Climate and average weather in Papillion

In Papillion, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid August to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Papillion typically varies from 16°F to 86°F, and is rarely below -2°F or above 95°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 Papillion for warm-weather activities are from early May to mid June and mid August to late October.

Hottest
Jul
86°
Coldest
Jan
16°
Wettest
May
5.5 in
Driest
Jan
1.0 in
Rain / yr
35.1 in
98 wet days
Daylight
9.0–15.0 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,010 ft
41.2°N
Clearest
Sep
41% cloud

Papillion is city in and county seat of Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States.

Density
1,122/km²
people per km²
Founded
1870

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

Papillion 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 August to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 18 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 73°F. The hottest month of the year in Papillion is July, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 29 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 43°F. The coldest month of the year in Papillion is January, with an average low of 16°F and high of 33°F.

Days typically run about 19°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3316
Feb3719
Mar5030
Apr6241
May7253
Jun8263
Jul8667
Aug8465
Sep7756
Oct6443
Nov4931
Dec3620

How hot and cold Papillion 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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 3°F (around January 8), with roughly 165 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 91 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)
Jan3333416
Feb3737819
Mar50502130
Apr62623541
May72725253
Jun82826363
Jul88866767
Aug85846565
Sep77775556
Oct64643843
Nov49492231
Dec3636920

Average hourly temperature in Papillion

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 86°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 16°F.

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

Papillion 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
Jan33° / 16°1.04.849.40.0
Feb37° / 19°1.25.64.210.40.0
Mar50° / 30°2.47.82.611.72.3
Apr62° / 41°4.1111.213.15.1
May72° / 53°5.512.70.114.36.3
Jun82° / 63°5.211.4014.96.0
Jul86° / 67°3.49.4014.75.3
Aug84° / 65°3.59.1013.66.0
Sep77° / 56°3.08.1012.37.3
Oct64° / 43°2.77.50.410.96.1
Nov49° / 31°1.75.21.79.72.4
Dec36° / 20°1.45.13.59.10.0

Chance of rain

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

Papillion gets about 35.1 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 5.3 months, from around Mar 21 to Aug 29, peaking in May at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 12.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 5.5 in over about 13 wet days; January is the driest, with 1.0 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 29 · 43%Jan 12 · 14%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan155
Feb206
Mar258
Apr3611
May4113
Jun3911
Jul309
Aug299
Sep288
Oct248
Nov175
Dec175

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Papillion collects about 35.1 in of rain across 98 wet days — roughly 2.9 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 5.5 in, while January is the driest at just 1.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.01.22.44.15.55.23.43.53.02.71.71.4
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.054
Feb1.264
Mar2.483
Apr4.1111
May5.5130
Jun5.2110
Jul3.490
Aug3.590
Sep3.080
Oct2.780
Nov1.752
Dec1.454

Snow in Papillion

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.

Papillion averages about 18 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 20 to Apr 27 — about 6.2 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 4 days of snow and an estimated 7 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 31 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 18
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan47
Feb47
Mar35
Apr13
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct01
Nov23
Dec47

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Papillion, 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 12 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around November 13. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 68% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 14 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around June 11. The cloudiest month is May, 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 20 · 70%May 22 · 44%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4852
Feb4654
Mar4852
Apr4555
May4456
Jun5743
Jul6832
Aug6733
Sep6733
Oct6040
Nov5347
Dec4852

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 17, brings about 15 hours of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 9 hours — a swing of roughly 6 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.47:535:14
Feb10.47:285:50
Mar11.76:446:24
Apr13.15:516:57
May14.35:117:29
Jun14.94:567:53
Jul14.75:097:51
Aug13.65:387:18
Sep12.36:106:27
Oct10.96:435:36
Nov9.77:204:59
Dec9.17:494:52

Sunny days

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

Papillion 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 16 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.2 months, from around Jun 16 to Nov 20. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 9 sunny days — about 44% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 516 daysMay 29 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May9Mixed
Jun12Mixed
Jul15Mixed
Aug15Mixed
Sep16Bright
Oct15Mixed
Nov12Mixed
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 Papillion, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around May 23 to September 20. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 84% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 21 to May 22, 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 6 · 100%Jul 16 · 13%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar9910000
Apr9541000
May651812500
Jun2022242960
Jul5122536211
Aug8182733131
Sep4919171320
Oct9063100
Nov9910000
Dec10000000

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 Papillion is typically light breeze, near 9 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.2 months, from around Dec 19 to May 26. The windiest month is April, averaging about 10 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 27 to Sep 15, with August the calmest month at about 8 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyApr 11 · 11 mphAug 4 · 7 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan9light breeze
Feb9light breeze
Mar10light breeze
Apr10light breeze
May10light breeze
Jun9light breeze
Jul8light breeze
Aug8light breeze
Sep9light breeze
Oct10light breeze
Nov10light breeze
Dec9light breeze

Hazard calendar for Papillion

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Papillion's rainy season runs April–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Papillion

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late August, Papillion 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 Papillion for general outdoor tourist activities run from early May to mid June and again from mid August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 23 · 7.4

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
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.1poor
Mar2.3poor
Apr5.1fair
May6.2good
Jun5.9good
Jul5.4fair
Aug6.0good
Sep7.2good
Oct6.1good
Nov2.4poor
Dec0.1poor

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 Papillion for hot-weather activities is from early June to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 26 · 7.4

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 Papillion, 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 86°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 33°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Papillion sees daytime highs around 86°F and nights near 67°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Papillion 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 Papillion peaks around June 21 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 21UV 9Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May6High
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Papillion

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
Feb00
Mar40
Apr60
May72
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54
Sep62
Oct40
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Papillion typically lasts about 237 days, from around March 20 to November 11 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 20 to October 16.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJan 2510%Mar 2050%Apr 2090%Oct 1690%Nov 1150%Dec 2710%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan931
Feb1528
Mar4431
Apr8419
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep990
Oct8713
Nov4430
Dec1431

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. Papillion banks about 3,308 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr64
May388
Jun676
Jul822
Aug748
Sep487
Oct124
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.

Papillion receives about 4.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.9 and 6.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 19 to Sep 25. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.6 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.9 kWh/m² — roughly 71% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 36.8 kWhDec 191.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.3Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.1Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.6Intense
Jul6.7Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep4.8Bright
Oct3.4Moderate
Nov2.4Moderate
Dec1.9Dim

Where is Papillion?

Papillion sits at 41.2°N, 96.0°W, 1,010 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is La Vista, 1.9 mi away.

Topography around Papillion

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Papillion has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 217 ft around an average of 1,083 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 817 ft.

The land around Papillion is covered by artificial surfaces (32%), grassland (27%) and trees (25%) within 2 miles, cropland (29%), trees (26%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 10 miles, and cropland (76%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
217 ft
10 miles
354 ft
50 miles
817 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: La Vista 1.9 mi · Bellevue 8.1 mi · Omaha 8.7 mi · Council Bluffs 12 mi · Fremont 30 mi · Lincoln 41 mi · Columbus 71 mi · Norfolk 93 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 Papillion (41.1544°, -96.0422°, elevation 1,010 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).