Wilson, Kansas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wilson's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 26.2 inches of precipitation and 10 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.7°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 34°C, 666 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWilson Lake
- Station IDUSC00148946
- Location38.97°N 98.49°W
- Elevation1,512 ft (461 m)
- Population834
On October 14, the normal high in Wilson is 71°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wilson.
- Jan 42° 19°
- Feb 46° 21°
- Mar 57° 31°
- Apr 67° 40°
- May 76° 52°
- Jun 87° 63°
- Jul 92° 67°
- Aug 90° 65°
- Sep 82° 56°
- Oct 70° 43°
- Nov 56° 31°
- Dec 44° 22°
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 Wilson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.17 in), the least in January (0.59 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 19°F | 30.2°F | 0.59 | 1.8 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 46°F | 21°F | 33.6°F | 0.78 | 3.7 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 31°F | 43.8°F | 1.29 | 0.7 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 40°F | 53.1°F | 2.31 | 0.4 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 52°F | 63.8°F | 4.17 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 87°F | 63°F | 74.6°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 92°F | 67°F | 79.8°F | 3.87 | 0.0 | 9 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 90°F | 65°F | 77.5°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 8 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 56°F | 69.1°F | 2.28 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 43°F | 56.3°F | 1.71 | 0.1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 31°F | 43.3°F | 0.98 | 0.4 | 4 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 22°F | 33.0°F | 0.89 | 2.5 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 42°F | 54.8°F | 26.22 | 9.6 | 76 | 62 | 128 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −7°C | −1.0°C | 15 mm | 5 cm |
| February | 8°C | −6°C | 0.9°C | 20 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 14°C | −1°C | 6.6°C | 33 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 19°C | 4°C | 11.7°C | 59 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.7°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 17°C | 23.7°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 20°C | 26.6°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 18°C | 25.3°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 13°C | 20.6°C | 58 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.5°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | −1°C | 6.3°C | 25 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 7°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 23 mm | 6 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00148946; 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 Wilson?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00148946.
When is the last frost in Wilson?
In Wilson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 3 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 211 year in 10 after May 2; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 179 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 198 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wilson in zone 6b in ZIP code 67490, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wilson's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (19 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00148946; 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 Wilson?
In a normal year in Wilson, 62 days a year reach 90°F (11 of them 100°F or more), 128 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 62a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 128a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 23high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1964) is 111°F, on June 21, 1988; the lowest is −26°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 38.83 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 32.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00148946; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00148946. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wilson?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wilson, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and February the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.5 |
| February | 74% | 3.3 |
| March | 75% | 4.4 |
| April | 76% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.3 |
| June | 85% | 7.1 |
| July | 86% | 6.9 |
| August | 86% | 6.1 |
| September | 84% | 5.0 |
| October | 80% | 3.7 |
| November | 80% | 2.8 |
| December | 76% | 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 Wilson need?
A normal year in Wilson brings 5,137 heating degree days, 4% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,473 cooling degree days, 62% 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 4,072 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,079 | 0 |
| February | 879 | 0 |
| March | 657 | 1 |
| April | 370 | 13 |
| May | 132 | 93 |
| June | 12 | 301 |
| July | 1 | 460 |
| August | 3 | 390 |
| September | 59 | 183 |
| October | 302 | 31 |
| November | 652 | 1 |
| December | 992 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,137 | 1,473 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00148946. 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 Wilson been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 58.9°F, 4.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.8°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.3°F | +1.5°F | 24.60 | 5.5 |
| 2022 | 55.7°F | +0.9°F | 20.20 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 58.9°F | +4.1°F | 27.17 | 5.0 |
Over 49 complete years from 1965 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.3°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00148946; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wilson's climate compare?
Wilson is warmer than 63 of the other 136 places with their own NOAA record in Kansas, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.8°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wilson 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 Wilson 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.
- Lucas, KS337 people · 7 mi N
- Sylvan Grove, KS289 people · 6 mi NE
- Luray, KS158 people · 15 mi NW
- Dorrance, KS141 people · 10 mi SW
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 Wilson's climate
What is the coldest month in Wilson?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Wilson?
Yes: 10 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (3.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Wilson?
May, with 4.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.59 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wilson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wilson in zone 6b in ZIP code 67490, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Wilson's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Wilson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 2. Waiting until May 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Russell, KS18 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Lincoln (1 mi SE), KS20 miles from this station, 53.7°F a year
- Ellsworth, KS22 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Kanopolis, KS38 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