Salem, Arkansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Salem's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 49.5 inches of precipitation and 5 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.2°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,259 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSalem
- Station IDUSC00036403
- Location36.36°N 91.80°W
- Elevation680 ft (207 m)
- Population1,626
On October 23, the normal high in Salem is 68°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Salem.
- Jan 46° 25°
- Feb 50° 28°
- Mar 60° 35°
- Apr 70° 45°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 86° 64°
- Jul 90° 68°
- Aug 89° 66°
- Sep 82° 58°
- Oct 71° 47°
- Nov 58° 35°
- Dec 48° 28°
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 Salem each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in April (5.32 in), the least in January (3.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 25°F | 35.3°F | 3.41 | 1.6 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 10 h |
| February | 50°F | 28°F | 39.0°F | 3.61 | 1.0 | 8 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 35°F | 47.8°F | 4.90 | 1.4 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 45°F | 57.5°F | 5.32 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 65.9°F | 5.07 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 64°F | 74.8°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 90°F | 68°F | 78.7°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 8 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 89°F | 66°F | 77.8°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 8 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 58°F | 70.0°F | 3.94 | 0.0 | 6 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 47°F | 58.5°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 35°F | 46.8°F | 4.70 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 48°F | 28°F | 37.7°F | 3.77 | 0.7 | 8 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 46°F | 57.5°F | 49.55 | 4.8 | 98 | 51 | 94 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 87 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 10°C | −2°C | 3.9°C | 92 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 16°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 124 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 14.2°C | 135 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 25.9°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 19°C | 25.4°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 96 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00036403; 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 Salem?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00036403.
When is the last frost in Salem?
In Salem, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 8 in half of years and after April 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 18 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 81 year in 10 after April 25; 9 in 10 after March 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 204 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 226 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 29 in half of springs and before November 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Salem in zone 7a in ZIP code 72576, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Salem's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 5°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arkansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00036403; 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 Salem?
In a normal year in Salem, 51 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 94 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 98 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 51a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 94a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 98a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00036403.
How sunny is Salem?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Salem, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.4 |
| February | 67% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 82% | 6.7 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.9 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 74% | 2.7 |
| December | 68% | 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 much heating and cooling does Salem need?
A normal year in Salem brings 4,182 heating degree days, 22% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,480 cooling degree days, 63% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,353 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 921 | 0 |
| February | 727 | 1 |
| March | 537 | 5 |
| April | 250 | 27 |
| May | 79 | 107 |
| June | 3 | 297 |
| July | 0 | 423 |
| August | 1 | 397 |
| September | 34 | 184 |
| October | 237 | 35 |
| November | 548 | 3 |
| December | 846 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,182 | 1,480 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00036403. 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 Salem been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 57.3°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 57.5°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 57.3°F | −0.2°F | 45.83 | 11.5 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00036403. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Salem's climate compare?
Salem is warmer than 9 of the other 85 places with their own NOAA record in Arkansas, and wetter than 22. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.5°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Salem 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 Salem 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.
- Horseshoe Bend, AR2,574 people · 10 mi S
- Oxford, AR604 people · 12 mi SW
- Viola, AR372 people · 11 mi W
- South Fork, MO67 people · 21 mi NW
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 Salem's climate
What is the coldest month in Salem?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Salem?
Yes: 5 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Salem?
April, with 5.32 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 3.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Salem in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Salem in zone 7a in ZIP code 72576, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Salem's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 5°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Salem?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 8; in one year in ten it comes after April 25. Waiting until April 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arkansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hardy, AR17 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Mammoth Spring, AR18 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Evening Shade, AR22 miles from this station, 57.0°F a year
- Calico Rock, AR26 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made