Great Bend climate — normals and trends
Great Bend (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 12.8 °C and it receives 701 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (26.6 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-1.5 °C). Rainfall peaks in May.
Great Bend averages 104 frost days, 76 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 85 rainy days per year.
Great Bend has warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.18 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 111 to 97 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 42.7 °C (on 14 July 1980) and the coldest -32.9 °C (on 4 January 1947).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
Great BendKansas
- coords
- 38.36°, -98.76°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
12.8°C
Average daily high
19.0°C
Average daily low
7.3°C
Annual rainfall
701mm
Sunshine / day
9.8h
Mean relative humidity
63%
Average peak wind
23.4km/h
Seasonal range
28.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
104 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
76 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
85 d/yr
Annual snowfall
46.5 cm
Average feels-like high
16.7 °C
Average feels-like low
4.2 °C
Average peak gust
43.1 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
51 d/yr
Solar radiation
17.2 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.5 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.27 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
42.7 °C
14 July 1980
Coldest day
-32.9 °C
4 January 1947
Wettest day
122 mm
24 August 2010
Windiest day
71.4 km/h
18 March 1971
Strongest gust
123.1 km/h
18 March 1971
Hottest feels-like
44.7 °C
13 July 2015
Coldest feels-like
-38.3 °C
4 January 1947
Snowiest day
29.3 cm
21 February 1971
Sunniest day
14.7 h
17 June 1943
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.9 °C | -2.7 °C | 39 mm | +17 mm |
| Feb | 5.6 °C | -1.7 °C | 15 mm | -15 mm |
| Mar | 18.6 °C | +5.9 °C | 21 mm | -38 mm |
| Apr | 20.9 °C | +2.1 °C | 101 mm | +28 mm |
| May | 22.9 °C | -0.8 °C | 172 mm | +60 mm |
| Jun | 29.5 °C | -0.1 °C | 124 mm | +28 mm |
| Jul | 32.6 °C | 0.0 °C | 40 mm | -27 mm |
| Aug | 30.7 °C | -1.1 °C | 115 mm | +49 mm |
| Sep | 26.9 °C | -0.3 °C | 150 mm | +86 mm |
| Oct | 21.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 65 mm | +12 mm |
| Nov | 14.8 °C | +2.3 °C | 38 mm | +6 mm |
| Dec | 11.2 °C | +4.8 °C | 3 mm | -23 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Great Bend?
Great Bend has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 12.8 °C and it receives 701 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Great Bend?
The hottest day measured in Great Bend between 1940 and 2025 was 14 July 1980, reaching 42.7 °C.
What is the coldest day in Great Bend?
The coldest day measured in Great Bend between 1940 and 2025 was 4 January 1947, at -32.9 °C.
Does it snow in Great Bend?
Yes. Great Bend gets on average 46.5 cm of snow per year and has around 104 frost days.
Has the climate of Great Bend warmed?
Yes: Great Bend warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Great Bend?
The wettest day measured in Great Bend between 1940 and 2025 was 24 August 2010, with 122 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Great Bend?
The windiest day measured in Great Bend between 1940 and 2025 was 18 March 1971, with winds reaching 71.4 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Great Bend?
The warmest month in Great Bend is July (26.6 °C on average); the coldest is January (-1.5 °C).
How much does it rain in Great Bend?
Great Bend receives on average 701 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 85 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Great Bend?
Great Bend gets on average 9.8 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,577 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Great Bend?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Great Bend between 1940 and 2025 was 21 February 1971, with 29.3 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Great Bend?
Yes: Great Bend has on average 51 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Great Bend?
In Great Bend, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 44.7 °C on 13 July 2015, and the lowest was -38.3 °C on 4 January 1947.
Compare Great Bend with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Great Bend