Sidney, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sidney's normal year runs from 14°F December nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 15.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.2°C, December lows of −10°C, July highs of 32°C, 402 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSidney Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00024030
- Location41.10°N 102.98°W
- Elevation4,309 ft (1,313 m)
- Population6,483
On October 23, the normal high in Sidney is 61°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Sidney.
- Jan 42° 14°
- Feb 44° 15°
- Mar 54° 23°
- Apr 61° 30°
- May 70° 40°
- Jun 82° 51°
- Jul 90° 57°
- Aug 88° 55°
- Sep 79° 46°
- Oct 64° 32°
- Nov 51° 21°
- Dec 42° 14°
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 Sidney each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.15 in), the least in January (0.14 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 14°F | 27.6°F | 0.14 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 44°F | 15°F | 29.3°F | 0.22 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 23°F | 38.3°F | 0.58 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 30°F | 45.3°F | 1.67 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 40°F | 55.2°F | 2.87 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 51°F | 66.5°F | 3.15 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 90°F | 57°F | 73.7°F | 2.15 | 10 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 88°F | 55°F | 71.6°F | 2.03 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 46°F | 62.3°F | 1.31 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 32°F | 48.1°F | 1.01 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 21°F | 36.2°F | 0.51 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h |
| December | 42°F | 14°F | 27.5°F | 0.20 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 33°F | 48.5°F | 15.84 | 84 | 47 | 180 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −10°C | −2.4°C | 4 mm |
| February | 6°C | −9°C | −1.5°C | 6 mm |
| March | 12°C | −5°C | 3.5°C | 15 mm |
| April | 16°C | −1°C | 7.4°C | 42 mm |
| May | 21°C | 5°C | 12.9°C | 73 mm |
| June | 28°C | 10°C | 19.2°C | 80 mm |
| July | 32°C | 14°C | 23.2°C | 55 mm |
| August | 31°C | 13°C | 22.0°C | 52 mm |
| September | 26°C | 8°C | 16.8°C | 33 mm |
| October | 18°C | 0°C | 8.9°C | 26 mm |
| November | 11°C | −6°C | 2.3°C | 13 mm |
| December | 5°C | −10°C | −2.5°C | 5 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Sidney's own co-op station Sidney (6 mi NNW) does: 29 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024030; 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 Sidney?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USW00024030.
When is the last frost in Sidney?
In Sidney, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 15 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 151 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after May 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 135 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 154 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sidney in zone 5b in ZIP code 69162, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Sidney's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (20 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 USW00024030; 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 Sidney?
In a normal year in Sidney, 47 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 180 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 47a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 180a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 111°F, on June 26, 2012; the lowest is −31°F, on February 14, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 27.53 in; the snowiest season is 1983–84, with 87.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024030; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00024030. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Sidney, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 52°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 55°F; the driest air comes in December (15°F). March is the windiest month (13.2 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (85%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°F | 61% | 41% | 12.3 mph | 72% | 16% |
| February | 18°F | 58% | 35% | 12.7 mph | 73% | 16% |
| March | 26°F | 55% | 32% | 13.2 mph | – | – |
| April | 34°F | 57% | 35% | 12.6 mph | 65% | 15% |
| May | 46°F | 60% | 38% | 11.0 mph | 70% | 16% |
| June | 52°F | 53% | 29% | 10.6 mph | 85% | 5% |
| July | 55°F | 56% | 31% | 9.7 mph | 81% | 7% |
| August | 49°F | 52% | 27% | 10.5 mph | 84% | 6% |
| September | 38°F | 53% | 30% | 11.1 mph | 80% | 11% |
| October | 26°F | 58% | 35% | 11.6 mph | 76% | 15% |
| November | 18°F | 60% | 39% | 12.3 mph | 77% | 14% |
| December | 15°F | 65% | 48% | 12.1 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024030. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Sidney?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sidney, 4.7 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 | 80% | 2.4 |
| February | 77% | 3.3 |
| March | 76% | 4.4 |
| April | 75% | 5.5 |
| May | 76% | 6.3 |
| June | 85% | 7.3 |
| July | 87% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.3 |
| September | 85% | 5.1 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.6 |
| December | 78% | 2.0 |
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 Sidney need?
A normal year in Sidney brings 6,680 heating degree days, 24% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 692 cooling degree days, 24% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,660 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,161 | 0 |
| February | 998 | 0 |
| March | 826 | 0 |
| April | 591 | 0 |
| May | 319 | 15 |
| June | 69 | 114 |
| July | 6 | 275 |
| August | 16 | 220 |
| September | 144 | 65 |
| October | 526 | 3 |
| November | 863 | 0 |
| December | 1,161 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,680 | 692 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024030. 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 Sidney been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.5°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.5°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 48.2°F | −0.3°F | 6.19 |
| 2023 | 48.0°F | −0.5°F | 22.63 |
| 2024 | 51.1°F | +2.6°F | 12.11 |
| 2025 | 49.5°F | +1.0°F | 17.26 |
Over 64 complete years from 1950 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024030; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sidney's climate compare?
Sidney is warmer than 35 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 6. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.5°F is warmer than 34%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sidney is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Sidney share this climate record?
2 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.
- Peetz, CO203 people · 12 mi SW
- Lorenzo, NE12 people · 6 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Sidney's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Sidney. This page uses Sidney Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney (6 mi NNW) USC00257830 | 9 mi N | 4,320 ft | 49.4°F | 17°F | 88°F | 18.2 | 29 | May 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Sidney's climate
What is the coldest month in Sidney?
December, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Sidney?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Sidney's NOAA station; Sidney's own co-op station Sidney (6 mi NNW) records 29 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Sidney?
June, with 3.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.14 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sidney in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sidney in zone 5b in ZIP code 69162, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Sidney's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Sidney?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 30. Waiting until May 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Sidney in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lodgepole, NE19 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Crook, CO19 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Dalton, NE21 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Chappell, NE27 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made