Poplar Bluff, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Poplar Bluff's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 50.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,289 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPoplar Bluff Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00003975
- Location36.77°N 90.32°W
- Elevation327 ft (100 m)
- Population16,177
On October 23, the normal high in Poplar Bluff is 69°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Poplar Bluff.
- Jan 45° 28°
- Feb 50° 31°
- Mar 59° 39°
- Apr 70° 48°
- May 79° 58°
- Jun 87° 66°
- Jul 89° 70°
- Aug 88° 67°
- Sep 82° 59°
- Oct 72° 47°
- Nov 58° 37°
- Dec 47° 30°
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 Poplar Bluff each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in April (5.63 in), the least in August (3.44 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 28°F | 36.1°F | 3.48 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 50°F | 31°F | 40.4°F | 3.67 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 39°F | 48.7°F | 4.88 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 48°F | 59.0°F | 5.63 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 79°F | 58°F | 68.2°F | 5.07 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 87°F | 66°F | 76.7°F | 3.74 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 70°F | 79.7°F | 3.74 | 10 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 88°F | 67°F | 77.7°F | 3.44 | 12 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 59°F | 70.6°F | 3.98 | 12 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 47°F | 59.5°F | 3.96 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 37°F | 47.4°F | 4.91 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 30°F | 38.9°F | 4.26 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 48°F | 58.6°F | 50.76 | 126 | 50 | 80 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −2°C | 2.3°C | 88 mm |
| February | 10°C | 0°C | 4.7°C | 93 mm |
| March | 15°C | 4°C | 9.3°C | 124 mm |
| April | 21°C | 9°C | 15.0°C | 143 mm |
| May | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 129 mm |
| June | 31°C | 19°C | 24.8°C | 95 mm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.5°C | 95 mm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.4°C | 87 mm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 101 mm |
| October | 22°C | 8°C | 15.3°C | 101 mm |
| November | 14°C | 3°C | 8.6°C | 125 mm |
| December | 9°C | −1°C | 3.8°C | 108 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Poplar Bluff's own co-op station Poplar Bluff station does: 5 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003975; 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 Poplar Bluff?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USW00003975.
When is the last frost in Poplar Bluff?
In Poplar Bluff, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 19 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 311 year in 10 after April 15; 9 in 10 after March 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 19; 9 in 10 before November 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 214 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 19 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Poplar Bluff in zone 7a in ZIP code 63901, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Poplar Bluff's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (22 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 Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00003975; 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 Poplar Bluff?
In a normal year in Poplar Bluff, 50 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 80 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 50a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 80a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 126a normal year
The highest temperature in Poplar Bluff's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 112°F, on July 23, 1901; the lowest is −25°F, on February 13, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1927, with 77.76 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 34.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003975; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record POFthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Poplar Bluff, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 68°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 70°F, above the 65°F at which most people call the air sticky; the driest air comes in January (27°F). March is the windiest month (7.9 mph on average).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 67% | 52% | 7.2 mph | – | – |
| February | 32°F | 65% | 49% | 7.8 mph | – | – |
| March | 42°F | 65% | 49% | 7.9 mph | – | – |
| April | 52°F | 69% | 51% | 7.1 mph | – | – |
| May | 63°F | 71% | 53% | 5.9 mph | – | – |
| June | 68°F | 73% | 54% | 5.0 mph | – | – |
| July | 70°F | 77% | 58% | 4.4 mph | – | – |
| August | 67°F | 75% | 53% | 4.3 mph | – | – |
| September | 55°F | 71% | 45% | 4.8 mph | – | – |
| October | 43°F | 69% | 48% | 5.8 mph | – | – |
| November | 33°F | 70% | 54% | 6.5 mph | – | – |
| December | 28°F | 72% | 59% | 6.8 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00003975. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Poplar Bluff?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Poplar Bluff, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.4 |
| February | 67% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.0 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 83% | 6.7 |
| July | 83% | 6.4 |
| August | 83% | 5.8 |
| September | 82% | 4.9 |
| October | 77% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 67% | 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 Poplar Bluff need?
A normal year in Poplar Bluff brings 3,935 heating degree days, 27% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,628 cooling degree days, 79% 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 4,593 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 894 | 0 |
| February | 689 | 0 |
| March | 508 | 5 |
| April | 213 | 33 |
| May | 51 | 151 |
| June | 1 | 351 |
| July | 0 | 456 |
| August | 0 | 395 |
| September | 25 | 193 |
| October | 213 | 42 |
| November | 531 | 2 |
| December | 809 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,935 | 1,628 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003975. 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 Poplar Bluff been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 59.9°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.6°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.8°F | +0.2°F | 55.01 |
| 2023 | 60.5°F | +1.9°F | 42.16 |
| 2024 | 61.2°F | +2.6°F | 61.82 |
| 2025 | 59.9°F | +1.3°F | 48.59 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003975. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Poplar Bluff's climate compare?
Poplar Bluff is warmer than 126 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 120. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.6°F is warmer than 71%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Poplar Bluff is Cfa: temperate, 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 Poplar Bluff 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.
- Qulin, MO468 people · 13 mi S
- Fisk, MO309 people · 7 mi E
- Dudley, MO99 people · 13 mi E
- Broseley, MO27 people · 8 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 Poplar Bluff's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Poplar Bluff. This page uses Poplar Bluff Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar Bluff station USC00236791 | 5 mi W | 370 ft | 58.7°F | 26°F | 91°F | 52.2 | 5 | March 29 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Poplar Bluff's climate
What is the coldest month in Poplar Bluff?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Poplar Bluff?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Poplar Bluff's NOAA station; Poplar Bluff's own co-op station Poplar Bluff station records 5 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Poplar Bluff?
April, with 5.63 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Poplar Bluff in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Poplar Bluff in zone 7a in ZIP code 63901, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Poplar Bluff's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Poplar Bluff?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 15. Waiting until April 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Poplar Bluff in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wappapello Dam, MO11 miles from this station, 56.8°F a year
- Malden, MO22 miles from this station, 59.9°F a year
- Corning, AR29 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Doniphan, MO29 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made