Climate and average weather in Dodge City

In Dodge City, the summers are hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: early April to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Dodge City typically varies from 23°F to 91°F, and is rarely below 9°F or above 101°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Dodge City for warm-weather activities are from early April to late May and mid September to late October.

Hottest
Jul
91°
Coldest
Jan
23°
Wettest
May
3.4 in
Driest
Jan
0.7 in
Rain / yr
22.6 in
76 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
2,493 ft
37.8°N
Clearest
Sep
35% cloud

Dodge City is city in and county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States.

Density
741/km²
people per km²
Founded
1872

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Dodge City weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early April to late May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Dodge City, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.9 months, from May 27 to September 21, with daily high temperatures above 80°F. The hottest month of the year in Dodge City is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 68°F.

The cool season lasts 3.2 months, from November 25 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below 53°F. The coldest month of the year in Dodge City is January, with an average low of 23°F and high of 44°F.

Days typically run about 23°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4423
Feb4826
Mar5833
Apr6742
May7653
Jun8663
Jul9168
Aug8966
Sep8258
Oct6945
Nov5633
Dec4525

How hot and cold Dodge City really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Dodge City feels like about 92°F (around July 17). About 38 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 12°F (around January 6), with roughly 156 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 50 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan44441323
Feb48481626
Mar58582533
Apr67673642
May76765253
Jun86866363
Jul91916868
Aug89896666
Sep81825858
Oct69694045
Nov56562533
Dec45451525

Average hourly temperature in Dodge City

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 91°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 23°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Dodge City weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan44° / 23°0.73.22.39.71.0
Feb48° / 26°0.93.72.410.52.1
Mar58° / 33°1.661.911.74.8
Apr67° / 42°2.27.20.612.96.7
May76° / 53°3.49.60147.0
Jun86° / 63°3.39.4014.65.2
Jul91° / 68°2.48.5014.33.9
Aug89° / 66°2.68.8013.54.6
Sep82° / 58°1.56012.37.1
Oct69° / 45°2.15.80.4117.5
Nov56° / 33°0.93.71104.6
Dec45° / 25°1.13.92.69.41.3

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Dodge City gets about 22.6 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.8 months, from around Mar 24 to Sep 15, peaking in May at about 34% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 13.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 3.4 in over about 10 wet days; January is the driest, with 0.7 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 29 · 34%Jan 13 · 9%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan113
Feb144
Mar196
Apr257
May3110
Jun319
Jul279
Aug289
Sep216
Oct176
Nov134
Dec124

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Dodge City collects about 22.6 in of rain across 76 wet days — roughly 1.9 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 3.4 in, while January is the driest at just 0.7 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 41% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.533.54JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0.70.91.62.23.43.32.42.61.52.10.91.1
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan0.732
Feb0.942
Mar1.662
Apr2.271
May3.4100
Jun3.390
Jul2.490
Aug2.690
Sep1.560
Oct2.160
Nov0.941
Dec1.143

Snow in Dodge City

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Dodge City averages about 11 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 22 to Apr 17 — about 5.9 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 5 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 22 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 3
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan23
Feb25
Mar25
Apr11
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov11
Dec36

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Dodge City, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 9 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around December 15. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 76% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 16 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around June 8. The cloudiest month is April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 41% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 9 · 77%Feb 17 · 58%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6436
Feb5941
Mar6040
Apr5941
May6040
Jun7129
Jul7624
Aug7327
Sep7327
Oct7129
Nov6931
Dec6733

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.78:005:39
Feb10.57:386:11
Mar11.76:596:41
Apr12.96:117:09
May14.05:357:37
Jun14.65:227:58
Jul14.35:347:57
Aug13.56:007:28
Sep12.36:276:42
Oct11.06:555:55
Nov10.07:275:23
Dec9.47:545:18

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Dodge City averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 12 and 19 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Aug 13 to Jan 10. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 19 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 13 sunny days — about 33% fewer than the September peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 2419 daysMay 2412 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan16Bright
Feb13Mixed
Mar14Mixed
Apr13Mixed
May13Mixed
Jun15Bright
Jul17Bright
Aug17Bright
Sep19Bright
Oct19Bright
Nov16Bright
Dec17Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Dodge City, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.7 months, from around May 27 to September 17. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 67% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 18 to May 26, and March is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 14 · 100%Jul 16 · 32%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr973000
May6922810
Jun252737100
Jul92441241
Aug142638201
Sep53251930
Oct926200
Nov1000000
Dec1000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Dodge City is typically light breeze, near 10 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.3 months, from around Feb 23 to Jul 2. The windiest month is April, averaging about 12 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 3 to Sep 5, with August the calmest month at about 9 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyApr 11 · 12 mphAug 6 · 9 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan9light breeze
Feb10light breeze
Mar11light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May11light breeze
Jun11light breeze
Jul10light breeze
Aug9light breeze
Sep11light breeze
Oct11light breeze
Nov10light breeze
Dec10light breeze

Best time to visit Dodge City

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Dodge City throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid April, Dodge City is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Dodge City for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to late May and again from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the first week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 1 · 8.0

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan1.0poor
Feb2.2poor
Mar4.8fair
Apr6.6good
May6.9good
Jun5.2fair
Jul3.9fair
Aug4.6fair
Sep7.0good
Oct7.4good
Nov4.6fair
Dec1.3poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Dodge City for hot-weather activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 10 · 7.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Dodge City, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 91°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 44°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Dodge City sees daytime highs around 91°F and nights near 68°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Dodge City by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dodge City peaks around July 13 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highVery highHighModerateJul 13UV 10Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Dodge City

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb30
Mar50
Apr74
May7.54.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.56
Aug85
Sep6.53
Oct50
Nov2.50
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Dodge City typically lasts about 253 days, from around March 12 to November 19 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 18 to October 21.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1250%Apr 1890%Oct 2190%Nov 1950%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1531
Feb2528
Mar5731
Apr8717
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct929
Nov5530
Dec1931

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Dodge City banks about 3,904 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr134
May450
Jun740
Jul917
Aug848
Sep593
Oct222
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Dodge City receives about 5.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.5 and 7.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 23. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.6 kWh/m² — roughly 63% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 307.2 kWhDec 182.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.9Moderate
Feb3.8Moderate
Mar5.0Bright
Apr6.0Bright
May6.6Intense
Jun7.1Intense
Jul7.1Intense
Aug6.3Intense
Sep5.3Bright
Oct4.0Bright
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.5Moderate

Where is Dodge City?

Dodge City sits at 37.8°N, 100.0°W, 2,493 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Garden City, 49 mi away.

Topography around Dodge City

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Dodge City.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Dodge City has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 190 ft around an average of 2,530 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 331 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,207 ft.

The land around Dodge City is covered by grassland (44%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 2 miles, cropland (68%) and grassland (29%) within 10 miles, and cropland (58%) and grassland (41%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
190 ft
10 miles
331 ft
50 miles
1,207 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Garden City 49 mi · Liberal 70 mi · Great Bend 80 mi · Hays 86 mi · Hutchinson 116 mi · Wichita 147 mi · Newton 147 mi · Salina 150 mi

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
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

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 Dodge City (37.7528°, -100.0171°, elevation 2,493 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).