Lincoln climate
Lincoln is warmest in July, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -7.6 °C. May is the wettest month (129 mm) and January the driest (25 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Lincoln averages 811 mm of rain, 120 days above 25 °C and 110 days below freezing.
United States · 367 m elevation · population 294,757 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 31 °C
- Coldest month January -7.6 °C
- Driest month January 25 mm
- Wettest month May 129 mm
- Least cloud September 39 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 41 °C
- Coldest on record February -35 °C
What to expectLincoln through the year
Lincoln has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 1.8 °C in January to 31 °C in July, a swing of 30 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 120 days a year reach 25 °C, 56 of them reach 30 °C, 110 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in July.
Rain is strongly seasonal. May averages 129 mm against 25 mm in January — 5.2 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.8 °C | 25 mm | 54 % |
| February | 4.7 °C | 31 mm | 55 % |
| March | 11.7 °C | 52 mm | 55 % |
| April | 17.9 °C | 91 mm | 57 % |
| May | 23.3 °C | 129 mm | 58 % |
| June | 28.6 °C | 112 mm | 50 % |
| July | 31.2 °C | 86 mm | 44 % |
| August | 29.9 °C | 79 mm | 45 % |
| September | 26.1 °C | 68 mm | 39 % |
| October | 18.7 °C | 62 mm | 44 % |
| November | 10.5 °C | 42 mm | 49 % |
| December | 3.6 °C | 33 mm | 52 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.8 °C | -7.6 °C | -3.8 °C | 17.1 °C | -30.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| February | 4.7 °C | -5.9 °C | -1.6 °C | 21.2 °C | -35.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| March | 11.7 °C | 0.0 °C | 4.9 °C | 29.3 °C | -28.1 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| April | 17.9 °C | 6.2 °C | 11.2 °C | 31.5 °C | -10.4 °C | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| May | 23.3 °C | 12.4 °C | 17.3 °C | 35.9 °C | 0.0 °C | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| June | 28.6 °C | 18.2 °C | 23.0 °C | 40.1 °C | 7.0 °C | 24 | 11 | 0 |
| July | 31.2 °C | 21.0 °C | 25.7 °C | 41.4 °C | 10.4 °C | 30 | 19 | 0 |
| August | 29.9 °C | 19.8 °C | 24.4 °C | 39.2 °C | 9.5 °C | 28 | 15 | 0 |
| September | 26.1 °C | 15.5 °C | 20.1 °C | 38.1 °C | 0.8 °C | 18 | 7 | 0 |
| October | 18.7 °C | 8.5 °C | 12.8 °C | 33.1 °C | -12.2 °C | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| November | 10.5 °C | 1.2 °C | 5.0 °C | 26.2 °C | -23.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| December | 3.6 °C | -5.1 °C | -1.5 °C | 18.1 °C | -27.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 25 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25 mm | 5 | 9.6 h/day | 54 % | 69 % | 22 km/h |
| February | 31 mm | 5 | 11 h/day | 55 % | 68 % | 23 km/h |
| March | 52 mm | 7 | 12 h/day | 55 % | 65 % | 24 km/h |
| April | 91 mm | 10 | 13 h/day | 57 % | 63 % | 26 km/h |
| May | 129 mm | 12 | 14 h/day | 58 % | 66 % | 24 km/h |
| June | 112 mm | 11 | 15 h/day | 50 % | 67 % | 22 km/h |
| July | 86 mm | 9 | 15 h/day | 44 % | 65 % | 19 km/h |
| August | 79 mm | 9 | 14 h/day | 45 % | 68 % | 19 km/h |
| September | 68 mm | 7 | 12 h/day | 39 % | 63 % | 22 km/h |
| October | 62 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 44 % | 62 % | 24 km/h |
| November | 42 mm | 5 | 9.9 h/day | 49 % | 66 % | 23 km/h |
| December | 33 mm | 5 | 9.3 h/day | 52 % | 70 % | 22 km/h |
How Lincoln compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 31 °C | -7.6 °C | 811 mm | 120 |
| Omaha · United States | 30 °C | -8.7 °C | 893 mm | 112 |
| Kansas City · United States | 31 °C | -5.1 °C | 1,043 mm | 127 |
| Des Moines · United States | 29 °C | -9.5 °C | 944 mm | 102 |
| Sioux Falls · United States | 28 °C | -12 °C | 798 mm | 87 |
| Wichita · United States | 33 °C | -3.0 °C | 890 mm | 143 |
Where Lincoln ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The coolest places in North America in December | 40thof 50 | 3.6 °C |
| The coolest places in North America in January | 42ndof 50 | 1.8 °C |
| The coolest places in North America in February | 44thof 50 | 4.7 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Lincoln.
QuestionsCommon questions about Lincoln’s climate
When is the best time to visit Lincoln?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and January the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Lincoln get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 56 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -7.6 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 110 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Lincoln?
May, averaging 129 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is January with 25 mm. The year as a whole averages 811 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Lincoln rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.