St. Joseph, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
St. Joseph's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 34.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 31°C, 883 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSt Joseph Rosecrans Airport
- Station IDUSW00013993
- Location39.77°N 94.92°W
- Elevation818 ft (249 m)
- From the center6 miles
- Population71,098
On October 14, the normal high in St. Joseph is 69°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 St. Joseph.
- Jan 37° 17°
- Feb 43° 21°
- Mar 55° 32°
- Apr 66° 42°
- May 76° 54°
- Jun 85° 64°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 86° 65°
- Sep 80° 54°
- Oct 68° 43°
- Nov 53° 31°
- Dec 41° 21°
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 St. Joseph each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.87 in), the least in January (0.71 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 | 37°F | 17°F | 27.3°F | 0.71 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 21°F | 32.0°F | 0.95 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 32°F | 43.3°F | 2.06 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 42°F | 53.8°F | 3.71 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 54°F | 64.8°F | 4.87 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 85°F | 64°F | 74.2°F | 4.75 | 12 | 8 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.7°F | 4.73 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 86°F | 65°F | 75.3°F | 3.84 | 9 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 54°F | 67.0°F | 3.18 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 43°F | 55.3°F | 2.84 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 31°F | 42.0°F | 1.87 | 6 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 21°F | 31.1°F | 1.25 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 43°F | 53.7°F | 34.76 | 99 | 39 | 126 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −8°C | −2.6°C | 18 mm |
| February | 6°C | −6°C | 0.0°C | 24 mm |
| March | 13°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 52 mm |
| April | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 94 mm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 124 mm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 121 mm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.4°C | 120 mm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 98 mm |
| September | 27°C | 12°C | 19.4°C | 81 mm |
| October | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 72 mm |
| November | 12°C | −1°C | 5.6°C | 47 mm |
| December | 5°C | −6°C | −0.5°C | 32 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Troy (10 miles away), gets 21 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013993; 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 St. Joseph?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USW00013993.
When is the last frost in St. Joseph?
In St. Joseph, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before September 30 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 191 year in 10 after May 3; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 200 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts St. Joseph in zone 6a across its 6 ZIP code areas (6a in 64506, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, St. Joseph's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (23 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00013993; 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.
What hardiness zone is each St. Joseph ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. St. Joseph's 6 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in St. Joseph?
In a normal year in St. Joseph, 39 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 126 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 99 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 39a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 126a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 28high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 99a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1908) is 110°F, on August 10, 1934; the lowest is −25°F, on January 12, 1974.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 55.60 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 43.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013993; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00013993. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is St. Joseph?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around St. Joseph, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and March the cloudiest (69%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 276th (with 27 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.1 |
| February | 71% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.5 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 75% | 3.4 |
| November | 74% | 2.4 |
| December | 70% | 1.9 |
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 St. Joseph need?
A normal year in St. Joseph brings 5,385 heating degree days, 0% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,288 cooling degree days, 42% 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 3,861 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,170 | 0 |
| February | 924 | 0 |
| March | 676 | 3 |
| April | 352 | 18 |
| May | 113 | 105 |
| June | 7 | 284 |
| July | 1 | 394 |
| August | 3 | 324 |
| September | 71 | 133 |
| October | 326 | 25 |
| November | 691 | 1 |
| December | 1,051 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,385 | 1,288 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013993. 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 St. Joseph been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 54.6°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.7°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 51.6°F | −2.1°F | 27.99 |
| 2023 | 55.5°F | +1.8°F | 30.52 |
| 2024 | 57.2°F | +3.5°F | 37.69 |
| 2025 | 54.6°F | +0.9°F | 30.25 |
Over 39 complete years from 1948 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.6°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013993; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does St. Joseph's climate compare?
St. Joseph is warmer than 33 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 0. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.7°F is warmer than 56%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph 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.
- Wathena, KS1,260 people · 1 mi S
- Elwood, KS1,137 people · 2 mi SE
- Bendena, KS140 people · 14 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 St. Joseph's climate
What is the coldest month in St. Joseph?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in St. Joseph?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for St. Joseph's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Troy (10 miles away), records 21 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in St. Joseph?
May, with 4.87 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.71 in.
What plant hardiness zone is St. Joseph in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts St. Joseph in zone 6a across its 6 ZIP code areas (6a in 64506, the largest). By the same method at St. Joseph's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in St. Joseph?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- St. Joseph in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Troy, KS9 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Cosby, MO12 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Atchison, KS17 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
- Oregon, MO19 miles from this station, 52.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made