Rainbow, Texas climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Rainbow's normal year runs from 31°F January nights to 96°F July afternoons, with 34.3 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.1 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.2°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 36°C, 870 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRainbow
- Station IDUSC00417388
- Location32.26°N 97.71°W
- Elevation648 ft (198 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Rainbow is 76°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rainbow.
- Jan 57° 31°
- Feb 61° 36°
- Mar 69° 43°
- Apr 77° 52°
- May 84° 62°
- Jun 92° 69°
- Jul 96° 73°
- Aug 96° 72°
- Sep 89° 64°
- Oct 79° 52°
- Nov 67° 42°
- Dec 59° 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 Rainbow each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 96°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.21 in), the least in July (1.79 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57°F | 31°F | 44.3°F | 2.13 | 6 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 61°F | 36°F | 48.5°F | 2.34 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| March | 69°F | 43°F | 56.2°F | 3.00 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 12 h |
| April | 77°F | 52°F | 64.3°F | 3.02 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 62°F | 72.7°F | 4.21 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 92°F | 69°F | 80.2°F | 3.78 | 6 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 96°F | 73°F | 84.5°F | 1.79 | 5 | 28 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 96°F | 72°F | 83.9°F | 2.73 | 5 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 64°F | 76.4°F | 3.01 | 6 | 17 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 79°F | 52°F | 65.2°F | 3.77 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 67°F | 42°F | 54.7°F | 2.24 | 6 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 59°F | 33°F | 46.1°F | 2.23 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 77°F | 52°F | 64.7°F | 34.25 | 73 | 109 | 63 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 54 mm |
| February | 16°C | 2°C | 9.2°C | 59 mm |
| March | 21°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 76 mm |
| April | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 77 mm |
| May | 29°C | 16°C | 22.6°C | 107 mm |
| June | 33°C | 20°C | 26.8°C | 96 mm |
| July | 36°C | 23°C | 29.2°C | 45 mm |
| August | 36°C | 22°C | 28.8°C | 69 mm |
| September | 32°C | 18°C | 24.7°C | 76 mm |
| October | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 96 mm |
| November | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 57 mm |
| December | 15°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 57 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00417388; 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 Rainbow?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, November has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00417388.
When is the last frost at Rainbow?
In Rainbow, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 28 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 7 in half of years and before October 22 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 281 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 71 year in 10 before October 22; 9 in 10 before November 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 225 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 252 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 11 in half of springs and before November 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rainbow in zone 8a in ZIP code 76077, 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 USC00417388; 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 Rainbow?
In a normal year in Rainbow, 109 days a year reach 90°F (25 of them 100°F or more), 63 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 73 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 109a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 25a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 63a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 73a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00417388.
How sunny is it at Rainbow?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Rainbow, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (88%) and February the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 3.0 |
| February | 71% | 3.5 |
| March | 74% | 4.6 |
| April | 76% | 5.6 |
| May | 77% | 6.0 |
| June | 85% | 6.8 |
| July | 88% | 6.9 |
| August | 87% | 6.3 |
| September | 84% | 5.2 |
| October | 81% | 4.2 |
| November | 78% | 3.2 |
| December | 75% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Rainbow record?
A normal year at Rainbow brings 2,575 heating degree days, 52% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,513 cooling degree days, 2.8 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 6,107 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 645 | 2 |
| February | 469 | 5 |
| March | 300 | 27 |
| April | 115 | 93 |
| May | 19 | 259 |
| June | 0 | 458 |
| July | 0 | 604 |
| August | 0 | 586 |
| September | 6 | 348 |
| October | 103 | 108 |
| November | 331 | 21 |
| December | 587 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 2,575 | 2,513 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00417388. 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 Rainbow's climate compare?
Rainbow is warmer than 116 of the 321 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 180. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.7°F is warmer than 87%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rainbow 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 Rainbow 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.
- Pecan Plantation, TX6,539 people · 8 mi NE
- Glen Rose, TX3,033 people · 3 mi SW
- Canyon Creek, TX963 people · 9 mi N
- Walnut Springs, TX898 people · 14 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 Rainbow's climate
What is the coldest month at Rainbow?
January, with a normal high of 57°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (96°F by day, 73°F at night).
Does it snow at Rainbow?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.1 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Rainbow?
May, with 4.21 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 1.79 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rainbow in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rainbow in zone 8a in ZIP code 76077, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Rainbow?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 28; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cleburne, TX18 miles from this station, 65.0°F a year
- Granbury, TX19 miles from this station, 64.8°F a year
- Hico, TX27 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Burleson, TX27 miles from this station, 64.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made