Red Willow Dam, Nebraska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Red Willow Dam's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 20.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.7°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 32°C, 519 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRed Willow Dam
- Station IDUSC00257110
- Location40.36°N 100.66°W
- Elevation2,561 ft (781 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Red Willow Dam is 63°F and the normal low 32°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 Willow Dam.
- Jan 40° 12°
- Feb 43° 14°
- Mar 55° 23°
- Apr 64° 32°
- May 73° 44°
- Jun 84° 55°
- Jul 89° 60°
- Aug 87° 58°
- Sep 79° 47°
- Oct 66° 34°
- Nov 53° 22°
- Dec 42° 13°
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 Red Willow Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.27 in), the least in January (0.28 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 12°F | 26.0°F | 0.28 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 14°F | 28.7°F | 0.44 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 23°F | 39.0°F | 1.05 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 32°F | 47.7°F | 2.05 | 7 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 44°F | 58.5°F | 2.77 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 84°F | 55°F | 69.3°F | 3.27 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 60°F | 74.6°F | 3.19 | 8 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 87°F | 58°F | 72.6°F | 2.89 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 47°F | 63.1°F | 1.72 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 34°F | 50.2°F | 1.66 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 22°F | 37.3°F | 0.64 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 10 h |
| December | 42°F | 13°F | 27.4°F | 0.46 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 35°F | 49.5°F | 20.42 | 66 | 45 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −11°C | −3.3°C | 7 mm |
| February | 6°C | −10°C | −1.8°C | 11 mm |
| March | 13°C | −5°C | 3.9°C | 27 mm |
| April | 18°C | 0°C | 8.7°C | 52 mm |
| May | 23°C | 7°C | 14.7°C | 70 mm |
| June | 29°C | 13°C | 20.7°C | 83 mm |
| July | 32°C | 16°C | 23.7°C | 81 mm |
| August | 31°C | 15°C | 22.6°C | 73 mm |
| September | 26°C | 8°C | 17.3°C | 44 mm |
| October | 19°C | 1°C | 10.1°C | 42 mm |
| November | 11°C | −5°C | 2.9°C | 16 mm |
| December | 5°C | −10°C | −2.6°C | 12 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, McCook station (9 miles away), gets 30 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00257110; 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 Red Willow Dam?
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 USC00257110.
When is the last frost at Red Willow Dam?
In Red Willow Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 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
- May 41 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 149 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 168 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Red Willow Dam in zone 6a in ZIP code 69001, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (15 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 USC00257110; 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 at Red Willow Dam?
In a normal year in Red Willow Dam, 45 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 66 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 45a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 66a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1962) is 109°F, on July 2, 1990; the lowest is −25°F, on December 22, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 26.99 in; the snowiest season is 1983–84, with 39.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00257110; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00257110. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Red Willow Dam?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Red Willow Dam, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.4 |
| February | 75% | 3.2 |
| March | 76% | 4.4 |
| April | 75% | 5.5 |
| May | 77% | 6.3 |
| June | 85% | 7.2 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 86% | 6.1 |
| September | 83% | 5.0 |
| October | 80% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.6 |
| December | 77% | 2.1 |
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 Red Willow Dam record?
A normal year at Red Willow Dam brings 6,427 heating degree days, 20% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 828 cooling degree days, 9% fewer 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 2,956 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,207 | 0 |
| February | 1,016 | 0 |
| March | 806 | 0 |
| April | 521 | 2 |
| May | 233 | 31 |
| June | 36 | 165 |
| July | 5 | 304 |
| August | 12 | 247 |
| September | 132 | 75 |
| October | 463 | 5 |
| November | 830 | 0 |
| December | 1,167 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,427 | 828 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00257110. 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 Red Willow Dam's climate compare?
Red Willow Dam is warmer than 58 of the 137 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 23. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.5°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Red Willow Dam is Dwa: continental, dry-winter, 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.
Questions about Red Willow Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Red Willow Dam?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow at Red Willow Dam?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, McCook station (9 miles away), records 30 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Red Willow Dam?
June, with 3.27 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Red Willow Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Red Willow Dam in zone 6a in ZIP code 69001, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Red Willow Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- McCook, NE11 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- Culbertson, NE12 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Curtis, NE21 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Medicine Creek Dam, NE22 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made