Salem, AR Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Salem's primary NOAA station, SALEM.
The climate verdict for Salem
Water is the standout signal in Salem, Arkansas: 49.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 58°F. It scores 83/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 81% of them.
- 58°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 83/100
- comfort score, above 81% of station-mapped location scores
- 49.5"
- annual precipitation · 5" snow
- 205 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Salem: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00036403 · Salem, AR 58°F mean · 49.5" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 58°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,665
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Washburn
- PRCP-MID 49.5"
- SWING-MID 43°F
- COMF-TOP 83/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,182 HDD
- STN-1 USC00036403
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Washburn, MO (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every AR station list.
- Salem (this station) 58°F
- Hot Washburn, MO 58°F
- Cold Doniphan, MO 57°F
- Near Barren Rvr Lake, KY 57°F
- Near Hereford, TX 57°F
Climate Living Index · Salem
Salem: 65/100 · grade C
Salem publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Salem, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 83/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 4.8 inches/year | 71/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 57.5°F · 10.0° from 67.5°F | 68/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 205 days/year | 68/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 115 calendar days | 67/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 49.5 in · 14.5 from 35 in | 49/100 · D |
Salem · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Salem is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 35.3°F and warmest-month mean 78.7°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 78.7°F
- Coldest month
- 35.3°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Salem sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Salem's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 68th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 20% wettest
- Salem's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 50th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Salem compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Salem's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
83 Top 19% score exceeds 81% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F (8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 3.4" | 1.6" | 23.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 50°F (10°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 3.6" | 1.0" | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (16°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 4.9" | 1.4" | 11.7 | 0.1 |
| April | 70°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 2.4 | 0.3 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 1.0 |
| June | 86°F (30°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.4 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.4 |
| August | 89°F (32°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.3 |
| September | 82°F (28°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| October | 71°F (21°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 2.0 | 0.3 |
| November | 58°F (15°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 4.7" | 0.1" | 12.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 3.8" | 0.7" | 22.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Salem works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 90°F by July 31 and hold at or above 90°F on 15 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 100 dates, bottoming at 25°F around January 16.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 27 through August 10, covering 15 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 14 to October 17.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 4, then returns to freezing around November 26, covering 100 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 7, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 9 at 20%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 99 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Salem.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 1.6"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.0"
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
9.9 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
6.2 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
8.0 days with precipitation
Salem spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 22% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Salem has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: April averages 5.3" and January 3.4". The three wettest months together take 31% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Salem, it arrives in quantity
49.6" of precipitation falls across only about 98 wet days here, averaging 0.50 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 98 a year, 27% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.50 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 6
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Salem, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 4.8 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 2 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 30
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 8
50% probability date
Growing Season
205 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,182
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,480
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AR closest to Salem on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (58°F here).
- Abilene, KS 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Ashland, VA 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Bowling Green, KY 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Branson, MO 58°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (49.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Madison, WV 49.5" · 0.0" off
- Lexington, GA 49.5" · 0.0" off
- New Brunswick, NJ 49.5" · 0.0" off
- Elnora, IN 49.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Salem's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Salem's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,182 annual heating degree days against 1,480 for cooling. Its 43.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Salem's frost-free season lasts about 205 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Salem's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 43.4°F. The annual average is 58°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Salem carries 49.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Annual snowfall totals 4.8 inches. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Salem's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Salem, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Salem's climate
How much rain does Salem get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Salem get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Salem? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Salem's primary station: SALEM (USC00036403). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The exact name-and-state crosswalk returns more than one Census place, so PlainClimate leaves the place identity unresolved. Because Salem hits multiple Gazetteer rows, PlainClimate refuses to pick one and shows the unresolved badge instead of inventing a GEOID.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Salem comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.