Syracuse, KS Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Syracuse's primary NOAA station, SYRACUSE 1NE.
The climate verdict for Syracuse
Dryness leads the climate profile for Syracuse, Kansas, with 17.0 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 53°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 53°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 17.0"
- annual precipitation · 17" snow
- 162 days
- frost-free growing season
Syracuse: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00148038 · Syracuse, KS 53°F mean · 17.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 53°F
- RANK-MID #3,774
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Colorado Nation…
- PRCP-DRY 17.0"
- SWING-WIDE 48°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,424 HDD
- STN-1 USC00148038
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Colorado National Monument, CO ( -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.
- Hot Hoxie, KS 54°F
- Syracuse (this station) 53°F
- Cold Colorado Nation…, CO 53°F
- Near Holly, CO 53°F
- Near Dayton Mcd, OH 53°F
Climate Living Index · Syracuse
Syracuse: 34/100 · grade F
Syracuse publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Syracuse, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 53.4°F · 14.1° from 67.5°F | 54/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 16.9 inches/year | 53/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 17.0 in · 18.0 from 35 in | 36/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 162 days/year | 35/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 222 calendar days | 4/100 · F |
Syracuse · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Syracuse's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 77.9°F
- Coldest month
- 30.0°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 Syracuse sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Syracuse's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 55th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 78%
- Syracuse's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 72%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Syracuse is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Syracuse compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Syracuse's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 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
Syracuse's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 64 complete annual observations from 1938 to 2025, SYRACUSE 1NE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.07°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Syracuse primary station fitted change +0.07 °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 | 46°F (8°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.3" | 3.3" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 51°F (10°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.4" | 2.1" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (16°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 0.9" | 3.7" | 23.1 | 0.1 |
| April | 69°F (20°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.4" | 1.3" | 10.0 | 0.9 |
| May | 78°F (26°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 2.0" | 0.9" | 1.1 | 4.8 |
| June | 89°F (31°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.4 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 22.0 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 2.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.5 |
| September | 84°F (29°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 10.3 |
| October | 71°F (22°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.4" | 0.9" | 8.9 | 1.9 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 0.5" | 1.6" | 24.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 47°F (8°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 0.6" | 3.1" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Syracuse works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 93°F by July 12 and hold at or above 90°F on 60 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 162 dates, bottoming at 13°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 20 through August 18, covering 60 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 22 to October 18.
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 April 4, then returns to freezing around October 26, covering 162 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 July 27, when 26% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 28 at 9%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 58 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 15 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 35°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Syracuse.
Where Syracuse Stands Nationally
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 35°F between the normal high and low.
Syracuse earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.3"
2.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.7"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
5.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
7.2 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
7.0 days with precipitation
3.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
3.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.6"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
3.1 days with precipitation
Syracuse runs a summer-peaked wet season
50% of Syracuse'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 July at 3.3", on a wide 47.9°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: July, August, June, taking 50% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 8% 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.
How Syracuse's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 58 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 17.0" between them, or roughly 0.29 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Syracuse
Syracuse averages 16.9 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 9 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 16.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 9 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 10
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
162 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,424
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,217
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KS closest to Syracuse 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 (53°F here).
- Carlinville, IL 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Clayton, NM 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Doylestown, PA 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Fulton, MO 53°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (17.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Clifton, AZ 17.0" · 0.0" off
- Villanueva, NM 17.0" · 0.0" off
- Springer, NM 17.1" · 0.0" off
- St John, WA 17.1" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Syracuse
heating led · dry · mid swing
Syracuse's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,424 annual heating degree days against 1,217 for cooling. Its 47.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Syracuse's frost-free season lasts about 162 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Syracuse coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Syracuse typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Syracuse snow peak
March
Syracuse averages 16.9 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Syracuse's climate
How much snow does Syracuse get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Syracuse get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Syracuse? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Syracuse's primary station: SYRACUSE 1NE (USC00148038). 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 2069850). Match rule for Syracuse: 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 Syracuse 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.