Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Hastings Municipal Airport United States

At Hastings Municipal Airport, the summers are warm and mostly clear and the winters are freezing, snowy, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 17°F to 88°F and is rarely below 0°F or above 97°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Hastings Municipal Airport for warm-weather activities is from early June to mid September.

The hot season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 29 to September 17, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is July, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 23 to February 27, with an average daily high temperature below 46°F. The coldest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is January, with an average low of 18°F and high of 37°F.

At Hastings Municipal 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 Hastings Municipal Airport begins around June 3 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around October 26.

The clearest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 73% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 26 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around June 3.

The cloudiest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 48% 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 Hastings Municipal Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.2 months, from April 13 to September 19, with a greater than 23% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Hastings Municipal Airport is June, with an average of 11.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.8 months, from September 19 to April 13. The month with the fewest wet days at Hastings Municipal Airport is January, with an average of 1.9 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 Hastings Municipal Airport changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 9.5 months, from February 21 to December 5. The month with the most days of rain alone at Hastings Municipal Airport is June, with an average of 11.4 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.6 months, from December 5 to February 21. The month with the most days of snow alone at Hastings Municipal Airport is January, with an average of 1.2 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. Hastings Municipal Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.1 months, from February 26 to November 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Hastings Municipal Airport is May, with an average rainfall of 3.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 29 to February 26. The month with the least rain at Hastings Municipal Airport is January, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from October 31 to April 12, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Hastings Municipal Airport is December, with an average snowfall of 2.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from April 12 to October 31. The least snow falls around July 20, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Hastings Municipal Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 16 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 15 hours, 5 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:02 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 3 minutes later at 8:05 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:06 PM on December 7, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 2 minutes later at 9:08 PM on June 26.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Hastings Municipal 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.

Hastings Municipal Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from June 7 to September 11, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 12% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Hastings Municipal Airport is July, with 13.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 18, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Hastings Municipal Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from December 22 to May 27, with average wind speeds of more than 11.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.8 months, from May 27 to December 22. The calmest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Hastings Municipal Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 5.8 months, from April 24 to October 18, with a peak percentage of 53% on August 27. The wind is most often from the north for 6.2 months, from October 18 to April 24, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Hastings Municipal 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 Hastings Municipal Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

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 Hastings Municipal Airport for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the third 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 Hastings Municipal Airport typically lasts for 5.8 months (178 days), from around April 19 to around October 14, rarely starting before March 30 or after May 7, and rarely ending before September 24 or after November 1.

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 Hastings Municipal Airport should appear around March 31, only rarely appearing before March 17 or after April 21.

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 3.7 months, from April 27 to August 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is June, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 2 to February 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Hastings Municipal Airport is December, with an average of 2.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Hastings Municipal Airport are 40.604 deg latitude, -98.428 deg longitude, and 1,942 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Hastings Municipal Airport is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 82 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,940 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (289 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (945 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Hastings Municipal Airport is covered by cropland (83%) and artificial surfaces (17%), within 10 miles by cropland (96%), and within 50 miles by cropland (74%) and grassland (25%).