Ragan, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ragan's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 25.4 inches of precipitation and 24 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 32°C, 644 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRagan
- Station IDUSC00257002
- Location40.31°N 99.29°W
- Elevation2,240 ft (683 m)
- Population20
On October 23, the normal high in Ragan is 63°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ragan.
- Jan 37° 16°
- Feb 41° 20°
- Mar 53° 28°
- Apr 63° 38°
- May 72° 49°
- Jun 84° 60°
- Jul 89° 65°
- Aug 86° 63°
- Sep 79° 54°
- Oct 66° 40°
- Nov 52° 28°
- Dec 39° 19°
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 Ragan each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.35 in), the least in January (0.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 16°F | 26.6°F | 0.47 | 5.8 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 41°F | 20°F | 30.6°F | 0.62 | 5.0 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 28°F | 40.7°F | 1.40 | 4.0 | 5 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 38°F | 50.7°F | 2.48 | 1.9 | 8 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 49°F | 60.8°F | 4.35 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 84°F | 60°F | 71.9°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 65°F | 76.7°F | 4.09 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 86°F | 63°F | 74.4°F | 3.09 | 0.0 | 7 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 54°F | 66.0°F | 1.80 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 40°F | 52.8°F | 1.91 | 0.9 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 28°F | 39.8°F | 0.97 | 2.8 | 4 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 19°F | 29.1°F | 0.65 | 3.2 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 40°F | 51.7°F | 25.36 | 23.6 | 69 | 37 | 145 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −9°C | −3.0°C | 12 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 5°C | −7°C | −0.8°C | 16 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 12°C | −2°C | 4.8°C | 36 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 17°C | 3°C | 10.4°C | 63 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.0°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 18°C | 24.8°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.6°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 49 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 11°C | −2°C | 4.3°C | 25 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 4°C | −7°C | −1.6°C | 17 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00257002; 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 Ragan?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. 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 USC00257002.
When is the last frost in Ragan?
In Ragan, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 18 in half of years and before October 1 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 241 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 181 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 174 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 196 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ragan in zone 6a in ZIP code 68982, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00257002; 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 in Ragan?
In a normal year in Ragan, 37 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 145 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 69 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 145a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 69a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00257002.
How sunny is Ragan?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ragan, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.3 |
| February | 73% | 3.1 |
| March | 75% | 4.3 |
| April | 75% | 5.4 |
| May | 76% | 6.1 |
| June | 84% | 7.0 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.9 |
| October | 79% | 3.5 |
| November | 79% | 2.6 |
| December | 74% | 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 Ragan need?
A normal year in Ragan brings 5,902 heating degree days, 10% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,081 cooling degree days, 19% more 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 3,441 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,189 | 0 |
| February | 962 | 0 |
| March | 754 | 0 |
| April | 436 | 6 |
| May | 181 | 52 |
| June | 24 | 229 |
| July | 3 | 365 |
| August | 6 | 297 |
| September | 89 | 119 |
| October | 389 | 13 |
| November | 758 | 0 |
| December | 1,113 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,902 | 1,081 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00257002. 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 Ragan's climate compare?
Ragan is warmer than 119 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 51. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.7°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ragan is Dfa: continental, 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 Ragan 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.
- Hildreth, NE368 people · 13 mi E
- Wilcox, NE326 people · 7 mi NE
- Huntley, NE32 people · 7 mi S
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 Ragan's climate
What is the coldest month in Ragan?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Ragan?
Yes: 24 inches in a normal year, falling on 12 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (5.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Ragan?
May, with 4.35 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ragan in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ragan in zone 6a in ZIP code 68982, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Ragan?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Holdrege, NE11 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Harlan County Lake, NE16 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- Oxford, NE19 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Minden, NE23 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made