Van Buren in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Van Buren sees average daytime highs around 51°F and overnight lows near 33°F, with 11.0 in of precipitation over about 27 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 51°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
51°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
33°F
Precipitation
11.0 in
27 wet days
Avg wind
6 mph
Travel score
2.6
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Van Buren in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 51°F.

A typical winter day in Van Buren reaches about 51°F and drops to 33°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°40°60°80°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Van Buren

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 89 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
89
wind chill below the day's low

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

Van Buren 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
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

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

Van Buren gets around 11.0 in of rain and snow over 27 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%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 6 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 48 min in early December to 11 h 06 min 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

Hazard calendar for Van Buren

In seasonPeak

None of Van Buren's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

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

Is winter a good time to visit Van Buren?

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.

2.6
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 Van Buren.

What to pack for Van Buren in Winter

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

In winter, Van Buren sees daytime highs around 51°F and nights near 33°F. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 27 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Van Buren in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

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

Air quality in Van Buren 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 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
Location & terrain

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
Winter weather 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.