PlainClimate
NOAA 1991–2020 normals Census-designated place · exact match 1 NOAA station · Primary-station record

Sanderson, TX 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 Sanderson's primary NOAA station, SANDERSON.

The climate verdict for Sanderson

Dryness leads the climate profile for Sanderson, Texas, with 14.3 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 66°F. It scores 87/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 87% of them.

66°F
annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
87/100
comfort score, above 87% of station-mapped location scores
14.3"
precipitation, annual total
245 days
frost-free growing season

Sanderson: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.

Normals record plate

Sheet USC00418022 · Sanderson, TX 66°F mean · 14.3" precip

TEMP-MILD · RANK-WARM · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL

Nearest mean-temperature peer: Bardwell Dam, TX (+ 0 °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 TX station list.

Sanderson sits in Texas, the #4 hottest U.S. state at 66.2°F statewide annual average - see all 50 hottest states ranked by NOAA normals

Climate Living Index · Sanderson

Sanderson: 69/100 · grade C

Sanderson publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.

C
69/100Climate Living Index

PlainClimate-derived for Sanderson, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 87/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.

Sanderson Living Index dimension scores
DimensionStation valueScore
Annual temperature balance 65.8°F · 1.7° from 67.5°F 94/100 · A
Frost-free season 245 days/year 87/100 · A
Snowfall burden 0.4 inches/year 87/100 · A
Normal heat + freeze calendar 134 calendar days 56/100 · C
Precipitation balance 14.3 in · 20.7 from 35 in 26/100 · F

Sanderson · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.

Sanderson's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSh

Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: hot semi-arid steppe (BSh). Class BSh is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically hot semi-arid steppe.

Köppen code
BSh
Group
Dry (arid or semi-arid)
Warmest month
82.1°F
Coldest month
47.0°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 · balanced station

Where Sanderson sits across the climate record

Three NOAA fields for Sanderson's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.

Annual temperature
Top 10% warmest
Among 6,861 stations, Sanderson sits in the warmer third of annual means.
Annual precipitation
Drier than 85%
Sanderson's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
Seasonal temperature swing
Narrower than 82%
Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Sanderson is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.

How Sanderson compares across U.S. station-mapped locations

Sanderson's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations

PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals

87 Top 13% score exceeds 87% 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. This location 0 100 every station-mapped location, bucketed by value
  1. 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  2. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  3. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
  4. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
  5. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
  6. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
  7. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
  8. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
  9. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
  10. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more station-mapped locations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Monthly Temperatures

Average daily high and low temperatures by month

Month Avg High Avg Low Mean
January 62°F (17°C) 32°F (0°C) 47°F (8°C)
February 66°F (19°C) 37°F (3°C) 52°F (11°C)
March 74°F (23°C) 44°F (7°C) 59°F (15°C)
April 82°F (28°C) 52°F (11°C) 67°F (19°C)
May 89°F (32°C) 62°F (16°C) 75°F (24°C)
June 94°F (35°C) 69°F (20°C) 82°F (28°C)
July 94°F (34°C) 70°F (21°C) 82°F (28°C)
August 95°F (35°C) 70°F (21°C) 82°F (28°C)
September 88°F (31°C) 64°F (18°C) 76°F (24°C)
October 80°F (27°C) 52°F (11°C) 66°F (19°C)
November 70°F (21°C) 41°F (5°C) 55°F (13°C)
December 62°F (17°C) 33°F (1°C) 48°F (9°C)

The year, day by day

Sanderson works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 96°F by August 7 and hold at or above 90°F on 111 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 23 dates, bottoming at 32°F around January 4.

Normal daily high and low temperature for Sanderson, January through December Peaks 96°F around August 7. Bottoms 32°F around January 4. 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 freezing JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal daily high and low across the calendar year. NOAA 1991–2020 daily normals, SANDERSON.

When the heat sits

Normal highs reach 90°F from May 20 through September 7, covering 111 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 4 to November 14.

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 January 17, then returns to freezing around December 26, covering 23 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 September 1, when 19% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 20 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 47 wet dates a year.

The widest day

April 7 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.

Look up any date

Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sanderson.

Where Sanderson Stands Nationally

Summers here run among the most heat-heavy normals calendars in the country: on about 111 days a year the normal daily high itself reaches 90°F — a count fewer than one station in ten exceeds.

A drier-than-most normal water year — around 14 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.

Sanderson earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.

Monthly Precipitation

Average monthly rainfall and snowfall

January 0.6"

Snow: 0.2"

3.1 days with precipitation

February 0.5"

3.6 days with precipitation

March 0.8"

3.0 days with precipitation

April 0.6"

2.6 days with precipitation

May 1.7"

4.9 days with precipitation

June 2.3"

5.0 days with precipitation

July 2.0"

4.3 days with precipitation

August 1.6"

5.1 days with precipitation

September 1.8"

5.2 days with precipitation

October 1.1"

4.8 days with precipitation

November 0.5"

2.7 days with precipitation

December 0.7"

Snow: 0.2"

2.5 days with precipitation

Sanderson runs a summer-peaked wet season

42% of Sanderson's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 2.3", on a 35.1°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.

Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.

How Sanderson's precipitation splits across the calendar

About 47 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 14.3" between them, or roughly 0.31 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.

Wet days a year
47
Wettest month by days
September
Driest month by days
December

A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.

Snow reaches Sanderson, but rarely amounts to much

The normals record 0.4 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 0 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

November 11

50% probability date

Last Spring Freeze

March 11

50% probability date

Growing Season

245 days

Heating & Cooling Degree Days

Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling

Heating Degree Days

2,151

Higher = more heating needed

Cooling Degree Days

2,476

Higher = more cooling needed

Warmest Month

August

Coldest Month

January

Nationwide similar cities

Other rankable U.S. places outside TX closest to Sanderson 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 (66°F here).

Closest by annual precipitation

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.

Texas climate overview →

Scarce-water calendar

Where Sanderson's limited precipitation lands

mixed demand · dry · mid swing

Local precipitation is sparse in this otherwise mixed profile. The station reports 14.3 inches annually, within PlainClimate's dry band. Recorded annual snowfall is negligible. The monthly distribution matters because the total alone does not reveal the timing.

August and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Sanderson's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 35.1°F. The annual average is 66°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.

Heating and cooling both register in Sanderson's normal, at 2,151 and 2,476 degree days respectively. Neither total exceeds the other by more than two to one, so the record is better read as a mixed-demand calendar than as heating-led or cooling-led.

Sanderson has a long frost-free window of roughly 245 days, but the dry annual profile is a separate constraint. Growing-season length says when freezes are unlikely, not whether rainfall is sufficient.

Sanderson wettest normal

June

June concentrates the scarce annual total (14.3 inches).

Sanderson driest normal

February

February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.

Questions about Sanderson's climate

How dry is Sanderson?
Sanderson receives 14.3 inches of precipitation a year, spread across roughly 47 days that record any measurable amount. For reference, the contiguous United States averages near 30 inches. Based on NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991-2020).
How many days above 90°F does Sanderson get?
Sanderson averages about 107 days a year at or above 90°F, concentrated in August and the months either side of it. That is a count of days reaching the threshold, not a measure of how far above it they go.
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sanderson?
Sanderson has 2,151 heating degree days and 2,476 cooling degree days annually, a fairly balanced heating/cooling split. Degree-day definitions: reading weather data.

Data Sources

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sanderson's primary station: SANDERSON (USC00418022). For informational purposes only.

Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 4865084), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Sanderson: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainClimate

On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Sanderson 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.