Sterling, KS Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Sterling's primary NOAA station, STERLING.
The climate verdict for Sterling
Sterling, Kansas has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 56°F. It scores 78/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 72% of them.
- 56°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 78/100
- comfort score, above 72% of station-mapped location scores
- 29.0"
- annual precipitation · 9" snow
- 191 days
- frost-free growing season
Sterling: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00147796 · Sterling, KS 56°F mean · 29.0" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 56°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,254
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hays
- PRCP-MID 29.0"
- SWING-WIDE 50°F
- COMF-TOP 78/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,028 HDD
- STN-1 USC00147796
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hays, KS (+ 0.1 °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 KS station list.
- Sterling (this station) 56°F
- Hot Mcpherson, KS 56°F
- Near Hays, KS 56°F
- Cold Cimarron, KS 55°F
- Near Wilmore, KS 55°F
Climate Living Index · Sterling
Sterling: 53/100 · grade D
Sterling publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Sterling, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 78/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 29.0 in · 6.0 from 35 in | 79/100 · B |
| Snowfall burden | 9.3 inches/year | 64/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 55.5°F · 12.0° from 67.5°F | 61/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 191 days/year | 58/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 182 calendar days | 24/100 · F |
Sterling · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Sterling is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 30.7°F and warmest-month mean 80.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 80.6°F
- Coldest month
- 30.7°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 Sterling sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Sterling's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 62nd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 39th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 80%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Sterling is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Sterling compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Sterling's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
78 Top 28% score exceeds 72% 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%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Sterling's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 69 complete annual observations from 1953 to 2025, STERLING warmed at a fitted rate of 0.13°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Sterling primary station fitted change +0.13 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F (5°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 3.3" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 46°F (8°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.9" | 2.6" | 23.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 57°F (14°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 2.0" | 0.7" | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 67°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.4" | 0.2" | 4.7 | 0.6 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 3.2 |
| June | 88°F (31°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.7 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 81°F (27°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 20.9 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.6 |
| September | 82°F (28°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 7.5 |
| October | 70°F (21°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.5" | 0.1" | 3.1 | 0.7 |
| November | 56°F (13°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.1" | 0.6" | 16.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 44°F (7°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.0" | 1.8" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Sterling works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 93°F by July 18 and hold at or above 90°F on 56 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 126 dates, bottoming at 19°F around January 12.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 24 through August 18, covering 56 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 28 to October 15.
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 13, covering 126 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 May 10, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 9 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 75 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 1 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sterling.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.3"
4.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
7.6 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
5.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
4.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.8"
4.4 days with precipitation
Sterling runs a summer-peaked wet season
40% of Sterling'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 May at 4.7", on a wide 49.9°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. 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: May, June, August, taking 43% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.8".
- Winter share: 10% 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.
When it rains in Sterling, it arrives in quantity
29.0" of precipitation falls across only about 75 wet days here, averaging 0.39 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 75 a year, 21% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.39 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 9
- Fewest wet days
- January, about 4
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Sterling, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 9.3 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 5 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 15
50% probability date
Growing Season
191 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,028
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,585
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Sterling 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 (56°F here).
- Allardt, TN 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Castle Valley, UT 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Hayesville, NC 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Hillsboro, IL 56°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (29.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Seymour, TX 29.0" · 0.0" off
- Friend, NE 29.0" · 0.0" off
- Putnam, TX 29.0" · 0.0" off
- Anacortes, WA 29.0" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Sterling's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Sterling's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,028 annual heating degree days against 1,585 for cooling. Its 49.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Sterling's frost-free season lasts about 191 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 Sterling's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 49.9°F. The annual average is 56°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Sterling's 29.0 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Annual snowfall totals 9.3 inches. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Sterling'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 Sterling, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Sterling's climate
How much rain does Sterling get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Sterling get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sterling? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sterling's primary station: STERLING (USC00147796). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2068200). Match rule for Sterling: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Sterling 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.