Sanford Dam, TX Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Sanford Dam's primary NOAA station, SANFORD DAM.
The climate verdict for Sanford Dam
Dryness leads the climate profile for Sanford Dam, Texas, with 19.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 58°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 58°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.2"
- precipitation, annual total
- 188 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Sanford Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00418040 · Sanford Dam, TX 58°F mean · 19.2" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 58°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,803
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Carthage
- PRCP-DRY 19.2"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,149 HDD
- STN-1 USC00418040
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Carthage, MO (+ 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.
- Sanford Dam (this station) 58°F
- Cold Bartlesville F…, OK 58°F
- Hot Camargo, OK 58°F
- Near Carthage, MO 58°F
- Near Winfield Stroth…, KS 58°F
Sanford Dam 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 · Sanford Dam
Sanford Dam: 42/100 · grade D
Sanford Dam publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Sanford Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 58.3°F · 9.2° from 67.5°F | 71/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 188 days/year | 56/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 19.2 in · 15.8 from 35 in | 44/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 219 calendar days | 6/100 · F |
Sanford Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Sanford Dam's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 81.1°F
- Coldest month
- 36.7°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 Sanford Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Sanford Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 30% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Sanford Dam sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 74%
- Sanford Dam's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 55th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Sanford Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Sanford Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F (11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.6" | 27.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 55°F (13°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.5" | 21.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 65°F (18°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.2" | 12.0 | 0.2 |
| April | 73°F (23°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 1.7" | 3.5 | 1.9 |
| May | 83°F (28°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 2.3" | 0.2 | 9.4 |
| June | 92°F (34°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 3.0" | 0.0 | 19.3 |
| July | 97°F (36°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 81°F (27°C) | 2.3" | 0.0 | 26.1 |
| August | 94°F (35°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 2.9" | 0.0 | 22.7 |
| September | 87°F (30°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.6" | 0.0 | 11.9 |
| October | 75°F (24°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.9" | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| November | 63°F (17°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.7" | 12.2 | 0.1 |
| December | 52°F (11°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.6" | 25.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Sanford Dam works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 97°F by July 17 and hold at or above 90°F on 92 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 127 dates, bottoming at 21°F around January 8.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 6 through September 5, covering 92 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 1 to October 29.
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 17, then returns to freezing around November 12, covering 127 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 August 6, when 26% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 15 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 63 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 26 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 34°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sanford Dam.
Where Sanford Dam Stands Nationally
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 92 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 34°F between the normal high and low.
Sanford Dam earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
2.3 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
4.2 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
7.0 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
3.5 days with precipitation
3.2 days with precipitation
Sanford Dam runs a summer-peaked wet season
43% of Sanford Dam'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 3.0", on a 44.4°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.
- Wettest three months: June, August, May, taking 43% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.5".
- Winter share: 9% falls in December, January and February.
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 Sanford Dam's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 63 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 19.2" 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.
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 20
50% probability date
Growing Season
188 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,149
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,739
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside TX closest to Sanford Dam 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).
- Blackwell, OK 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Carthage, MO 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Hopkinsville, KY 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Jasper, GA 58°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bottineau, ND 19.2" · 0.0" off
- Merriman, NE 19.2" · 0.0" off
- Sacramento, CA 19.2" · 0.0" off
- Selby, SD 19.2" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Sanford Dam's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Sanford Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,149 annual heating degree days against 1,739 for cooling. Its 44.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Sanford Dam's frost-free season lasts about 188 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 Sanford Dam's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 44.4°F. The annual average is 58°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Sanford Dam's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 19.2 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Sanford Dam'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 Sanford Dam, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Sanford Dam's climate
How much rain does Sanford Dam get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Sanford Dam get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sanford Dam? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sanford Dam's primary station: SANFORD DAM (USC00418040). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Sanford Dam; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Sanford Dam 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.