Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Thomas P Stafford Airport United States

At Thomas P Stafford Airport, the summers are hot, muggy, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 28°F to 94°F and is rarely below 16°F or above 102°F.

Based on the beach/pool score, the best time of year to visit Thomas P Stafford Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late August.

The hot season lasts for 3.2 months, from June 3 to September 11, with an average daily high temperature above 85°F. The hottest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is July, with an average high of 94°F and low of 71°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 22 to February 25, with an average daily high temperature below 57°F. The coldest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is January, with an average low of 29°F and high of 49°F.

At Thomas P Stafford Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport begins around June 4 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around November 6.

The clearest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 72% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 6 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around June 4.

The cloudiest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% 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 Thomas P Stafford Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from April 15 to September 24, with a greater than 24% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Thomas P Stafford Airport is June, with an average of 10.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from September 24 to April 15. The month with the fewest wet days at Thomas P Stafford Airport is January, with an average of 2.7 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. The month with the most days of rain alone at Thomas P Stafford Airport is June, with an average of 10.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 40% on June 4.

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. Thomas P Stafford Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport. The month with the most rain at Thomas P Stafford Airport is May, with an average rainfall of 4.2 inches.

The month with the least rain at Thomas P Stafford Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 0.6 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 24 to March 2, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Thomas P Stafford Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 2.2 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.7 months, from March 2 to November 24. The least snow falls around July 20, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Thomas P Stafford Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 45 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 34 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:18 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 39 minutes later at 7:58 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:21 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 33 minutes later at 8:54 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Thomas P Stafford 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.

Thomas P Stafford Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from May 15 to September 28, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 14% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Thomas P Stafford Airport is July, with 17.6 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Thomas P Stafford Airport is January, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

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 Thomas P Stafford Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from February 19 to June 7, with average wind speeds of more than 11.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.4 months, from June 7 to February 19. The calmest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Thomas P Stafford Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 9.5 months, from February 20 to December 3, with a peak percentage of 72% on July 4. The wind is most often from the north for 2.6 months, from December 3 to February 20, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Thomas P Stafford 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 times of year to visit Thomas P Stafford Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid May to late July and from late July to early October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

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 Thomas P Stafford Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late 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 Thomas P Stafford Airport typically lasts for 7.0 months (215 days), from around April 1 to around November 3, rarely starting before March 13 or after April 19, and rarely ending before October 12 or after November 24.

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 Thomas P Stafford Airport should appear around February 26, only rarely appearing before February 13 or after March 18.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from April 13 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is July, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 6 to February 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Thomas P Stafford Airport is December, with an average of 2.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Thomas P Stafford Airport are 35.545 deg latitude, -98.670 deg longitude, and 1,608 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Thomas P Stafford Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 240 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,596 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (427 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,421 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Thomas P Stafford Airport is covered by cropland (55%) and grassland (35%), within 10 miles by cropland (69%) and grassland (30%), and within 50 miles by cropland (51%) and grassland (46%).