Climate and average weather in Van Buren

In Van Buren, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early April to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Van Buren typically varies from 31°F to 91°F, and is rarely below 18°F or above 100°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 Van Buren for warm-weather activities are from early April to late May and mid September to early November.

Hottest
Jul
91°
Coldest
Jan
31°
Wettest
Apr
5.8 in
Driest
Aug
2.4 in
Rain / yr
49.0 in
115 wet days
Daylight
9.6–14.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
413 ft
35.4°N
Clearest
Sep
42% cloud

Van Buren is city in Crawford County, Arkansas, United States.

Density
549/km²
people per km²
Founded
1831

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

Van Buren 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 Van Buren, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.0 months, from May 25 to September 24, with daily high temperatures above 81°F. The hottest month of the year in Van Buren is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 72°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 26 to February 27, with daily high temperatures below 57°F. The coldest month of the year in Van Buren is January, with an average low of 31°F and high of 49°F.

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

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4931
Feb5435
Mar6242
Apr7151
May7860
Jun8669
Jul9172
Aug9071
Sep8363
Oct7252
Nov6041
Dec5134

How hot and cold Van Buren 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, Van Buren feels like about 97°F (around July 20). About 78 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 25°F (around January 15), with roughly 89 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)
Jan49492531
Feb54542935
Mar62623842
Apr70714951
May78786060
Jun89866869
Jul96917272
Aug94907171
Sep84836363
Oct72725152
Nov60603741
Dec51512834

Average hourly temperature in Van Buren

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 31°F.

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

Van Buren 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
Jan49° / 31°3.59.119.92.1
Feb54° / 35°3.58.50.910.73.2
Mar62° / 42°5.111.60.611.75.2
Apr71° / 51°5.811.3012.96.4
May78° / 60°5.813013.86.3
Jun86° / 69°3.510.5014.34.9
Jul91° / 72°3.08.9014.13.9
Aug90° / 71°2.48.1013.34.1
Sep83° / 63°3.56.9012.26.3
Oct72° / 52°4.38.9011.17.2
Nov60° / 41°4.68.80.210.15.1
Dec51° / 34°3.990.89.72.6

Chance of rain

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

Van Buren gets about 49.0 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 4.7 months, from around Feb 15 to Jul 6, peaking in May at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 29.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 5.8 in over about 11 wet days; August is the driest, with 2.4 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 7 · 43%Sep 29 · 21%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb319
Mar3712
Apr3811
May4113
Jun3611
Jul289
Aug278
Sep237
Oct289
Nov299
Dec309

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Van Buren collects about 49.0 in of rain across 115 wet days — roughly 4.1 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 5.8 in, while August is the driest at just 2.4 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.53.55.15.85.83.53.02.43.54.34.63.9
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.591
Feb3.591
Mar5.1121
Apr5.8110
May5.8130
Jun3.5110
Jul3.090
Aug2.480
Sep3.570
Oct4.390
Nov4.690
Dec3.991

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Van Buren, 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 15 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around October 29. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 69% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 30 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around June 14. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 53% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 29 · 70%Feb 17 · 45%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5050
Feb4753
Mar4852
Apr5050
May4753
Jun5545
Jul6634
Aug6931
Sep6733
Oct6337
Nov5545
Dec5149

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 12, 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)
Jan9.97:315:22
Feb10.77:125:52
Mar11.76:356:19
Apr12.95:516:44
May13.85:187:09
Jun14.35:067:29
Jul14.15:187:28
Aug13.35:417:02
Sep12.26:056:18
Oct11.16:305:35
Nov10.17:005:06
Dec9.77:255:02

Sunny days

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

Van Buren averages about 13 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 17 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.4 months, from around Jun 21 to Dec 2. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 10 sunny days — about 37% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 3017 daysMay 2710 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan13Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun12Mixed
Jul15Mixed
Aug15Bright
Sep15Bright
Oct16Bright
Nov13Mixed
Dec13Mixed

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 Van Buren, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.8 months, from around May 6 to September 29. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 96% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 30 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 18 · 100%Jul 28 · 3%oppressivemuggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9721000
Feb9631000
Mar8982000
Apr691513300
May2917232730
Jun381644281
Jul031031523
Aug261637391
Sep23152129110
Oct631712710
Nov8983000
Dec9631000

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 Van Buren is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around Oct 20 to May 24. The windiest month is April, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 25 to Oct 19, with July the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeApr 9 · 7 mphJul 31 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Hazard calendar for Van Buren

In seasonPeak

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

Van Buren sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Van Buren

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid April, Van Buren 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 Van Buren 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 3 · 7.7

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
Jan2.1poor
Feb3.3poor
Mar5.2fair
Apr6.3good
May6.3good
Jun4.9fair
Jul3.9fair
Aug4.1fair
Sep6.3good
Oct7.1good
Nov5.1fair
Dec2.7poor

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

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 14 · 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 Van Buren, 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 49°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Van Buren sees daytime highs around 91°F and nights near 72°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Van Buren 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 Van Buren peaks around July 10 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 highHighModerateJul 10UV 10Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Van Buren

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 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
Mar5.50
Apr7.54.5
May84.5
Jun8.56
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.55
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov3.50
Dec00

Air quality in Van Buren 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 Van Buren is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodJul 1519 µg/m³Dec 137 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb12Good
Mar15Moderate
Apr11Good
May13Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul20Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct8Good
Nov7Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Van Buren typically lasts about 332 days, from around February 1 to December 29 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 20 to November 6.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 150%Mar 2090%Nov 690%Dec 2950%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4731
Feb6128
Mar8617
Apr980
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct980
Nov8424
Dec5831

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. Van Buren banks about 4,844 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
Mar83
Apr314
May586
Jun819
Jul972
Aug942
Sep703
Oct375
Nov50
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.

Van Buren receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.2 and 6.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 24 to Oct 2. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 65% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 166.6 kWhDec 182.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.4Intense
Jul6.5Intense
Aug6.0Bright
Sep5.0Bright
Oct3.8Moderate
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is Van Buren?

Van Buren sits at 35.4°N, 94.3°W, 413 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Fort Smith, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around Van Buren

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Van Buren has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 417 ft around an average of 486 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 748 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,411 ft.

The land around Van Buren is covered by trees (43%), artificial surfaces (22%) and grassland (20%) within 2 miles, trees (51%) and grassland (25%) within 10 miles, and trees (67%) and grassland (28%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
417 ft
10 miles
748 ft
50 miles
2,411 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Fort Smith 4.3 mi · Fayetteville 45 mi · Tahlequah 48 mi · Siloam Springs 53 mi · Springdale 53 mi · Muskogee 62 mi · Rogers 63 mi · Bentonville 65 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 Van Buren (35.4368°, -94.3483°, elevation 413 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). 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).