Cape Girardeau in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Cape Girardeau sees average daytime highs around 46°F and overnight lows near 30°F, with 10.9 in of precipitation over about 26 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 46°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Cape Girardeau's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Cape Girardeau's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 46°F
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 30°F
- Precipitation
- 10.9 in
- 26 wet days
- Avg wind
- 7 mph
- Travel score
- 1.3
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Cape Girardeau in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 46°F.
A typical winter day in Cape Girardeau reaches about 46°F and drops to 30°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Cape Girardeau
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Cape Girardeau weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°F) | Rainfall (inches) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43° / 28° | 3.8 | 9.2 | 2 | 9.7 | 0.6 |
| Feb | 48° / 31° | 3.4 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 10.6 | 1.8 |
| Mar | 58° / 40° | 4.8 | 11.8 | 0.7 | 11.7 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 68° / 49° | 5.3 | 11.1 | 0 | 12.9 | 6.1 |
| May | 77° / 60° | 4.7 | 12.3 | 0 | 14 | 6.4 |
| Jun | 85° / 68° | 3.5 | 10.1 | 0 | 14.5 | 5.3 |
| Jul | 88° / 72° | 3.3 | 10.1 | 0 | 14.3 | 4.4 |
| Aug | 87° / 69° | 2.8 | 8 | 0 | 13.4 | 5.0 |
| Sep | 81° / 61° | 3.2 | 7.6 | 0 | 12.3 | 6.8 |
| Oct | 69° / 50° | 3.9 | 7.9 | 0.1 | 11 | 7.0 |
| Nov | 56° / 39° | 4.1 | 8.7 | 0.5 | 10 | 4.1 |
| Dec | 46° / 31° | 3.7 | 8.9 | 1.3 | 9.5 | 1.4 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Cape Girardeau gets around 10.9 in of rain and snow over 26 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 7 mph across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.5 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Cape Girardeau
None of Cape Girardeau's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Cape Girardeau sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.
Is winter a good time to visit Cape Girardeau?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Cape Girardeau.
What to pack for Cape Girardeau in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Cape Girardeau sees daytime highs around 46°F and nights near 30°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 26 days see rain.
UV index in Cape Girardeau in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cape Girardeau peaks around June 21 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Moderate |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 7 | High |
| May | 8 | Very high |
| Jun | 10 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | High |
| Oct | 4 | Moderate |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Moderate |
Air quality in Cape Girardeau in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Cape Girardeau is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.4× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Level | Good | Good | Moderate | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Good |
| Feb | 11 | Good |
| Mar | 12 | Moderate |
| Apr | 11 | Good |
| May | 14 | Moderate |
| Jun | 17 | Moderate |
| Jul | 19 | Moderate |
| Aug | 14 | Moderate |
| Sep | 12 | Good |
| Oct | 8 | Good |
| Nov | 8 | Good |
| Dec | 8 | Good |
Where is Cape Girardeau?
Cape Girardeau sits at 37.3°N, 89.5°W, 354 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Sikeston, 30 mi away.
Topography around Cape Girardeau
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Cape Girardeau.
Within 2 miles, the terrain around Cape Girardeau has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 285 ft around an average of 371 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 869 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,375 ft.
The land around Cape Girardeau is covered by trees (36%) and cropland (20%) within 2 miles, trees (49%) and cropland (30%) within 10 miles, and trees (47%) and cropland (39%) within 50 miles.
United States travel facts
- Power plugs
- Type A / B
- 120 V · 60 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 100% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $90,027
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.8 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 98%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 5.8
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 12.7
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cape Girardeau (37.3059°, -89.5182°, elevation 354 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.