Red Cloud, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Red Cloud's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 25.5 inches of precipitation and 19 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.6°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 33°C, 647 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRed Cloud
- Station IDUSC00257070
- Location40.10°N 98.52°W
- Elevation1,732 ft (528 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population938
On October 23, the normal high in Red Cloud is 64°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Red Cloud.
- Jan 37° 13°
- Feb 42° 16°
- Mar 54° 25°
- Apr 64° 35°
- May 74° 47°
- Jun 86° 59°
- Jul 91° 64°
- Aug 88° 61°
- Sep 80° 51°
- Oct 67° 37°
- Nov 52° 25°
- Dec 40° 15°
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 Red Cloud each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.19 in), the least in January (0.52 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 13°F | 24.9°F | 0.52 | 4.9 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 16°F | 28.7°F | 0.65 | 5.6 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 25°F | 39.4°F | 1.25 | 2.4 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 35°F | 49.8°F | 2.22 | 0.8 | 6 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 47°F | 60.8°F | 4.19 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 86°F | 59°F | 72.2°F | 3.61 | 0.0 | 9 | 10 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 91°F | 64°F | 77.2°F | 3.88 | 0.0 | 8 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 88°F | 61°F | 74.7°F | 3.38 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 51°F | 65.6°F | 1.96 | 0.0 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 37°F | 52.1°F | 1.98 | 0.8 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 25°F | 38.3°F | 1.11 | 1.1 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| December | 40°F | 15°F | 27.7°F | 0.71 | 3.0 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 37°F | 51.0°F | 25.46 | 18.6 | 65 | 50 | 160 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −11°C | −3.9°C | 13 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 5°C | −9°C | −1.8°C | 17 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 12°C | −4°C | 4.1°C | 32 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 18°C | 2°C | 9.9°C | 56 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 9°C | 16.0°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 15°C | 22.3°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 18°C | 25.1°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 16°C | 23.7°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 11°C | 18.7°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 3°C | 11.2°C | 50 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 11°C | −4°C | 3.5°C | 28 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 4°C | −9°C | −2.4°C | 18 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00257070; 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 Red Cloud?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, 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 USC00257070.
When is the last frost in Red Cloud?
In Red Cloud, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 22; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 176 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Red Cloud in zone 5b in ZIP code 68970, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Red Cloud's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nebraska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00257070; 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 Red Cloud?
In a normal year in Red Cloud, 50 days a year reach 90°F (9 of them 100°F or more), 160 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 65 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 50a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 160a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 33high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 65a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1901) is 117°F, on July 13, 1934; the lowest is −36°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 40.42 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 60.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00257070; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00257070. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Red Cloud?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Red Cloud, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.3 |
| February | 73% | 3.1 |
| March | 73% | 4.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 6.1 |
| June | 84% | 6.9 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 78% | 3.5 |
| November | 78% | 2.5 |
| December | 73% | 1.9 |
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 Red Cloud need?
A normal year in Red Cloud brings 6,210 heating degree days, 16% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,124 cooling degree days, 24% 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 3,430 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,243 | 0 |
| February | 1,016 | 0 |
| March | 796 | 1 |
| April | 462 | 6 |
| May | 192 | 60 |
| June | 21 | 237 |
| July | 2 | 382 |
| August | 6 | 306 |
| September | 101 | 120 |
| October | 414 | 13 |
| November | 800 | 0 |
| December | 1,156 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,210 | 1,124 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00257070. 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 Red Cloud been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 53.6°F, 2.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.0°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.0°F | +1.0°F | 31.96 | 26.1 |
| 2022 | 50.9°F | −0.1°F | 21.13 | 9.0 |
| 2023 | 52.5°F | +1.5°F | 26.16 | 23.5 |
| 2024 | 53.6°F | +2.6°F | 23.48 | 11.9 |
Over 100 complete years from 1895 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.3°F per century (+0.02°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00257070; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Red Cloud's climate compare?
Red Cloud is warmer than 99 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 52. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.0°F is warmer than 45%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Red Cloud 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 Red Cloud share this climate record?
7 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.
- Blue Hill, NE786 people · 17 mi N
- Lawrence, NE272 people · 19 mi NE
- Campbell, NE259 people · 18 mi NW
- Bladen, NE201 people · 16 mi N
- Lebanon, KS181 people · 20 mi S
- Inavale, NE36 people · 7 mi W
- Cowles, NE21 people · 6 mi NE
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 Red Cloud's climate
What is the coldest month in Red Cloud?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Red Cloud?
Yes: 19 inches in a normal year, falling on 10 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Red Cloud?
May, with 4.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.52 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Red Cloud in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Red Cloud in zone 5b in ZIP code 68970, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Red Cloud's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Red Cloud?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Burr Oak, KS19 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Franklin, NE22 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Superior, NE24 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Smith Center, KS26 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made