Emporia in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Emporia sees average daytime highs around 43°F and overnight lows near 25°F, with 4.1 in of precipitation over about 15 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 43°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Emporia's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Emporia's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
43°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
25°F
Precipitation
4.1 in
15 wet days
Avg wind
9 mph
Travel score
0.7
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Emporia in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 43°F.

A typical winter day in Emporia reaches about 43°F and drops to 25°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°40°60°80°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Emporia

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.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
39 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Emporia 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan41° / 22°1.14.839.60.1
Feb46° / 26°1.55.32.310.51.2
Mar56° / 35°2.78.61.511.74.0
Apr66° / 45°3.910.20.4136.0
May75° / 55°5.813014.16.4
Jun84° / 65°4.710.9014.65.5
Jul89° / 70°3.79.6014.44.4
Aug87° / 67°3.99.2013.54.9
Sep80° / 59°3.47.6012.37.0
Oct68° / 47°3.07.40.2116.9
Nov55° / 35°1.95.70.89.93.9
Dec44° / 26°1.54.92.39.40.7

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Emporia gets around 4.1 in of rain and snow over 15 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 9 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 30 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.7 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Emporia?

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.

0.7
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Emporia.

What to pack for Emporia in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Emporia sees daytime highs around 43°F and nights near 25°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Emporia in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Emporia peaks around June 22 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 22UV 10Dec 20UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7Very high
May7Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Emporia in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Emporia is worst in April — around 35 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 6.6× the cleanest month (October, 5 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodApr 1532 µg/m³Oct 235 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar17Moderate
Apr35Moderate
May11Good
Jun12Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug13Moderate
Sep10Good
Oct5Good
Nov6Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Emporia?

Emporia sits at 38.4°N, 96.2°W, 1,142 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Topeka, 52 mi away.

Topography around Emporia

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Emporia has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 135 ft around an average of 1,129 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 354 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 797 ft.

The land around Emporia is covered by trees (34%), cropland (23%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, grassland (47%) and cropland (36%) within 10 miles, and grassland (66%) and cropland (22%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
135 ft
10 miles
354 ft
50 miles
797 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Topeka 52 mi · Junction City 55 mi · Manhattan 58 mi · Lawrence 65 mi · Newton 68 mi · Gardner 73 mi · Wichita 80 mi · Olathe 81 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 Emporia (38.4039°, -96.1817°, elevation 1,142 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.