C | 14.8°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 29°C | 12°C | 20.2°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 33°C | 17°C | 24.9°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 19°C | 26.1°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 18°C | 25.4°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 14°C | 21.4°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 7°C | 15.6°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 0°C | 8.9°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 13°C | −3°C | 4.7°C | 20 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00417074; 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 Plains?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00417074.
When is the last frost in Plains?
In Plains, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 11 in half of years and after April 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 17 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 111 year in 10 after April 27; 9 in 10 after March 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 200 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 221 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Plains in zone 7b in ZIP code 79355, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Plains's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (18 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 USC00417074; 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 Plains?
In a normal year in Plains, 89 days a year reach 90°F (13 of them 100°F or more), 99 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 44 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 89a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 99a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 44a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1946) is 111°F, on June 26, 1994; the lowest is −12°F, on January 29, 1948.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 26.01 in; the snowiest season is 1960–61, with 30.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00417074; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00417074. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Plains?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Plains, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and February the cloudiest (82%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 82% | 4.3 |
| March | 84% | 5.5 |
| April | 87% | 6.8 |
| May | 86% | 7.3 |
| June | 91% | 7.8 |
| July | 90% | 7.4 |
| August | 90% | 6.8 |
| September | 86% | 5.6 |
| October | 85% | 4.5 |
| November | 85% | 3.6 |
| December | 83% | 3.0 |
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 Plains need?
A normal year in Plains brings 3,575 heating degree days, 33% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,603 cooling degree days, 77% 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 4,639 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 794 | 0 |
| February | 595 | 0 |
| March | 435 | 2 |
| April | 211 | 22 |
| May | 57 | 161 |
| June | 1 | 359 |
| July | 0 | 431 |
| August | 1 | 397 |
| September | 25 | 193 |
| October | 188 | 36 |
| November | 508 | 1 |
| December | 761 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,575 | 1,603 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00417074. 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 Plains been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 62.3°F, 2.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.5°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.9°F | +0.4°F | 14.63 | 14.5 |
| 2022 | 60.2°F | +0.7°F | 10.25 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | 61.6°F | +2.1°F | 14.58 | 3.0 |
| 2024 | 62.9°F | +3.4°F | 7.86 | 0.8 |
| 2025 | 62.3°F | +2.8°F | 14.02 | 0.3 |
Over 32 complete years from 1948 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.2°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00417074; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Plains's climate compare?
Plains is warmer than 31 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.5°F is warmer than 73%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Plains 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.
Questions about Plains's climate
What is the coldest month in Plains?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Plains?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (1.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Plains?
September, with 2.48 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.52 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Plains in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Plains in zone 7b in ZIP code 79355, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Plains's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Plains?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 11; in one year in ten it comes after April 27. Waiting until April 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Denver City, TX16 miles from this station, 60.5°F a year
- Tatum, NM31 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Brownfield, TX32 miles from this station, 61.1°F a year
- Seminole, TX34 miles from this station, 61.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made