Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Hale Center United States

In Hale Center, the summers are long, hot, and mostly clear and the winters are short, very cold, snowy, windy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 27°F to 91°F and is rarely below 16°F or above 98°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Hale Center for warm-weather activities is from mid May to late September.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 17 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 83°F. The hottest month of the year in Hale Center is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 67°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 23 to February 19, with an average daily high temperature below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Hale Center is January, with an average low of 28°F and high of 53°F.

In Hale Center, 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 in Hale Center begins around August 6 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around November 11.

The clearest month of the year in Hale Center is June, 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 November 11 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around August 6.

The cloudiest month of the year in Hale Center is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 39% 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 in Hale Center varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.4 months, from May 5 to September 18, with a greater than 20% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Hale Center is June, with an average of 9.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.6 months, from September 18 to May 5. The month with the fewest wet days in Hale Center 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. The month with the most days of rain alone in Hale Center is June, with an average of 9.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 34% on June 5.

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. Hale Center experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.5 months, from February 20 to December 3, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Hale Center is June, with an average rainfall of 2.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from December 3 to February 20. The month with the least rain in Hale Center is January, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 18 to February 20, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Hale Center is December, with an average snowfall of 1.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.9 months, from February 20 to November 18. The least snow falls around July 12, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Hale Center varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 53 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 26 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:35 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 33 minutes later at 8:08 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:37 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 25 minutes later at 9:02 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Hale Center 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.

Hale Center experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from June 1 to September 20, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 5% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Hale Center is July, with 5.6 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 9, 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 in Hale Center experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.9 months, from January 31 to June 27, with average wind speeds of more than 11.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Hale Center is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.1 months, from June 27 to January 31. The calmest month of the year in Hale Center is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Hale Center varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 8.1 months, from March 8 to November 10, with a peak percentage of 73% on July 4. The wind is most often from the west for 3.9 months, from November 10 to March 8, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Hale Center 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 Hale Center for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to late September, with a peak score in the last 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 Hale Center for hot-weather activities is from mid 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 in Hale Center typically lasts for 6.8 months (208 days), from around April 5 to around October 30, rarely starting before March 17 or after April 23, and rarely ending before October 11 or after November 18.

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 in Hale Center should appear around February 17, only rarely appearing before February 5 or after March 4.

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 7 to August 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Hale Center is June, with an average of 7.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 6 to February 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Hale Center is December, with an average of 3.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Hale Center are 34.064 deg latitude, -101.844 deg longitude, and 3,419 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Hale Center is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 56 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,420 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (243 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,608 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Hale Center is covered by cropland (58%) and grassland (35%), within 10 miles by cropland (74%) and grassland (24%), and within 50 miles by cropland (66%) and grassland (29%).