Frost Dates for 69162 — Sidney, Nebraska

Half of springs at Sidney Municipal Airport, NE see their last 32°F night by May 15; only one in ten is past it by May 4, and one in ten still has one after May 30. Planting tender crops after May 20 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after May 24 20%, and after May 30 10%. The 15 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is wider than at 90% of the 68 Nebraska stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by September 30 in half of years, as early as September 15 one year in ten, and holds off past October 12 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 9 days later, around October 9; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is May 17, 13 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 135 days in a typical year, shorter than at 97% of the 68 Nebraska stations; it reaches 152 days one year in ten and falls short of 116 one year in ten. On average 180 nights a year drop to 32°F or below. Nights of 36°F, when frost can still settle on leaves in low, open spots, continue 11 days longer, to about May 26, and return around September 21. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between November 3 and April 3.

July is the warmest month at Sidney Municipal Airport, NE, averaging 90°F by day and 57°F at night; January is the coldest at 42°F and 14°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from October to May (a 90% chance or more). From June to August the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month.

Warmth for growing adds up to 2,660 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), fewer than at 96% of the 68 Nebraska stations. 29% of them (769) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 734. Precipitation totals 15.9 inches a year, most in June (3.2") and least in January (0.1"); May to September bring 73% of it.

The nearest other station, Kimball 2NE, NE, 32 miles west of Sidney and 399 feet higher, has the same 50% last-frost date, a first frost 4 days earlier (September 26), a season 3 days shorter.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Sidney usually arrives around November 5, and the last of the season around April 7. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Sidney 6 NNW, NE, 4.6 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 92% of those winters. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 38 days after the last snow.

ZIP 69162 is 5 miles from Sidney Municipal Airport, NE, which stands at 4,309 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 69162 in zone 5b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged -15 to -10°F (-26.1 to -23.3°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.