University, Mississippi climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
University's normal year runs from 31°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 60.5 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.6°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,537 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationUniversity
- Station IDUSC00229079
- Location34.37°N 89.53°W
- Elevation408 ft (124 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (census place)4,899
On October 22, the normal high in University is 74°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for University.
- Jan 52° 31°
- Feb 57° 34°
- Mar 66° 41°
- Apr 74° 49°
- May 82° 59°
- Jun 89° 67°
- Jul 91° 70°
- Aug 91° 69°
- Sep 86° 62°
- Oct 76° 49°
- Nov 64° 40°
- Dec 55° 33°
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 University each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.45 in), the least in August (3.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 5.13 | 0.8 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 57°F | 34°F | 45.4°F | 5.82 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 41°F | 53.5°F | 5.61 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 49°F | 61.6°F | 6.30 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 59°F | 70.4°F | 5.35 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 89°F | 67°F | 77.7°F | 5.22 | 0.0 | 10 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 91°F | 70°F | 80.7°F | 4.35 | 0.0 | 10 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 91°F | 69°F | 79.8°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 9 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 86°F | 62°F | 73.9°F | 3.99 | 0.0 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 49°F | 62.6°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 40°F | 51.9°F | 4.30 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 6.45 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 50°F | 61.9°F | 60.52 | 1.2 | 122 | 74 | 68 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 130 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 148 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 19°C | 5°C | 11.9°C | 142 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 23°C | 9°C | 16.4°C | 160 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 136 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 19°C | 25.4°C | 133 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 27.1°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 20°C | 26.6°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 30°C | 16°C | 23.3°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 11.1°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 1°C | 6.8°C | 164 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00229079; 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 University?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May 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 USC00229079.
When is the last frost in University?
In University, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 18 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 31 year in 10 after April 21; 9 in 10 after March 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 210 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 235 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 21 in half of springs and before November 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts University in zone 7b in ZIP code 38677. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, University's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Mississippi · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00229079; 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 University?
In a normal year in University, 74 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 68 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 122 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 74a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 68a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 122a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 110°F, on September 5, 1925; the lowest is −13°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 77.08 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 21.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00229079; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00229079. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is University?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around University, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.2 |
| April | 75% | 5.3 |
| May | 78% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 6.5 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 5.0 |
| October | 78% | 3.9 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 67% | 2.2 |
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 University need?
A normal year in University brings 3,068 heating degree days, 43% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,982 cooling degree days, 2.2 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,324 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 731 | 1 |
| February | 550 | 2 |
| March | 372 | 15 |
| April | 163 | 59 |
| May | 34 | 203 |
| June | 1 | 382 |
| July | 0 | 488 |
| August | 0 | 459 |
| September | 14 | 281 |
| October | 152 | 79 |
| November | 404 | 11 |
| December | 649 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 3,068 | 1,982 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00229079. 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 University been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 63.9°F, 2.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 61.9°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.2°F | −0.7°F | 69.16 | 7.6 |
| 2023 | 63.9°F | +2.0°F | 50.79 | 0.0 |
Over 89 complete years from 1888 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.8°F per century (+0.04°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00229079; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does University's climate compare?
University is warmer than 17 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Mississippi, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.9°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, University is Cfa: temperate, 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 University share this climate record?
4 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.
- Oxford, MS26,801 people · 1 mi S
- Taylor, MS410 people · 8 mi SW
- Abbeville, MS383 people · 9 mi N
- Tula, MS107 people · 13 mi SE
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 University's climate
What is the coldest month in University?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in University?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in University?
December, with 6.45 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is University in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts University in zone 7b in ZIP code 38677. By the same method at University's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in University?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 21. Waiting until April 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Mississippi climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sardis, MS15 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Water Valley, MS16 miles from this station, 61.5°F a year
- Hickory Flat, MS25 miles from this station, 59.8°F a year
- Batesville, MS26 miles from this station, 61.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made