Zapata, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Zapata's normal year runs from 47°F January nights to 99°F August afternoons, with 20.4 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.1 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 23.6°C, January lows of 8°C, August highs of 37°C, 518 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationZapata (1 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00419976
- Location26.87°N 99.25°W
- Elevation320 ft (98 m)
- Population (census place)4,879
On October 23, the normal high in Zapata is 85°F and the normal low 63°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Zapata.
- Jan 68° 47°
- Feb 74° 51°
- Mar 81° 58°
- Apr 88° 64°
- May 93° 71°
- Jun 98° 76°
- Jul 98° 77°
- Aug 99° 77°
- Sep 93° 73°
- Oct 87° 65°
- Nov 76° 56°
- Dec 68° 48°
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 Zapata each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 99°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 47°F. The most precipitation falls in September (4.37 in), the least in February (0.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68°F | 47°F | 57.4°F | 0.81 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 40 min |
| February | 74°F | 51°F | 62.6°F | 0.45 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 81°F | 58°F | 69.5°F | 0.66 | 4 | 7 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 88°F | 64°F | 76.3°F | 1.23 | 4 | 14 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 93°F | 71°F | 82.4°F | 2.64 | 5 | 24 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| June | 98°F | 76°F | 87.0°F | 2.61 | 5 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| July | 98°F | 77°F | 87.4°F | 2.83 | 4 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| August | 99°F | 77°F | 87.9°F | 1.52 | 4 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| September | 93°F | 73°F | 82.7°F | 4.37 | 7 | 23 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 87°F | 65°F | 75.8°F | 1.38 | 5 | 12 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 76°F | 56°F | 66.0°F | 1.23 | 5 | 2 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| December | 68°F | 48°F | 58.1°F | 0.67 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 85°F | 64°F | 74.4°F | 20.40 | 56 | 172 | 4 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 21 mm |
| February | 23°C | 11°C | 17.0°C | 11 mm |
| March | 27°C | 14°C | 20.8°C | 17 mm |
| April | 31°C | 18°C | 24.6°C | 31 mm |
| May | 34°C | 22°C | 28.0°C | 67 mm |
| June | 37°C | 24°C | 30.6°C | 66 mm |
| July | 37°C | 25°C | 30.8°C | 72 mm |
| August | 37°C | 25°C | 31.1°C | 39 mm |
| September | 34°C | 23°C | 28.2°C | 111 mm |
| October | 30°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 35 mm |
| November | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 31 mm |
| December | 20°C | 9°C | 14.5°C | 17 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00419976; 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 Zapata?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, November and December. Of those, March has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00419976.
When is the last frost in Zapata?
In Zapata, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 19 in half of years and after February 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 22 in half of years and before November 28 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 77% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 191 year in 10 after February 25; 9 in 10 after December 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 221 year in 10 before November 28; 9 in 10 before January 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 341 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 5 in half of springs and before January 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Zapata in zone 9b in ZIP code 78076, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00419976; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Zapata?
In a normal year in Zapata, 172 days a year reach 90°F (59 of them 100°F or more), 4 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 56 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 172a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 59a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 4a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 56a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00419976.
How sunny is Zapata?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Zapata, 5.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (92%) and January the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 3.3 |
| February | 76% | 4.1 |
| March | 77% | 5.0 |
| April | 79% | 5.7 |
| May | 82% | 6.1 |
| June | 89% | 7.0 |
| July | 89% | 6.9 |
| August | 92% | 6.7 |
| September | 83% | 5.4 |
| October | 84% | 4.8 |
| November | 80% | 3.7 |
| December | 75% | 3.2 |
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 Zapata need?
A normal year in Zapata brings 823 heating degree days, 85% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 4,281 cooling degree days, 4.7 times the median (908). No month reaches 300 heating degree days. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 9,011 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 264 | 29 |
| February | 134 | 68 |
| March | 55 | 196 |
| April | 10 | 348 |
| May | 1 | 540 |
| June | 0 | 660 |
| July | 0 | 693 |
| August | 0 | 710 |
| September | 1 | 532 |
| October | 12 | 345 |
| November | 97 | 127 |
| December | 249 | 34 |
| Year (annual) | 823 | 4,281 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00419976. 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.
How does Zapata's climate compare?
Zapata is warmer than 309 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 58. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 74.4°F is warmer than 98%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Zapata is BSh: hot semi-arid steppe. 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 Zapata share this climate record?
9 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.
- Medina, TX4,073 people · 4 mi N
- Siesta Shores, TX1,939 people · 1 mi S
- Falcon Lake Estates, TX1,037 people · 0 mi W
- San Ygnacio, TX495 people · 16 mi NW
- Falcon Mesa, TX423 people · 2 mi W
- Las Palmas, TX48 people · 6 mi N
- Guerra, TX0 people · 22 mi E
- Morales-Sanchez, TX0 people · 10 mi SE
- Ramireno, TX0 people · 12 mi NW
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 Zapata's climate
What is the coldest month in Zapata?
January, with a normal high of 68°F and a normal low of 47°F. The warmest is August (99°F by day, 77°F at night).
Does it snow in Zapata?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.1 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Zapata?
September, with 4.37 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Zapata in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Zapata in zone 9b in ZIP code 78076, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Zapata?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 19; in one year in ten it comes after February 25. Waiting until February 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Falcon Dam, TX23 miles from this station, 76.6°F a year
- Rio Grande City, TX43 miles from this station, 74.4°F a year
- Bruni, TX47 miles from this station, 72.5°F a year
- Hebbronville, TX47 miles from this station, 73.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made