Smith Center, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Smith Center's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 26.1 inches of precipitation and 18 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.7°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 33°C, 663 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSmith Center
- Station IDUSC00147542
- Location39.78°N 98.78°W
- Elevation1,820 ft (555 m)
- Population1,569
On October 14, the normal high in Smith Center is 69°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Smith Center.
- Jan 39° 16°
- Feb 44° 19°
- Mar 55° 28°
- Apr 66° 38°
- May 76° 50°
- Jun 87° 61°
- Jul 92° 66°
- Aug 89° 63°
- Sep 82° 54°
- Oct 68° 41°
- Nov 53° 28°
- Dec 41° 19°
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 Smith Center each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.39 in), the least in January (0.59 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 16°F | 27.3°F | 0.59 | 4.4 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 44°F | 19°F | 31.2°F | 0.70 | 5.9 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 28°F | 41.6°F | 1.45 | 2.3 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 38°F | 51.8°F | 2.12 | 0.7 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 50°F | 63.0°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 87°F | 61°F | 74.1°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 10 | 13 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 92°F | 66°F | 79.1°F | 4.39 | 0.0 | 10 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 89°F | 63°F | 76.3°F | 3.42 | 0.0 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 82°F | 54°F | 68.0°F | 1.98 | 0.0 | 6 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 41°F | 54.4°F | 1.86 | 0.5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 28°F | 40.5°F | 1.16 | 1.5 | 5 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 19°F | 29.8°F | 0.79 | 3.0 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 40°F | 53.1°F | 26.10 | 18.3 | 84 | 61 | 136 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −9°C | −2.6°C | 15 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 7°C | −7°C | −0.4°C | 18 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 13°C | −2°C | 5.3°C | 37 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 19°C | 3°C | 11.0°C | 54 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 16°C | 23.4°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 19°C | 26.2°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 17°C | 24.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 12°C | 20.0°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 5°C | 12.4°C | 47 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 12°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 29 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 5°C | −7°C | −1.2°C | 20 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00147542; 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 Smith Center?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00147542.
When is the last frost in Smith Center?
In Smith Center, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before September 28 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 241 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 173 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 192 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 13 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Smith Center in zone 6a in ZIP code 66967, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Smith Center's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00147542; 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 Smith Center?
In a normal year in Smith Center, 61 days a year reach 90°F (12 of them 100°F or more), 136 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 61a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 136a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 28high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1910) is 113°F, on June 28, 2012; the lowest is −26°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 40.30 in; the snowiest season is 1957–58, with 47.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00147542; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00147542. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Smith Center?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Smith Center, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and February the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.4 |
| February | 75% | 3.2 |
| March | 75% | 4.3 |
| April | 75% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 6.2 |
| June | 84% | 7.0 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 85% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.9 |
| October | 79% | 3.6 |
| November | 80% | 2.7 |
| December | 76% | 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 Smith Center need?
A normal year in Smith Center brings 5,645 heating degree days, 5% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,342 cooling degree days, 48% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,826 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,169 | 0 |
| February | 945 | 0 |
| March | 725 | 1 |
| April | 406 | 10 |
| May | 146 | 83 |
| June | 11 | 282 |
| July | 0 | 437 |
| August | 3 | 352 |
| September | 66 | 158 |
| October | 348 | 19 |
| November | 734 | 0 |
| December | 1,093 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,645 | 1,342 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00147542. 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 Smith Center been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 54.5°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.1°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.3°F | +1.2°F | 25.67 | 16.1 |
| 2022 | 53.1°F | at normal | 18.73 | 15.7 |
| 2023 | 54.3°F | +1.2°F | 25.23 | 16.2 |
| 2025 | 54.5°F | +1.4°F | 23.42 | 11.3 |
Over 55 complete years from 1958 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.0°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00147542; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Smith Center's climate compare?
Smith Center is warmer than 24 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 41. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.1°F is warmer than 54%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Smith Center is Dfa: continental, 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 Smith Center share this climate record?
3 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.
- Gaylord, KS84 people · 10 mi S
- Portis, KS84 people · 15 mi S
- Athol, KS41 people · 8 mi W
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 Smith Center's climate
What is the coldest month in Smith Center?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Smith Center?
Yes: 18 inches in a normal year, falling on 12 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Smith Center?
July, with 4.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.59 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Smith Center in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Smith Center in zone 6a in ZIP code 66967, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Smith Center's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Smith Center?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Kirwin, KS20 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Alton, KS23 miles from this station, 53.2°F a year
- Franklin, NE24 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Red Cloud, NE26 miles from this station, 51.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made