Van Horn, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Van Horn's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 10.3 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.4°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 34°C, 262 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVan Horn
- Station IDUSC00419295
- Location31.04°N 104.84°W
- Elevation4,065 ft (1,239 m)
- Population2,011
On October 23, the normal high in Van Horn is 77°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Van Horn.
- Jan 59° 30°
- Feb 64° 34°
- Mar 72° 41°
- Apr 79° 48°
- May 87° 57°
- Jun 95° 66°
- Jul 93° 68°
- Aug 92° 67°
- Sep 86° 61°
- Oct 79° 50°
- Nov 68° 38°
- Dec 59° 31°
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 Van Horn each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.05 in), the least in April (0.22 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59°F | 30°F | 44.6°F | 0.47 | 0.7 | 3 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 64°F | 34°F | 49.0°F | 0.44 | 0.6 | 3 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| March | 72°F | 41°F | 56.1°F | 0.25 | 0.2 | 2 | <1 | 6 | 12 h |
| April | 79°F | 48°F | 63.4°F | 0.22 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 87°F | 57°F | 71.9°F | 0.49 | 0.0 | 3 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 95°F | 66°F | 80.4°F | 1.10 | 0.0 | 4 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 93°F | 68°F | 80.6°F | 2.05 | 0.0 | 8 | 24 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 92°F | 67°F | 79.5°F | 1.95 | 0.0 | 8 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 86°F | 61°F | 73.3°F | 1.50 | 0.0 | 6 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 79°F | 50°F | 64.3°F | 0.94 | 0.1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 68°F | 38°F | 53.2°F | 0.42 | 0.5 | 3 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 59°F | 31°F | 45.1°F | 0.49 | 1.2 | 3 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 49°F | 63.4°F | 10.32 | 3.3 | 47 | 95 | 70 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | −1°C | 7.0°C | 12 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 18°C | 1°C | 9.4°C | 11 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 22°C | 5°C | 13.4°C | 6 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 26°C | 9°C | 17.4°C | 6 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 30°C | 14°C | 22.2°C | 12 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 35°C | 19°C | 26.9°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 20°C | 27.0°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 19°C | 26.4°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 30°C | 16°C | 22.9°C | 38 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 26°C | 10°C | 17.9°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 20°C | 3°C | 11.8°C | 11 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 15°C | −1°C | 7.3°C | 12 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00419295; 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 Van Horn?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00419295.
When is the last frost in Van Horn?
In Van Horn, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 21 in half of years and after April 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 11 in half of years and before October 27 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
- March 211 year in 10 after April 9; 9 in 10 after March 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 111 year in 10 before October 27; 9 in 10 before November 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 234 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 260 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Van Horn in zone 8a in ZIP code 79855, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Van Horn's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (20 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00419295; 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 Van Horn?
In a normal year in Van Horn, 95 days a year reach 90°F (12 of them 100°F or more), 70 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 47 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 95a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 70a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 47a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1942) is 110°F, on June 7, 1980; the lowest is −7°F, on January 11, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 22.89 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 17.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00419295; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00419295. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Van Horn?
Over a year 88% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Van Horn, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (85%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.7 |
| February | 85% | 4.6 |
| March | 87% | 5.9 |
| April | 91% | 7.2 |
| May | 90% | 7.7 |
| June | 91% | 7.8 |
| July | 87% | 7.1 |
| August | 87% | 6.6 |
| September | 87% | 5.7 |
| October | 89% | 4.9 |
| November | 87% | 3.9 |
| December | 85% | 3.3 |
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 Van Horn need?
A normal year in Van Horn brings 2,584 heating degree days, 52% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,040 cooling degree days, 2.2 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,530 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 634 | 0 |
| February | 448 | 0 |
| March | 285 | 9 |
| April | 107 | 58 |
| May | 22 | 237 |
| June | 0 | 464 |
| July | 0 | 484 |
| August | 0 | 450 |
| September | 11 | 258 |
| October | 100 | 76 |
| November | 358 | 4 |
| December | 618 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,584 | 2,040 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00419295. 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 Van Horn been warmer than normal lately?
Over 41 complete years from 1943 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: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Van Horn's climate compare?
Van Horn is warmer than 68 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.4°F is warmer than 84%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Van Horn is BWk: cold desert. 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.
Questions about Van Horn's climate
What is the coldest month in Van Horn?
January, with a normal high of 59°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Van Horn?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (1.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Van Horn?
July, with 2.05 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.22 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Van Horn in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Van Horn in zone 8a in ZIP code 79855, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Van Horn's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Van Horn?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 21; in one year in ten it comes after April 9. Waiting until April 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Valentine, TX37 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Kent (8 mi SE), TX43 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Mount Locke, TX53 miles from this station, 59.2°F a year
- Fort Hancock, TX55 miles from this station, 64.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made