Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Western Nebraska Regional Airport United States

At Western Nebraska Regional Airport, the summers are hot and mostly clear and the winters are freezing, snowy, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 15°F to 90°F and is rarely below -3°F or above 99°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Western Nebraska Regional Airport for warm-weather activities is from mid June to late August.

The hot season lasts for 3.2 months, from June 7 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 80°F. The hottest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 60°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.2 months, from November 19 to February 26, with an average daily high temperature below 49°F. The coldest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is December, with an average low of 17°F and high of 40°F.

At Western Nebraska Regional Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport begins around June 4 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around October 15.

The clearest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 74% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 15 and lasts for 7.6 months, ending around June 4.

The cloudiest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is March, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Western Nebraska Regional Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from April 15 to August 29, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is June, with an average of 9.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.5 months, from August 29 to April 15. The month with the fewest wet days at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is January, with an average of 0.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation at Western Nebraska Regional Airport changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.9 months, from February 24 to November 21. The month with the most days of rain alone at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is June, with an average of 9.1 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.1 months, from November 21 to February 24. The month with the most days of snow alone at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is December, with an average of 0.8 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Western Nebraska Regional Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from March 23 to October 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is May, with an average rainfall of 2.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from October 29 to March 23. The month with the least rain at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Western Nebraska Regional Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from November 14 to April 14, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is March, with an average snowfall of 1.5 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from April 14 to November 14. The least snow falls around July 18, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Western Nebraska Regional Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 8 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 15 hours, 14 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:18 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 10 minutes later at 7:28 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:23 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 10 minutes later at 8:33 PM on June 26.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Western Nebraska Regional Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Western Nebraska Regional Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 1% of 1% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Western Nebraska Regional Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from October 12 to May 25, with average wind speeds of more than 10.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.6 months, from May 25 to October 12. The calmest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Western Nebraska Regional Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.5 months, from March 30 to May 14, with a peak percentage of 34% on April 12. The wind is most often from the south for 4.1 months, from May 14 to September 18, with a peak percentage of 40% on August 20. The wind is most often from the west for 6.4 months, from September 18 to March 30, with a peak percentage of 57% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Western Nebraska Regional Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Western Nebraska Regional Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to late August, with a peak score in the second week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Western Nebraska Regional Airport for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the second week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Western Nebraska Regional Airport typically lasts for 5.0 months (154 days), from around May 3 to around October 4, rarely starting before April 16 or after May 20, and rarely ending before September 14 or after October 23.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Western Nebraska Regional Airport should appear around April 2, only rarely appearing before March 20 or after April 20.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from May 6 to August 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is June, with an average of 7.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from October 31 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Western Nebraska Regional Airport is December, with an average of 2.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Western Nebraska Regional Airport are 41.874 deg latitude, -103.601 deg longitude, and 3,953 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Western Nebraska Regional Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 184 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,931 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (912 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,090 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Western Nebraska Regional Airport is covered by cropland (74%) and grassland (22%), within 10 miles by cropland (64%) and grassland (31%), and within 50 miles by grassland (75%) and cropland (23%).