Climate and average weather in Jonesboro

In Jonesboro, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid September to early November

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Jonesboro typically varies from 32°F to 90°F, and is rarely below 17°F or above 96°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 Jonesboro for warm-weather activities are from early April to late May and mid September to early November.

Hottest
Jul
90°
Coldest
Jan
32°
Wettest
Apr
5.0 in
Driest
Aug
2.8 in
Rain / yr
46.8 in
110 wet days
Daylight
9.6–14.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
325 ft
35.8°N
Clearest
Sep
43% cloud

Jonesboro is county seat city in Craighead County, Arkansas, United States.

Density
353/km²
people per km²
Founded
1859

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

Jonesboro 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 mid September to early November.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.4 months, from May 17 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Jonesboro is July, with an average high of 90°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 28 to February 28, with daily high temperatures below 56°F. The coldest month of the year in Jonesboro is January, with an average low of 32°F and high of 48°F.

Days typically run about 18°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4832
Feb5235
Mar6143
Apr7152
May7962
Jun8770
Jul9073
Aug8971
Sep8364
Oct7252
Nov6042
Dec5135

How hot and cold Jonesboro 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, Jonesboro feels like about 96°F (around July 17). About 79 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 24°F (around January 17), with roughly 93 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan48482432
Feb52522835
Mar61613843
Apr71715152
May80796262
Jun90877070
Jul95907373
Aug92897171
Sep84836464
Oct72725152
Nov60603742
Dec51512835

Average hourly temperature in Jonesboro

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 90°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 32°F.

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

Jonesboro 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
Jan48° / 32°3.69.119.81.8
Feb52° / 35°3.98.51.110.62.8
Mar61° / 43°5.011.30.511.75.0
Apr71° / 52°5.010.4012.96.5
May79° / 62°4.511.3013.96.4
Jun87° / 70°3.29.4014.44.8
Jul90° / 73°3.39.7014.24.0
Aug89° / 71°2.88.4013.44.5
Sep83° / 64°3.17.1012.26.4
Oct72° / 52°3.87.7011.17.3
Nov60° / 42°4.28.60.210.15.1
Dec51° / 35°4.48.70.79.62.5

Chance of rain

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

Jonesboro gets about 46.8 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.4 months, from around Feb 11 to Jul 24, peaking in April at about 38% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 2.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 5.0 in over about 10 wet days; August is the driest, with 2.8 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 30 · 38%Oct 2 · 20%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb319
Mar3511
Apr3610
May3611
Jun329
Jul3110
Aug278
Sep247
Oct248
Nov289
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Jonesboro collects about 46.8 in of rain across 110 wet days — roughly 3.9 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 5.0 in, while August is the driest at just 2.8 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.63.95.05.04.53.23.32.83.13.84.24.4
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.691
Feb3.991
Mar5.0111
Apr5.0100
May4.5110
Jun3.290
Jul3.3100
Aug2.880
Sep3.170
Oct3.880
Nov4.290
Dec4.491

Snow in Jonesboro

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.

Jonesboro averages about 4 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Dec 3 to Mar 14 — about 3.4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.2 day of snow and an estimated 2 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 6 in of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 5
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan12
Feb12
Mar11
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec11

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Jonesboro, 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 8 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around November 9. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 66% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 10 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around June 7. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 1 · 69%Feb 17 · 42%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4654
Feb4456
Mar4753
Apr5050
May4852
Jun5644
Jul6040
Aug6337
Sep6634
Oct6238
Nov5347
Dec4753

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 9, brings about 14 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.87:185:07
Feb10.66:585:37
Mar11.76:216:04
Apr12.95:366:30
May13.95:026:56
Jun14.44:517:16
Jul14.25:027:15
Aug13.45:266:48
Sep12.25:506:04
Oct11.16:165:20
Nov10.16:464:50
Dec9.67:124:46

Sunny days

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

Jonesboro averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 17 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around Jul 12 to Dec 2. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 15 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is February, down near 9 sunny days — about 39% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightOct 217 daysFeb 179 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun11Mixed
Jul13Mixed
Aug14Mixed
Sep16Bright
Oct16Bright
Nov13Mixed
Dec11Mixed

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 Jonesboro, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around May 6 to September 30. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 94% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 1 to May 5, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 20 · 99%Jul 19 · 5%humidmuggyoppressivecomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9631000
Feb9631000
Mar9073000
Apr681613300
May3317212440
Jun6111734321
Jul151024545
Aug371729403
Sep25162024150
Oct661412710
Nov8874100
Dec9541000

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 Jonesboro is typically calm, near 7 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.9 months, from around Oct 21 to May 19. The windiest month is April, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 20 to Oct 20, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyApr 10 · 9 mphAug 2 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan8light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov8light breeze
Dec8light breeze

Best time to visit Jonesboro

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late October, Jonesboro is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Jonesboro for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to late May and again from mid September to early November, with a peak score in the first week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 5 · 7.8

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
Jan1.8poor
Feb2.9poor
Mar5.0fair
Apr6.5good
May6.4good
Jun4.8fair
Jul4.1fair
Aug4.5fair
Sep6.4good
Oct7.3good
Nov5.1fair
Dec2.5poor

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 Jonesboro for hot-weather activities is from early May to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 12 · 7.5

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 Jonesboro, 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 90°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 48°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Jonesboro sees daytime highs around 90°F and nights near 73°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro peaks around June 20 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 highModerateJun 20UV 10Dec 20UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Jonesboro

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 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
Feb40
Mar60
Apr74
May85
Jun8.55.5
Jul85.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53.5
Oct4.50
Nov30
Dec00

Air quality in Jonesboro by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Jonesboro is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.6× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1319 µg/m³Dec 227 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb10Good
Mar12Good
Apr11Good
May14Moderate
Jun18Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct14Moderate
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Jonesboro typically lasts about 340 days, from around January 31 to January 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 22 to November 4.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJan 3150%Mar 2290%Nov 490%Jan 550%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4831
Feb6028
Mar8418
Apr980
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct980
Nov8324
Dec6031

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. Jonesboro banks about 4,971 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar79
Apr343
May634
Jun858
Jul982
Aug934
Sep707
Oct383
Nov51
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.

Jonesboro receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.1 and 6.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 23 to Sep 30. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.6 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.2 kWh/m² — roughly 67% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 236.7 kWhDec 182.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.2Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May6.0Intense
Jun6.6Intense
Jul6.5Intense
Aug6.0Bright
Sep5.0Bright
Oct3.8Moderate
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Jonesboro?

Jonesboro sits at 35.8°N, 90.7°W, 325 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Paragould, 19 mi away.

Topography around Jonesboro

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Jonesboro has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 148 ft around an average of 318 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 318 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 663 ft.

The land around Jonesboro is covered by trees (45%), artificial surfaces (29%) and grassland (23%) within 2 miles, cropland (44%), trees (29%) and grassland (20%) within 10 miles, and cropland (61%) and trees (29%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
148 ft
10 miles
318 ft
50 miles
663 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Paragould 19 mi · West Memphis 57 mi · Memphis 60 mi · New South Memphis 63 mi · Bartlett 64 mi · Ellendale 65 mi · Poplar Bluff 65 mi · Cordova 71 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 Jonesboro (35.8423°, -90.7043°, elevation 325 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).