Lawrence in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Lawrence sees average daytime highs around 42°F and overnight lows near 25°F, with 4.7 in of precipitation over about 17 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 42°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
42°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
25°F
Precipitation
4.7 in
17 wet days
Avg wind
8 mph
Travel score
0.4
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Lawrence in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 42°F.

A typical winter day in Lawrence reaches about 42°F and drops to 25°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Lawrence

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
34 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

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

Lawrence 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
Jan39° / 22°1.35.53.19.60.0
Feb44° / 26°1.75.82.710.50.8
Mar55° / 35°2.98.91.811.73.6
Apr65° / 46°4.6110.4135.7
May74° / 56°6.012.40.114.16.4
Jun84° / 66°5.011.6014.75.5
Jul88° / 70°3.69.5014.54.7
Aug86° / 68°4.08.8013.55.2
Sep79° / 59°3.68012.37.1
Oct67° / 47°3.280.1116.6
Nov53° / 36°2.15.90.99.93.5
Dec42° / 26°1.75.22.39.30.5

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Lawrence gets around 4.7 in of rain and snow over 17 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 8 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 2.6 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Lawrence?

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.

0.4
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 Lawrence.

What to pack for Lawrence in Winter

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

In winter, Lawrence sees daytime highs around 42°F and nights near 25°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Lawrence in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lawrence peaks around June 22 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 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 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May7High
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Lawrence 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 Lawrence is worst in April — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (October, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodApr 1416 µg/m³Oct 237 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr16Moderate
May12Good
Jun13Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Lawrence?

Lawrence sits at 39.0°N, 95.2°W, 863 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Gardner, 20 mi away.

Topography around Lawrence

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Lawrence has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 285 ft around an average of 873 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 381 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 863 ft.

The land around Lawrence is covered by trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 2 miles, trees (35%), grassland (31%) and cropland (25%) within 10 miles, and grassland (38%), trees (29%) and cropland (28%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
285 ft
10 miles
381 ft
50 miles
863 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Gardner 20 mi · Olathe 23 mi · Topeka 24 mi · Lenexa 27 mi · Shawnee 28 mi · Leavenworth 29 mi · Overland Park 30 mi · Prairie Village 32 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 Lawrence (38.9717°, -95.2352°, elevation 863 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.