Missouri generally has a variety of seasonal

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''), with cool winters and long, hot summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the Bootheel, the climate borders on a more mild-type

(Köppen ''Cfa''), and in the northern third, the state transitions into a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(Köppen ''Dfa''). Because of its location in the interior United States,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

often experiences extremes in temperatures. Lacking either large mountains or oceans nearby to moderate its temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and the hot and humid

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

Overview

While the adjacent table would suggest a very mild climate, a temperature fluctuation of 20 degrees Fahrenheit on average and 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (17 to 22 degrees Celsius) in a twenty-four-hour period is common. Although the mean temperature for June and July is only 73 °F and 76 °F (23 °C and 24 °C) it is not uncommon for the temperature to reach 100 °F (38 °C) at least three concurrent days each week in these months, as it did in 1904 during the

World Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

where the temperature in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

was 103 °F (39 °C).

Statistics for selected cities

Spring

Spring is generally the wettest season of the year, with the mean temperature from 1895 until 2003 being about 12 °C (54 °F) and its mean precipitation (in the form of rain) for this period being approximately 300 mm (12 inches). April through June is generally the wettest period. The spring also produces the most

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es, with an average of 35 tornadoes each year.

Summer

Summer, June through August, is the hottest time of the year with a mean temperature of 24 °C (75 °F) and a mean precipitation of 300 mm (12 inches) with June having more precipitation than either July or August. The extreme highs for the year often occur in July or August. Tropical cyclones and their remains can impact the state during this time of the year, contributing to area rainfall.

Autumn

Fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Souther ...

, September through November, has less and less precipitation towards the end of the season. The mean temperatures for this season are 13.6 °C (56.5 °F) and the mean precipitation is 250mm (10 in). Tropical cyclones and their remains can impact the state into October, contributing to area rainfall.

Winter

Winters in Missouri can be long with temperatures ranging from mildly to bitterly cold. Kansas City's January daily mean temperature is and St. Louis's is . The coldest temperature ever recorded in Missouri was , set at Warsaw on 13 February 1905. Winter also tends to be the driest season, but typically yields significant amounts of winter precipitation. Snowfall averages in the state's northern region, and in the southeast. During the winter, northwest winds prevail; the air movement is largely from the south and southeast during the rest of the year.Missouri-Climate
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Notes

References

{{ClimateUS