Stapleton, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Stapleton's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 23.8 inches of precipitation and 37 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.0°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 604 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationStapleton (5 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00258133
- Location41.46°N 100.60°W
- Elevation3,022 ft (921 m)
- Population260
On October 23, the normal high in Stapleton is 60°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Stapleton.
- Jan 37° 12°
- Feb 40° 14°
- Mar 52° 23°
- Apr 61° 32°
- May 70° 43°
- Jun 81° 54°
- Jul 87° 59°
- Aug 85° 57°
- Sep 77° 47°
- Oct 64° 34°
- Nov 50° 22°
- Dec 39° 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 Stapleton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.20 in), the least in January (0.59 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 12°F | 24.8°F | 0.59 | 5.5 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 40°F | 14°F | 27.3°F | 0.91 | 8.6 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 23°F | 37.4°F | 1.36 | 5.2 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 32°F | 46.3°F | 2.78 | 5.8 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 43°F | 56.8°F | 3.46 | 0.2 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 81°F | 54°F | 67.5°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 12 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 87°F | 59°F | 73.2°F | 3.07 | 0.0 | 11 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 57°F | 71.0°F | 2.41 | 0.0 | 8 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 47°F | 62.3°F | 1.80 | 0.1 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 34°F | 48.9°F | 1.81 | 2.2 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 22°F | 36.1°F | 0.70 | 4.0 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 14°F | 26.4°F | 0.68 | 5.8 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 34°F | 48.2°F | 23.77 | 37.4 | 93 | 34 | 175 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −11°C | −4.0°C | 15 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 5°C | −10°C | −2.6°C | 23 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 11°C | −5°C | 3.0°C | 35 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 16°C | 0°C | 7.9°C | 71 mm | 15 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.8°C | 88 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 27°C | 12°C | 19.7°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 15°C | 22.9°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 14°C | 21.7°C | 61 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 9°C | 16.8°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 1°C | 9.4°C | 46 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 10°C | −5°C | 2.3°C | 18 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 4°C | −10°C | −3.1°C | 17 mm | 15 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00258133; 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 Stapleton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August 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 USC00258133.
When is the last frost in Stapleton?
In Stapleton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 20 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 81 year in 10 after May 24; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 164 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Stapleton in zone 5b in ZIP code 69163, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Stapleton's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (29 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 USC00258133; 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 Stapleton?
In a normal year in Stapleton, 34 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 175 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 93 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 34a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 175a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 93a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1989) is 108°F, on July 3, 1990; the lowest is −32°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 35.10 in; the snowiest season is 2018–19, with 62.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00258133; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00258133. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Stapleton?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Stapleton, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and April the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.3 |
| February | 76% | 3.2 |
| March | 74% | 4.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 6.2 |
| June | 83% | 7.0 |
| July | 87% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 6.0 |
| September | 83% | 4.9 |
| October | 79% | 3.5 |
| November | 79% | 2.5 |
| December | 76% | 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 Stapleton need?
A normal year in Stapleton brings 6,792 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 692 cooling degree days, 24% fewer 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 2,737 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,246 | 0 |
| February | 1,055 | 0 |
| March | 857 | 0 |
| April | 562 | 1 |
| May | 280 | 26 |
| June | 53 | 130 |
| July | 8 | 262 |
| August | 18 | 203 |
| September | 147 | 67 |
| October | 502 | 3 |
| November | 867 | 0 |
| December | 1,195 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,792 | 692 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00258133. 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 Stapleton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.2°F, 2.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.8°F | +1.6°F | 19.03 | 26.9 |
| 2022 | 48.4°F | +0.1°F | 14.67 | 21.4 |
| 2023 | 48.8°F | +0.6°F | 24.12 | 49.1 |
| 2024 | 51.1°F | +2.9°F | 20.66 | 14.0 |
| 2025 | 50.2°F | +2.0°F | 23.44 | – |
Over 31 complete years from 1990 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.6°F per century (+0.31°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00258133; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Stapleton's climate compare?
Stapleton is warmer than 26 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 39. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.2°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Stapleton 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 Stapleton 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.
- Tryon, NE136 people · 20 mi W
- Gandy, NE31 people · 7 mi E
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 Stapleton's climate
What is the coldest month in Stapleton?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Stapleton?
Yes: 37 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Stapleton?
June, with 4.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.59 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Stapleton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Stapleton in zone 5b in ZIP code 69163, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Stapleton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Stapleton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 24. Waiting until May 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Arnold, NE17 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- North Platte, NE24 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- North Platte Experiment Farm, NE29 miles from this station, 49.1°F a year
- Callaway, NE30 miles from this station, 49.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made