Superior, Nebraska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Superior's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 27.9 inches of precipitation and 21 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.7°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 32°C, 708 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSuperior
- Station IDUSC00258320
- Location40.03°N 98.08°W
- Elevation1,512 ft (461 m)
- Population1,829
On October 23, the normal high in Superior is 63°F and the normal low 36°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 Superior.
- Jan 37° 14°
- Feb 42° 17°
- Mar 53° 27°
- Apr 64° 37°
- May 74° 49°
- Jun 85° 60°
- Jul 89° 65°
- Aug 86° 62°
- Sep 80° 53°
- Oct 67° 39°
- Nov 52° 26°
- Dec 39° 17°
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 Superior each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.51 in), the least in January (0.70 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 14°F | 25.2°F | 0.70 | 5.5 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 17°F | 29.3°F | 0.82 | 6.0 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 27°F | 40.0°F | 1.55 | 2.9 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 37°F | 50.4°F | 2.34 | 0.7 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 49°F | 61.7°F | 4.51 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 85°F | 60°F | 72.4°F | 4.01 | 0.0 | 10 | 10 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 65°F | 76.7°F | 4.06 | 0.0 | 9 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 86°F | 62°F | 74.2°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 9 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 53°F | 66.2°F | 2.27 | 0.0 | 6 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 39°F | 52.9°F | 1.96 | 0.4 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 26°F | 39.0°F | 1.29 | 1.8 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 17°F | 28.1°F | 1.02 | 4.0 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 39°F | 51.3°F | 27.89 | 21.3 | 87 | 50 | 142 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −10°C | −3.8°C | 18 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 5°C | −8°C | −1.5°C | 21 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 12°C | −3°C | 4.4°C | 39 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 18°C | 3°C | 10.2°C | 59 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.5°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 18°C | 24.8°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 12°C | 19.0°C | 58 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 50 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 11°C | −3°C | 3.9°C | 33 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 4°C | −8°C | −2.2°C | 26 mm | 10 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00258320; 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 Superior?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00258320.
When is the last frost in Superior?
In Superior, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 in half of years and before September 26 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 291 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Superior in zone 6a in ZIP code 68978, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Superior's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (24 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 USC00258320; 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 Superior?
In a normal year in Superior, 50 days a year reach 90°F (7 of them 100°F or more), 142 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 87 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 50a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 142a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 30high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 87a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1902) is 108°F, on August 8, 2000; the lowest is −33°F, on February 16, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 48.76 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 64.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00258320; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00258320. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Superior?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Superior, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.3 |
| February | 73% | 3.1 |
| March | 73% | 4.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 6.1 |
| June | 84% | 6.9 |
| July | 86% | 6.8 |
| August | 84% | 5.9 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 78% | 3.5 |
| November | 78% | 2.5 |
| December | 73% | 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 Superior need?
A normal year in Superior brings 6,052 heating degree days, 13% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,104 cooling degree days, 22% 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 3,470 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,234 | 0 |
| February | 1,000 | 0 |
| March | 777 | 1 |
| April | 445 | 7 |
| May | 169 | 66 |
| June | 16 | 237 |
| July | 2 | 363 |
| August | 6 | 292 |
| September | 87 | 125 |
| October | 391 | 14 |
| November | 782 | 0 |
| December | 1,145 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,052 | 1,104 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00258320. 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 Superior been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.9°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.6°F | +1.3°F | 28.22 | 26.1 |
| 2024 | 53.4°F | +2.1°F | 22.81 | 15.5 |
| 2025 | 52.9°F | +1.6°F | 25.03 | 26.1 |
Over 48 complete years from 1966 to 2025, 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 USC00258320; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Superior's climate compare?
Superior is warmer than 110 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Nebraska, and wetter than 80. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.3°F is warmer than 46%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Superior 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 Superior 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.
- Republic, KS82 people · 15 mi SE
- Webber, KS31 people · 7 mi S
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 Superior's climate
What is the coldest month in Superior?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Superior?
Yes: 21 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (6.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Superior?
May, with 4.51 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.70 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Superior in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Superior in zone 6a in ZIP code 68978, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Superior's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Superior?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nebraska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lovewell Dam, KS9 miles from this station, 52.7°F a year
- Burr Oak, KS16 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Mankato, KS18 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Courtland, KS20 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made